Thugs? Really? – Questionable Media Coverage After the Death of Freddie Gray

On May 21, 2015 Marilyn Mosby, State’s Attorney for Baltimore City, announced that a grand jury indicted the 6 officers responsible for the death of Freddie Gray, an unarmed 25 year old Baltimore resident. The charges included depraved heart-murder, which carries a penalty of up to 30 years in prison, involuntary manslaughter, second degree assault, reckless endangerment and more.

Freddie Gray died of spinal injuries he incurred while in police custody. After his death on April 19, 2015, Baltimore was in an uproar. Gray’s death was just the latest among a rash of police killings including the deaths of Mike Brown in Ferguson, MO,  Tamir Rice in Cleveland, OH, Eric Garner in New York City, NY, and Walter Scott in North Charleston, SC. For the people of Baltimore, the death of Freddie Gray was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

The city erupted. Fire and looting broke out, and hordes of angry teens burned buildings and threw rocks at police vehicles. And, as one would guess, where there was looting, there was the media. Various media outlets – Fox, CNN, msnbc – were documenting the whole story showing nonstop footage of the reckless rioters and ignoring the peaceful protesters. There was also footage of press conferences featuring Baltimore city officials. Everything was fine until Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake made a statement calling the rioters “thugs.”

It was like a whirlwind. Suddenly everyone was a thug and government officials, from the Governor of Maryland to the President of the United States, and news anchors were calling the people of Baltimore thugs. It all came to a head when Baltimore City Councilman Carl Stokes (District 12) spoke freely on CNN. When asked if thugs was the appropriate term to use in reference to the rioters he replied, “Calling them thugs? Just call them Ni**ers! Just call them Ni**gers! No, we don’t have to call people names such as that.”

It got ugly when Fox News began to spread a rumor that the gang members in Baltimore – Blood, Crips, and BGF (Black Guerrilla Family) – came together to kill police. According to the story, the gangs called a truce and were working in concert to take out organized hits on Baltimore city police. It took Nightly Show host Larry Wilmore to get to the bottom of things. In his April 30 episode, he sat down with members of all the gangs. The men told him that they called the truce because it was important for them to show solidarity and unity when calling for peace and justice for Freddie Gray.

When other journalists began to talk to actual gang members, they saw that the men were upset that they were being accused of conspiring to kill cops. They were actually calling for peace and protecting their neighborhood from the looters who were not even from the part of town in which they were looting. One Blood gang member said “We want to tell the people of Baltimore city that the image they are trying to portray of the gangs – the Crips, the Bloods, the BGF – we did not make that truce to harm cops. We are not about to allow you to paint that picture of us.”

Unfortunately, at times like this the media always makes a point to negatively portray black men. Rioters are thugs, gang members are cop killers, and victims are criminals. It never seems to end. Hopefully, the news will one day show some integrity and place blame where it really belongs. In truth, the six officers who callously disregarded Gray’s cries for help and took him on the “rough ride” that ended his life were the real thugs in this story.

FROM BOYZ 2 MEN, INC. stands in unity with Baltimore and the fight for justice!

References

Boyle, L. (2015). The rival gang members who stood against violence in Baltimore: Crips, Bloods, Black Guerrilla Family and Nation of Islam ‘united as black men’ to stand between police and rioters. Daily Mail. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3059143/The-Wire-Unimaginable-scenes-Baltimore-s-Crips-Bloods-Black-Guerrilla-Family-Nation-Islam-unite-black-men-stop-violence.html

Graham, D. A. (2015). The Mysterious Death of Freddie Gray. The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/04/the-mysterious-death-of-freddie-gray/391119/

Perez-Pena, R. (2015). Six Baltimore Officers Indicted in Death of Freddie Gray. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/22/us/six-baltimore-officers-indicted-in-death-of-freddie-gray.html?_r=0

YouTube. (2015). Soledad O’Brien to Journalists – ” Stop Saying Thug ” – CNN – Reliable Sources – May 3, 2015. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_RhO9PMI1k

History Lesson: Great American Boxers – A Legacy of Champions

May 2, 2015 was a historical night. Dubbed the fight of the century, Floyd Mayweather defeated Manny Paquiao in Las Vegas, Nevada bringing his record to an astounding 48-0. Although he has his short comings, Mayweather’s talent cannot be denied. He lands punches with spot on accuracy, but he hardly ever gets hit. While he is hailed as the most notable boxer in recent history, Mayweather stands at the feet of a long line of boxing greats.

One of the first boxing greats on U.S. soil was Tom Molineaux. Molineux (Moe-len-oh) was born a slave in Virginia in 1784. He was trained by his father, and he fought against other slaves to entertain his and other slave masters. In one such fight, Molineux’s owner bet on him and won $100,000. For his performance, Molineux was awarded $500 and his freedom. He promptly left Virginia for New York City. Upon learning he could make more money as a fighter across the pond, he worked on a ship to gain passage to Liverpool, England. In England, he fought champion Tom Cribb, and he was defeated twice. However, he would go on to gain his place in history after defeating two other notable British fighters. Molineux died in 1818 in Dublin, Ireland.

Next to win his place in history was boxer Joe Louis. Known affectionately as the Brown Bomber, Louis, born in Lafeyette, Alabama in 1914, would become an American boxing icon. As a professional boxer he was defeated for the first time by German boxer Max Schmeling in 1936, in the midst of Hitler’s reign in Europe. Louis came back from his loss to defeat defending heavyweight champion James Braddock in 1937. Reinvigorated, he fought Schmeling again in 1938 and knocked him out in the first round forever debunking Hitler’s ideas about the superior Aryan race. Schmeling’s defeat was not only a symbol of American victory but also an empowering symbol of strength for black Americans everywhere. Louis died of a heart attack on April 12, 1981.

One of the greatest living boxing legends is, of course, Muhammed Ali. Ali won most American’s hearts after he “shook up the world” on February 25, 1964 defeating Sonny Liston, the then heavy weight champion of the world. Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in Louisville, Kentucky on January 17, 1942. He changed his name to Muhammed Ali after he joined the Nation of Islam in 1964 shortly after defeating Liston. Ali was known for his braggadocios nature. He proclaimed that he was the greatest, and for a time he was. From 1960-1970 he won all 31 of his fights with 24 by knockout. Ali retired in 1981, and in 1984 he announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. He has since dedicated much of his time to raising money for the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

The legacies of these great men demonstrate that Floyd Mayweather is only one name on a long list of world champion boxers. Perhaps what sets him a part the most is that he is fighting at a time when he has enormous control over his own destiny. He was born to humble beginnings in Grand Rapids, Michigan on to February 24, 1977. He rose to become a golden gloves champ, an Olympic medalist, and the WBC, WBA and WAO welterweight champion. He has stated that he will retire in September 2015, and we can only speculate as to how history will remember him.

References

Floyd Mayweather. (2015). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 01:35, May 06, 2015, from http://www.biography.com/people/floyd-mayweather-507718.

Joe Louis. (2015). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 01:34, May 06, 2015, from http://www.biography.com/people/joe-louis-9386989.

Muhammad Ali. (2015). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 01:36, May 06, 2015, from http://www.biography.com/people/muhammad-ali-9181165.

Tom Molineux. (2015). Virgina Historical Society. Retrieved from http://spartacus-educational.com/SLAmolineaux.htm

Tom Molineux. (2014). Spartacus Educational. Retrieved from http://www.vahistorical.org/collections-and-resources/virginia-history-explorer/tom-molineaux