By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com
As part of its monthly Community Convo series, Associated Black Charities (ABC) held a special discussion to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old Black man who died in Baltimore police custody in 2015. The discussion took place in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood, the community Gray grew up in, at New Song Community Learning Center on April 22.
The event functioned as a space for Baltimoreans to honor Gray’s memory, examine what progress has been made in the fight for racial justice and reflect on the challenges that persist for Black residents.
“With the murder of Freddie Gray, we’re moving from an expectation of legal justice, which we did not receive, and looking at what justice looks like in the ways we’re able to live our lives now, like in opportunities coming to our communities,” said Chrissy Thornton, president and CEO of ABC. “That may not only be some semblance of justice but the only justice we get— the opportunity to live better.”
Gray was arrested by the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) on April 12, 2015. While in police custody, he sustained a severe spinal injury during transport in a van, where he was shackled and handcuffed but not secured with a seatbelt. Gray later succumbed to the injury on April 19, 2015.
No officers were convicted or fired in connection with Gray’s death.
“Freddie Gray’s life was lost tragically, and everybody in this room who witnessed it has dealt with the secondary trauma—regardless of your class, background or sex,” said Amber “Sparkle” Barnes, a Park Heights resident. “There’s a life that we have to restore because of witnessing that in this community.”
Barnes recalled the reaction from youth to the death of Gray. One the day of his funeral, April 27, 2015, mounting unrest in the city erupted into an uprising. Confrontations took place between students and police near Mondawmin Mall in West Baltimore.
Barnes tasked community members with restoring common sense in young people. She explained that this effort is not meant to belittle them but to empower them with the tools they need to stand against injustice.
“Their response came a little different. That was the power of their response,” said Barnes. “We have to give them the resources to allow their voices to be heard so that their actions make sense for us and our future. We only get older every day.”
Baltimore resident Shaniyah Graham was in middle school when Gray died. She said her peers’ outrage over his death carried into that summer.
“It was the most violent that I had ever seen our youth. We were so angry,” said Graham.
Social media only served to fuel their fear and emotions.
“Personally, I just thought nowhere was safe for Black and Brown people, and I didn’t know what to do,” said Graham.
In 2022, Graham started an organization to provide Baltimore’s young people with a safe haven from the traumas they experience in their daily lives. She recently ran a spring break camp for teenage girls where they participated in games, culinary arts and career development.
During a group exercise at the camp, Graham said she instructed the girls to raise their hands if anyone in their immediate family was currently incarcerated. More than half of them did.
She emphasized that it’s crucial to engage in open, honest conversations with youth.
“They have these adverse childhood experiences so young, and we see it manifest into crime,” said Graham. “Lately, we’ve seen a decrease in crime, but I just think we have to have these conversations because you never know what these young people are dealing with.”
City Councilman James Torrence, who represents Baltimore’s 7th District, outlined the headway Baltimore’s made since the arrest and death of Gray. The elected official pointed to declines in civilian complaints against police officers and in use of force.
During the 2025 State of the City, Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott reported that complaints have decreased by 67 percent and use of force incidents have been cut in half. BPD also recently met two sections of the city’s consent decree, a federal agreement that mandated police reforms to improve accountability, transparency and community trust in the wake of Gray’s death.
“Investing in communities first versus policing first has helped us,” said Torrence. “For the first time in a long time, our education spending outpaced our police department spending.”
In spite of these strides, Torrence said there’s more that the city can do, especially by the way of investment in Sandtown-Winchester. One pledge that was made to the community following Gray’s death was the redevelopment of the Lillian Jones Recreation Center— but nearly a decade later, that restoration has yet to be realized.
Torrence announced that the design and planning process for a new center has finally begun. The project is set to break ground in 2027 and transform the dilapidated, vacant building into a $26 million facility. It will serve as a campus for athletics and recreation in the neighborhood, with regulation fields for youth sports.
“It’s not remodeling and bringing back a recreation center that’s only three rooms and a basketball court,” said Torrence. “It’s creating a 21st century building, redoing the pools, creating green spaces and creating amenities where young people feel safe.”
