Hundreds of volunteers converged on West Baltimore to help clean up the debris left behind after a night of rioting.
PughMorgan students help in cleaning up damage from protests in West Baltimore that turned violent over the weekend. (Photo Courtesy Morgan State University)
Volunteers helped remove debris and rubble from a burned out CVS while others passed out water and snacks. The scene at Pennsylvania and North avenues during the day April 28 was almost festive, with drum circles, people dancing and young men selling ice cream while wearing shirts that proclaimed, “Entrepreneur.”
Chinedu Nwokeafor, a junior studying speech communications at Morgan State University, helped organize a group of students to come down and help with the cleanup. After arriving at North and Pennsylvania in the afternoon, the group determined that much of the cleanup had already occurred. They moved a short distance away to Monument Street and began to clean up the effects of looting in that area.
“We split into three teams and cleaned 20-25 blocks,” said Nwokeafor. “We encouraged the community that this is something that they should do all the time. And the community said they hoped they would see us again.”