Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
Peaceful protesters have been pleading their case against police brutality for months in Baltimore. I kept hearing people say, “Baltimore is not Ferguson,” meaning, I suppose, that we do not repress our issues of wealth and racial disparity or deny them. Baltimore, after all, has been a city in recovery for half a century now….
Baltimore did not need more negative publicity this week. But in a bit of fateful timing, the Equality of Opportunity Project of Harvard University has released two papers concluding that the income mobility for poor children in Baltimore City is worse than in any large county in America. Every year spent in Baltimore “reduces a…
When Oscar Grant was shot by transit cop Johannes Mehserle in Oakland in the early hours of January 1, 2009, a week passed with no institutional response, while videos of Grant’s murder spread on YouTube like a prairie fire. Then people rebelled, rioted, and took over the streets of Oakland twice—on January 7 and January 14—and just…
U2 seems to enjoy forcing their music on people unexpectedly, and yesterday, straphangers navigating Grand Central’s subway labyrinth were coerced into attending a concert with Bono & Friends, who performed “Angel of Harlem” by the 42nd Street S shuttle. Cute that you thought you’d be able to read in peace. Stereogum reports the surprise concert…
Photo Mayor Bill de Blasio rode the R train to City Hall from Brooklyn last month as part of an effort to raise awareness about the lack of funding for transportation and infrastructure. Credit Michael Appleton for The New York Times The email, blunt and to the point, popped into City Hall aides’ inboxes at 12:17…
A humanitarian crisis is developing in Europe as refugees traveling through Libya and other countries seek to enter the European Union via the Mediterranean Sea, resulting in a tragic loss of life for those on overcrowded boats. Most people are fleeing countries in the Middle East and Africa, either because of civil war (Syria and…
On the evening of April 25 at the corner of Pratt and Light Streets, in Baltimore’s revitalized downtown district, more than 100 police officers in riot gear stood shoulder to shoulder, shields up. Six officers on horseback fidgeted behind them, staring down at a crowd of about 40, an odd mixture of protesters, journalists and…
Baltimore police enforce curfew differently by race. Twitter Reveals Inequity of Baltimore’s Curfew Enforcement | DC Brand 99.
Israeli riot police have fired stun grenades and water cannon on thousands of ethnic Ethiopian Jewish citizens in an attempt to clear one of the most violent protests in memory in the heart of Tel Aviv. The protesters, Israeli Jews of Ethiopian origin, were demonstrating on Sunday against what they said was police racism and…
Photo People celebrated at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and West North Avenue in Baltimore on Friday after the charges were announced. Credit Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times BALTIMORE — Baltimore’s chief prosecutor charged six police officers on Friday with crimes including murder and manslaughter in the arrest and fatal injury of Freddie…