After experiencing personal and community tragedy, Ashiah Parker and Tracey Malone transformed their grief into leadership in West Baltimore. Parker rose from volunteer to executive director of the No Boundaries Coalition following the death of Freddie Gray, while Malone, after losing her brother to violence, helped build the Sandtown-Winchester Collective into a 26-entity coalition—both women anchoring their work in love, organizing and community empowerment.
Tag: Freddie Gray
Posted inBUSINESS
Meet the Baltimore business turning ‘mess’ into a success
Kalilah Wright, a Black immigrant woman and Brooklyn native, founded the customized T-shirt company Mess in the Bottle in 2016 to share positive messages and amplify Black voices in her community. Wright shares how she tackles entrepreneurship and motherhood while aiming to expand her brand and provide guidance to other Black women entrepreneurs.
Posted inBaltimore News
Supporters honor Marilyn Mosby at Baltimore dinner
Supporters gathered in Baltimore on June 27 to honor Marilyn Mosby with a celebratory dinner recognizing her resilience through recent legal battles. The event, filled with heartfelt speeches and performances, underscored continued community support for Mosby, especially for her actions during the Freddie Gray case and her ongoing fight for justice.
Posted inOPINION
Revitalizing Sandtown-Winchester: A call for community health investment and local control
By Rosine Beleho I care deeply about Sandtown-Winchester because I’ve walked its streets, talked with its residents, and seen both its history and its pain firsthand. As someone pursuing a career in social work and committed to healing communities, what’s happening here breaks my heart and motivates me to speak out. If you live in […]
Posted inCivil Rights
The true cost of police violence: Trauma, trust and taxpayer burdens
Police brutality inflicts deep, lasting trauma on families and communities, while cities across the U.S. face mounting financial burdens from costly misconduct settlements. Advocates say adopting insurance and risk management strategies could help ease the strain on public funds and promote accountability.
Posted inOPINION
Op-ed: From trauma to advocacy, a Black mother’s mission to end family policing
Mashai Small, a Black mother and abolitionist, shares her harrowing experience of having her children forcibly removed by Maryland’s child welfare system, which she and others call the “family policing system,” exposing its disproportionate and traumatizing impact on Black families. Now advocating for systemic change, she urges others to join the Black Mothers March in D.C. this Mother’s Day weekend to demand accountability, justice, and the protection of Black families.
Posted inBaltimore Uprising
From Uprising to progress: 10 years after Freddie Gray, Baltimore sees historic drop in homicide
Ten years after Freddie Gray’s death and the Baltimore Uprising that followed, city leaders and Gray’s family reflect on the lasting pain and the progress made since 2015.
Posted inCOMMUNITY
A decade after Freddie Gray’s death, Associated Black Charities holds dialogue on justice and community healing
Associated Black Charities brought Baltimore residents together on April 22 for a powerful conversation in Sandtown-Winchester to mark the 10th anniversary of Freddie Gray’s death. The event offered a space to reflect on the uprising spurred by Gray’s death, assess the city’s progress and confront the trauma and inequities that still persist.
Posted inBaltimore Community
Reflections on the 10th anniversary of the Baltimore uprising
A decade after the death of Freddie Gray and the Baltimore uprising, the city still spends nearly seven times more on policing than on recreation and youth development—despite hard-earned lessons about the dangers of disinvestment in young people. Baltimore’s comptroller calls for a shift in priorities, reminding us that a city’s budget is a reflection of its values.
Posted inBaltimore News
Wreath laying ceremony honors Freddie Gray 10 years after brutal death
By Alexis TaylorAFRO Managing Editor Local officials, residents, family members and friends came together April 19 to honor the life of Freddie Gray exactly 10 years to the date of his 2015 death. With Gray’s eyes piercing through a mural in the background, Baltimore City Mayor Brandon M. Scott and family attorney William “Billy” Murphy” […]
Posted inBaltimore Community
Baltimore residents reflect on death of Freddie Gray
Ten years after Freddie Gray’s death, Baltimore still bears the scars. A fatal ride in a Baltimore police van sparked national outrage and a reckoning with systemic injustice. Today, residents reflect on the pain that lingers, the justice that never came, and the urgent need for lasting change.
Posted inBaltimore News
From tragedy to change: Freddie Gray’s death and the road to reform in Baltimore
Ten years after the death of Freddie Gray and the ensuing “Baltimore Uprising,” Mayor Brandon Scott and other legal and community leaders are reflecting on the systemic failures that led to the unrest and the reforms that followed.