Baltimore: It’s my hometown

A protestor faces police enforcing a curfew Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Baltimore. A line of police behind riot shields hurled smoke grenades and fired pepper balls at dozens of protesters to enforce a citywide curfew. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

By now you’ve seen the video and pictures of Baltimore, Maryland, on fire in the wake of the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray who died from a severe spinal cord injury while in the custody of Baltimore City police. The looting, attacks on police, and the senseless vandalism have been graphically captured and splashed across the Internet and network television for days. I wrote about the riots in Ferguson, but that was another city in another state and it was easy to just keep to the facts. I’ve called Baltimore my hometown all my life and even though I’ve always lived just outside of the city, when someone asks where I’m from, I tell them Baltimore.

I worked in the city for many years and even helped a former Mayor’s office create a video promoting Baltimore’s many unique neighborhoods. I have friends who live in the city and are working hard to rebuild some of the economically depressed areas because this city has a lot of potential.