(Op-Ed by J. Howard Henderson) The Baltimore community remains focused on the need to get justice for Freddie Gray, supporting his family and continuing to build our community.
We need to transform law enforcement by instituting policies that hold officers who abuse their power accountable. We recognize that black lives matter; now, our police force must reflect this. The Greater Baltimore Urban League will work with our local elected officials to ensure that everyone in law enforcement, from the commissioner to the foot patrolman, understands that everyone in our community is entitled to be treated with respect. We need to overhaul the entire system to address inequities.
The open letter to State's Attorney Mosby from the Fraternal Order of the Police (FOP) focused on the need for accountability, while asking the Mrs. Mosby to recuse herself from the case against the six police officers who killed Freddie Gray. The FOP and other advocates for law enforcement institutions should instead focus on the need to prepare officers and teach them how to work with the neighborhoods they serve. Law enforcement should prioritize building relationships and accountability with the citizens whom they are sworn to protect. That type of focus will bring the greater accountability and transparency that Mrs. Mosby champions.
To heal our city, we cannot focus exclusively on law enforcement, however. We must eliminate destructive policies that increase the disparities between neighborhoods. These policies are literally a matter of life and death. The life expectancy for resident in Roland Park is age 84. Residents of Canton and Federal Hill have an average life expectancy around 78. Penn North, Washington Village, Brooklyn and Cherry Hill all have average life expectancies around 74. There is a longer life expectancy in Iran and Iraq than in Sandtown-Winchester, Upton/Druid Heights, Greenmount East and Seton Hill (65 years old). This is not just a result of personal choice. It is the manifestation of poor education, low quality housing, negative health outcomes, a cycle of imprisonment and economic policies that have isolated and neglected parts of Baltimore for decades. We cannot live in a city where residents in some communities are experiencing an entirely different Baltimore than others.
Click here to read the full article on The Baltimore Sun website.
