MacKya Purnell, 20, Towson University (Photo: Wide Angle Youth Media)
Youth Radio teamed up with youth in Baltimore as well as all over the country to cover various community reactions to the death of Freddie Gray, and bring young voices to national audiences. See Youth Radio’s national coverage, from Chicago to Oakland to Atlanta, about the Baltimore protests, and the larger conversation about youth and police.
Michaela Brown, 22, Morgan State University (Photo: Wide Angle Youth Media)
Baltimore A Turning Point In This Generation’s Civil Rights Movement?
By: Soraya Shockley
When Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby charged six police officers for their involvement the death of Freddie Gray, she spoke directly to young people, saying she would seek justice on our behalf.
“This is a moment, this is your moment,” she said. “Let’s ensure that we have peaceful and productive rallies, develop structural and systemic changes for generations to come. You’re at the forefront of this cause, and as young people our time is now.”
All over the country, young people like me are having strong reactions to the youth movement in Baltimore. With each young man killed by police, my peers and I feel anger and frustration, but that’s not all.
Laurell Glenn, 18, lives in west Baltimore. She has ties to both police and protesters.
Baltimore Teen Torn Between Family And A Movement
By Laurell Glenn
I wish I didn’t have to choose sides. My friends are totally against the police because they think cops are all out to get them. On the other hand, my cousin is a police officer and also a single mother of three. Not a single day goes by that I don’t worry about her safety. I admire her for putting her life on the line for people who don’t respect her.
Derick Ebert, 19-years-old
The Moment In Baltimore: A Poet’s Notes
By Derick Ebert (as told to Youth Radio)
Derick Ebert is the 19-year-old Youth Poet Laureate of Baltimore. Youth Radio producers talked with Ebert to gain insight into the protests in Baltimore sparked by the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody.
Camesha L. Jones
In the Spirit of Tubman and Douglass, Maryland Awakens
What Baltimore’s Uprising Means for the Future of Black Youth.
By Camesha L. Jones
I grew up in a small city in Southern Maryland, about an hour away from Baltimore. My grandmother is from the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass were born. I always took great pride in knowing that my family and all Black Marylanders are in some way connected to Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass.
Reesa Renee, 27 (Photo: Wide Angle Youth Media)
“To The Youth Of This City”: Have The Cries For Justice In Baltimore Been Heard?
The first day of May 2015 seemed to mark a turning point in the story of Freddie Gray, the Baltimore man who died of a severe spinal injury incurred while in police custody. His death set off a wave of protests that turned violent this past week. The State Attorney for Baltimore, Marilyn J. Mosby, announced on Friday that charges on multiple counts would be filed against six police officers related to Mr. Gray’s death.
Shahim McMoran, 20, Towson University (Photo: Wide Angle Youth Media)
Young Baltimore Speaks: “I don’t enjoy being a part of this…I feel obligated to do this”
By Wide Angle Youth Media for Youth Radio
Producers at Wide Angle Youth Media in Baltimore, MD talked with youth at a student-led protest on April 29th, 2015 over the death of Freddie Gray.
“I don’t enjoy being a part of this, because I wish it wasn’t happening,” said Shahim McMoran, 20, a student at Towson University. “But, it’s like I have to be a part of this, and I feel obligated to do this.”