New Generation Muslim: Hijabi Valedictorian Yaffa Ali
Yaffa is 17 years old. She just graduated from high school
in Greensboro, North Carolina with a 4.6 GPA. She spoke as
the valedictorian, urging students to focus on the most
important issues in life and to work hard in heir academic
activities.
She took the hijab when she was in the 7th grade and has
never taken it off outside home. She found that young people
are NOT bigoted against Islam and are more interested in how
one interacts with them and what is one as a person.
With her top level grades, she has been offered three
scholarships by one of the most prestigious and expensive
colleges: Wake Forest.
Yaffa is named after a famous part of Palestine [now
occupied]. She is deeply immersed in the culture, traditions
and lore of Palestine. In her writings and speeches, one can
sense the struggle and suffering of the Palestinian
people.
Her father Imam Badi Ali, a regular contributor to New
Trend, is a compassionate and caring father who also helps
give the right direction to the young people of the TRIAD
community of Muslims. His influence on Yaffa was very
positive and he has shown us that with patience and
perseverance the new generation of Muslims will make us
proud.
Congratulations to Yaffa and Imam Badi Ali from all of us at
New Trend and Jamaat al-Muslimeen.
Guidance
The Law of God Works in this World for all, Muslim or
non-Muslim. Results will be in the Hereafter.
by Shamim Siddiqi [Long Island, New York]
When God created man He gave him the knowledge of every
thing [As per Verse # 31 of Surah Baqarah] with the
condition that man will try to fulfill his needs and urges
on his own accord. Thus, the growth of human society
progressed in its natural process. God gave man the power of
ingenuity, thinking, holding communication through
expression to his fellow citizens in the march towards
progress little by little with the condition that man will
get nothing except through personal efforts and to the
extent He plans to give to man.
This is the paradigm of man's footings on earth which took
millions and millions of years to get through to this stage.
The two conditions are paramount for human progress. Hence
God made him "Aql - e- kul" and he will continue to do so,
irrespective of belief in Him.
That result He will announce in Akhirah on individual basis
whether to be sent to Hell or Heaven as per his or her
actions and deeds whereas on collective basis as people or
nation they will be dealt with on this earth.
All the great and mighty powers of this earth are now
resting on the death bed of history owing to their
respective failure to be obedient to Him and Him alone. They
are numbering 35, and the 36th is going fast to be the USA
and its henchmen as foretold by the Historian Paul Kennedy
in his book:" The Rise and Fall of Great Nations" published
in 1988 and Nixon loved this book very much.
So man will continue to progress as per his or her ingenuity
till Doomsday and death and destruction of Nations and
people will continue, meanwhile on this earth that is the
tradition of Allah and He has set their examples in the
Qur'an in every Chapter as the historical proof/results of
His denial.
While individual humans have to live on this earth as per
Guidance He had sent continuously through His appointed
Messenger with the clear verdict that they all will be
judged in Akhirah individually whether they acted, lived ad
behaved on earth as per His directives OR as per their
freewill that choice He gave to us as a paramount test for
all human beings.
Request all of you to respond to this urgent situation which
we are facing today as Ummah and individually as its
constituents.
Shamim Siddiqi
WWW.dawahinamericas.com
Our America
Phoenix, Arizona
Bootlicking Muslims Are Headed for A Nig..r Wake Up
Call!
by Sis. Aisha [Jamaat al-Muslimeen]
New York City - The following incidents involving the murder
of Muslims have received nationwide attention:
Three Muslim students shot and killed in North Carolina by
White supremacist. (2/11/2015)
Man shot and killed in Dallas while enjoying a rare snowfall
with his family outside their home. (3/5/2015)
Iraqi Invader John Ritzheimer organizes a biker anti-Islam
rally across the street from a Phoenix, AZ Islamic Cultural
Center. (5/29/2015
The Phoenix anti-Islam rally attracted 250 bikers who were
met with just as many protesters, if not more, Muslim and
non-Muslim. These protesters were out there waving American
flags and holding placards that said "Proud to be an
American" and "ISIS is not Islam." This was in response to
biker signs, which stated "Up Yours Muhammad"
(astaghfirullah!) and "Stop Islam." These bootlicking
Muslims missed these bikers' point and will continue to do
so because they seek acceptance from the kuffar. They are
still in that Shakespearean, "If you prick us, do we not
bleed" mode of thinking (Merchant of Venice). They are going
the route of some Christians who preach turn the other
cheek. Well, that philosophy is definitely not in the Holy
Qur'an! Self-defense is a God-given right! And, according to
the Holy Qur'an, the only people to be shown mercy are those
who stop fighting us, not people who continue to wage war
against us!
These bikers were armed to the teeth citing their 2nd
Amendment right to bear arms. Hmmm. Strange how some Black
Panthers were targeted for assassination by law enforcement
rogues for displaying their right to bear arms, as well.
And, the one who gave such orders to kill was the biggest
closeted gay (and Black man), and cynic himself: J. Edgar
Hoover.
Do these bikers sound or look like they are even capable of
ever being friendly towards anyone who does not look like
them? L et's never forget that whether it is the Ku klux
Klan wanting to intimidate non-White people by marching in
their neighborhoods or biker gangs wanting to insult the
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the police are there to protect
them in the name of White supremacy. These White devils know
they have the protection of the constitution whereas, other
people who stand for morality do not! Their ancestors raped,
burned, peeled, and committed every other violent act
against Blacks and Native Americans without any concern
about being caught because it was the American government
who sanctioned this reign of terror against its own
non-White citizens! These bikers could care less about
Muslims. We are not even human beings to them!
These White kuffar have gone overseas to wreak havoc in U.S.
military uniforms and wreak havoc here in police uniforms
with the same impunity as their great grandparents. It seems
that Arab Muslims are the target however, I am not going to
sit on my duff and say, "Phew, glad it's not me!" There are
many immigrants who have done just that when an atrocity has
occurred in the Black community because they realize that
there is a bulls eye on Black Americans' backs. But, now the
fear in the Arab community is very real. Be prepared!
This is what Black American comedian Paul Mooney calls a
"Nigger Wake Up Call." It is for people of African-descent
who like to look down their nose at other Blacks, more than
likely based on White supremacist views, only for a White
person to remind them that they are not so special their
damn selves! A lot of immigrant Muslims look down their nose
at Black people until they find out they are Muslim. For
some, it does not matter! But, a nigger wake up call can be
extended to other communities, as well.
Unfortunately, I see a repeat trend: White Americans armed
to the teeth coming after people they consider to be
undesirable and threatening them while the government turns
a blind eye. Uh no, the gays are not the target although,
they love being professional victims. Believe me, if White
Americans were sniping them, these promosexuals would tip
toe right back into the closet before anyone could blink!
However, American history shows White Americans attacking
and destroying Black towns and churches with no one ever
being arrested, charged, and convicted.
How is it that no one was caught or charged in the 1963
Birmingham, Al church where 4 young girls were killed when
the FBI cordoned off the entire area only minutes after it
occurred? The FBI was already in the area! The convictions
were of 3 old White men nearly 40 years later. The FBI knew
their identities all along but waited until they had one
foot in the grave to prosecute them.
The FBI was also at this biker anti-Islam rally. They have
never been anything more than spectators where White
victimization of others is concerned. They can arrest
Muslims for thought crimes but, they will wait until a
kafir, White in particular, actually commits a crime before
being arrested. This is how it is supposed to be but, once
again, the rules do not apply to us. We should not have to
solely depend on law enforcement for our protection. Muslims
rely on Allah and each other for that.
I think it is beautiful to see everyone together and
interacting with one another at Eid's, Jummah, or other
Islamic gatherings. But, I also find it disheartening when I
see gatherings of Muslims still beginning and ending
Rammadan or Eid on the wrong day. They completely ignore the
Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) just to follow their own
nationality. As a Black American, I certainly realize that
not everyone who looks like me is my brother or sister.
Black Americans are not raised to be as nationalistic like
the people from the Caribbean or Latin America. They tend to
be more nationalistic and even xenophobic. When you walk
around Caribbean or Latino neighborhoods, you will see
multinational flags displayed throughout the areas. Jamaican
Marcus Garvey tried to unite people of African-descent with
his Pan-African Back to Africa Movement, which the NAACP was
created to destroy.
Interestingly, a former census taker told me that when she
asked Whites about their nationality they often responded
with, "White." They never saw themselves as Irish or Anglo
or French. Being White means everything to them and that
color is their unification factor. Well, the Flag of Islam
should unite us as Muslims. When we protest at these
anti-Islam rallies we are going against the government and
White racist xenophobes. They represent how America thinks
and behaves. Waving an American flag doesn't make a potent
statement against these devils because they know you are
trying to assimilate with them!
The oppressor only respects people who display self-love and
self-respect. Being a practicing Muslim, I am all for a
United Ummah under the banner of Islam just as Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) wanted. But, what is holding us back is
cultural arrogance and weak leadership. Obviously, not all
Muslims display such divisive behavior. Any Muslim lacking
knowledge of the Qur'an and displaying snobbery in the form
of cultural prejudice and sexism has no place in ANY Islamic
movement for change!
It is time for us to stop saying, "Phew, glad it's not me"
when we witness any form of oppression and start working
together to strengthen our ties with one another, as well as
other oppressed people in America. Uniting under your
nationality is an isolationist agenda that only benefits our
enemies. Our enemies can unite whether it is for race, an
idea, or some other evil agenda! These bootlicking Muslims
display their nationalist attitudes to the detriment of the
Muslim ummah but, want to display the American flag to their
White kuffar enemies to show solidarity! Bass ackwards
behavior, indeed!
The Unbelievers are protectors, one of another: Unless ye do
this, (protect each other), there would be tumult and
oppression on earth, and great mischief. (8:73 Holy
Qur'an)
(Source: Yahoo! News)
Jamaat al-Muslimeen Activity in Washington, DC: 200 Muslims
received 8-Page Document after Juma' Salat
May 29, 2015: The Islamic Center of Washington, DC on
Massachusetts Avenue is the hub of the international Muslim
community. It was a large crowd and after juma' salat 200
worshippers from at least 20 countries received an 8-page
document. This was the best place and time to get the
message of Jamaat al-Muslimeen's shoora resolutions out to
the Muslim world. Here is a summary of the 8-page
document:
&
Twenty two Resolutions on US Muslim stand in
support of the Baltimore Uprising, Palestine, Rohingya boat
people, Kashmir, Mexican immigrants, political prisoners,
boycott of Zionist businesses and against Egypt's tyranny,
bombing of Muslim countries, the mass murderer Assad,
homosexuality and much more.
Hadith on Women's right to travel alone for a good
cause.
&
Muslim woman abused by Agha Khanis over three years
reveals the ugly beliefs of the Ismaili cult. Rich "imam"
living in Paris investigated.
IS victory in Ramadi and release of 400 prisoners Plus
Israeli billionaire supporting Hillary Clinton.
200 of Assad's elite troops wiped out by IS in Syria:
Notorious Tadmur prison liberated.. Half of Syria in Islamic
hands.
Mother's Day in America covers up exploitation of women.
[Sis. Aisha, New York]
Huge Canadian Arms Deal with Saudi Arabia Raises
Question:
Use Against Saudi People is Probable
[Courtesy: Globe and Mail, Canada, May 27]
The Canadian government is refusing to say whether it
obtained assurances that light armoured vehicles being sold
to Saudi Arabia in a massive $15-billion deal would not be
used against the Saudi people - a key guarantee required by
federal export controls when arms are destined for countries
with a "persistent record of serious violations of the human
rights of their citizens."
This controversial 2014 agreement to ship made-in-Canada
light armoured vehicles to the Mideast country is coming
under increased scrutiny after much-publicized incidents of
torture and mistreatment by Saudi authorities, including the
videotaped beheading of a woman in Mecca this month and the
flogging and jailing for blasphemy of a writer who has
Canadian ties. Raif Badawi, sentenced to 1,000 lashes for
insulting Islam, has a wife and children who've been granted
asylum in Canada.
The Harper government calls the export contract a major
success, one that will sustain 3,000 advanced manufacturing
jobs for the 14-year length of the deal as well as thousands
of other jobs for suppliers across the country. Ottawa went
to great lengths to make the transaction happen, taking on
contractual obligations for the sale through a Crown
corporation. It's by far the largest export deal ever
brokered by the government's Canadian Commercial Corp. and
the manufacturer is General Dynamics Land Systems Canada in
London, Ont.
Critics say Canada should be more concerned about how these
light armoured vehicles, often outfitted with weapons, will
be used given Saudi Arabia's terrible record on basic rights
such as freedom of belief, of assembly and of association as
well as the treatment of women and the administration of
criminal justice.
"If you criticize the government you're very likely to be
jailed, investigated, convicted, [and] sentenced to some
ludicrously long prison term, especially in the last few
years since 2011 when the Saudis developed a paranoia about
the emergence of any sort of domestic challenge or
opposition," Adam Coogle, a researcher with Human Rights
Watch said.
Canada is developing stronger ties with the Saudis. Foreign
Affairs Minister John Baird's department has made a
get-together between him and Turki al-Faisal, a leading
member of the Saudi royal family, a "Priority A" goal for
his visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland,
this week, documents obtained by The Globe and Mail
show.
The Canadian government boasts that its export controls are
among the strongest in the world and one of these federal
rules obliges Ottawa to ensure it's not helping countries
with poor human-rights records oppress its own citizens.
The government is required to demonstrate "there is no
reasonable risk that the goods might be used against the
civilian population" before it approves applications for
export permits to countries with persistent records of
violating the rights of their citizens.
Ottawa, however, won't say whether it has determined this to
be the case with the light armoured vehicles (LAVs) heading
to Saudi Arabia.
"For reasons of commercial confidentiality, the Department
of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development does not comment
on specific applications," Francois Lasalle, spokesman for
the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade,
said in an e-mail.
Much of the deal is shrouded in secrecy.
The Crown corporation brokering the deal refuses to say how
many LAVs Canada will supply to Saudi Arabia, citing a
confidentiality clause in the deal, although Ken Epps, with
Project Ploughshares, an anti-war group, estimates it's
hundreds, if not thousands. Ottawa also won't say whether
Canada is installing weapons on the LAVs before they're
shipped, again citing confidentiality.
Mr. Epps, who tracks arms shipments as part of his work,
said he does not believe Ottawa could have assured itself
the LAVs wouldn't be used against Saudi civilians before
approving the transaction.
"The sole remaining conclusion is that the Canadian
government deliberately ignored its own guidelines to allow
this unprecedented military sale to proceed," Mr. Epps
said.
Max Moncaster, spokesman for International Trade Minister Ed
Fast, noted that Canada's history of supplying LAVs to the
Saudis dates back decades, to at least 1993.
He said Canada always ensures that exports of controlled
goods such as arms are "consistent with Canada's foreign and
defence policies."
Alex Neve, secretary-general of Amnesty International
Canada, points to how the Saudis have used armoured vehicles
in the past. "[They] are known to use armoured vehicles and
other weapons in dispersing peaceful protest, such as the
role that Saudi security forces played in helping crush
popular protests in Bahrain during the Arab Spring," he
said.
"The government should release the details of the assessment
it made in support of the decision to authorize this sale
and explain why they are confident these armoured vehicles
will not be used to violate human rights," Mr. Neve
said.
NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar, who said his party
has opposed the LAV deal from the start, called on the
Harper government to release its deliberations regarding the
sale. "What are they hiding here? When you're dealing with
countries with questionable human rights records, you need
to have absolute accountability and transparency."
Islamic Leader Speaks Against Countrywide Corruption and
Urges the Need for Extensive Change
by Qaiser Sharif [Lahore]
May 29: Addressing a big Friday congregation at the Mansoora
mosque, Sirajul Haq, Ameer Jamaate Islami said that the
worst form of dictatorship was clamped on the country in the
name of democracy and the rulers thought themselves above
the law.
The JI chief said that the masses had been trying the
secular parties and the supporters of the status quo for the
last 68 years but the things were getting worse day by day.
He said that things like the rule of law, the supremacy of
the constitution or merit were something unknown in the
country. The rulers were above the law, and they were
plundering the national wealth with both hands.
Sirajul Haq said that incidents like the Model Town tragedy
and Daska killings were taking place in routine and scores
of people were gunned down but even their FIR was not
registered unless there was a protest. People known for
corruption and plunder were occupying important posts in the
government, he added. He said that the poor masses voted for
the wealthy people because of their influence in the society
in the hope that they would solve their problems but they
were disappointed.
He said the JI had decided to spare no efforts for freeing
the masses from the clutches of the tyrant rulers. He urged
the masses to vote for the JI for the enforcement of the
Nizam e Mustafa.
On the international scene, Sirajul Haq said that the
enemies of Islam were trying to obstruct the emergence of
the true Islamic leadership in the Muslim countries in order
to check the rapid advance of Islam in the world. They were
making misleading propaganda against Islam through the
media. However, it was interesting that in spite of the
western propaganda projecting Islam as a cruel and inhuman
system, thousands of the non- Muslims were embracing Islam.
This was because Islam is the message of love, brotherhood
and peace.
He impressed upon the JI workers to fan out in their areas
and intensify their efforts and pass on the message of the
JI to all and sundry and enlist JI members for a major
change in the next elections.
JI/ Lawyers
JI delegation visits Daska Bar for condolence
LAHORE, May 29; A Jamaat e Islami delegation headed by JI
Secretary General, Liaqat Baloch, on Friday visited Daska
Tehsil Bar and expressed their deep condolences with the Bar
office bearers and the lawyers community on the killing of
two lawyers by police firing.
The delegation which included JI Information Secretary
Amirul Azeem, and General Secretary, JI, Punjab Nazir Ahmed
Janjua, offered condolences with the brother of the Tehsil
Bar president Rana Khalid Abbas and the family.
Speaking on the occasion, Liaqat Baloch said that the entire
country was in a state of shock over the Daska tragedy. He
said it was time that we learnt a lesson from the Daska
tragedy and the weaknesses in the police and the judicial
system were removed.
LAHORE, May 29; The central leadership of the Milli Yakjehti
Council (MYC) has convened the MYC committees for the
monitoring of Friday sermons, conciliation, academics and
research and implementation on the recommendations of the
Islamic Ideological Council in Islamabad, on June 16.
MYC leaders including Maulana Abdul Jalil Naqshbandi, Pir
Syed Mahfuz Mashhadi, Hafiz Abdur Rahman Makki and Qazi
Zafarul Haq would attend. The meeting would also chalk out
programme for the Independence Day on the 27th of Ramadhan,
and the Al-Quds Day.
War News
Pakistan
Mass Arrests of Afghans in Pakistan: Maulvi Fazlullah be
handed over, Pakistan Urges Afghan Regime
ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Interior urged
the government of Afghanistan on Thursday to hand over
Mullah Fazlullah — chief of the Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP) — to Pakistani authorities.
Photo taken from video by the TTP's media wing shows its
leader Mullah Fazlullah.
Senator Rehman Malik, chairman of the Senate body on
interior, said Fazlullah was involved in the killings of
thousands of Pakistanis and his arrest was essential to give
terrorists a death blow.
The Senate standing committee also directed interior
ministry officials to submit details regarding terrorists
arrested and killed by security forces in the ongoing
operations against militants.
"It is important to know details of the terrorists that have
been killed and arrested by security forces during
operations. The ministry of interior needs to submit names
of all such terrorists including their fathers' names and
pictures," said Senator Rehman Malik, chairman of the Senate
standing committee on interior.
Awami National Party's Senator Shahi Syed said law
enforcement agencies had arrested over 40,000 suspects,
adding that the nation wanted to know the identification of
those in custody.
Hamid Ali Khan, coordinator of the Nation Counter Terrorism
Authority (Nacta), informed committee members that the
interior ministry had banned 127 terrorist organisations
including 67 outfits that had been outlawed by the United
Nations.
Briefing members on implementation of the National Action
Plan (NAP), Hamid said the government had set a deadline of
December 31, 2015, for the return of Afghan refugees from
Pakistan.
"Over 19,000 unregistered Afghans have been arrested by law
enforcement agencies and all district administrations were
directed to register them on a priority basis," he said.
He said the ministry had cancelled 260,000 arms licenses in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 10, 000 in Punjab and 3,000 in
Sindh.
Hamid said forces had arrested over 49,000 suspects during
46,000 intelligence-based operations while the police had
registered cases against 300 suspects involved in terrorism
activities across the country.
Members of the committee expressed concern on the "slow
momentum" in the implementation of the 20-point National
Action Plan.
The Senate body directed Nacta's national coordinator to
take steps for reforms in the curriculum of religious
seminaries along with proper registration of such
institutions to keep a check on the sources of their
funding.
PML-N Senator Chaudhary Tanvir said it was the
responsibility of the ministry of foreign affairs to
highlight involvement of foreign countries that support
terror activities inside Pakistan
Syria
Mujahideen Capture Ariha: IS Moves on
Hasakeh. Frenzy of Bombing by Alawite Assad Air Force.
May 29-30-31
A coalition of mujahideen groups, al-Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham
and others captured Ariha. Alawite Assad forces retreated
from Ariha. The mujahideen chased them and after heavy
fighting captured two checkpoints which were blocking their
advance.
In the north east at Hasakeh, the Islamic State launched an
offensive against the fortified Alawite forces koyal to
Assad.
In the center, IS is slowly moving from Tadmur into Homs
province. It has blown up the notorious Tadmur prison after
releasing the prisoners. This is where Assad's secret
services used to brutalize and torture Muslim prisoners for
decades.
North of Aleppo, IS captured El-Bab but this was followed by
frantic bombing of the entire area by Assad's air force o
Aleppo were also bombed. The indiscriminate bombing meant to
terrorize the people killed 147 civilians, including scores
of women and children, according to the Syrian Human Rights
Observatory.
The al-Nusra leader al-Jolani said in an interview with
al-Jazeeera that the mujahideen forces will concentrate on
the capture of Damascus and the removal of the tyrant
Assad..
It will not bother or mistreat Christians and will not
attack American and western targets unless the Americans
continue to bomb them. He said there is no Khorasan group
which America claims to have been bombing. America was in
fact bombing al-Nusra.
Iraq
Shi'ite forces supported by the US Air Force launch counter
offensive against to re-capture Ramadi.
May 28-31: According to Reuters, large Shi'ite militia
forces backed by Iranian artillery and bombing raids by the
US air force, have begun the attempt to recapture
Ramadi.
Iranian backed militia are also trying to re-open the road
to the refinery in Baiji.
A small IS force is defending Ramadi and has brought the
city back to normal. All activities have been restored
except smoking and alcohol.
In return IS advance guard has moved forward 7 miles from
Ramadi towards Baghdad.
Ramadan
Why is Ramadan a month of Blessings and Peace?
by Imam Ali Siddiqui
O! You who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was
prescribed for the people before you, so that you may
acquire self control and God-consciousness - Quran 2:183
1435th Ramadan - the Month of Blessings and Peace 1.8
billion Muslims of the world will celebrate the blessed
month of Ramadan starting Thursday, June 18, 2015. During
this month, healthy Muslim adults will observe fasting
during the daylight hours.
Muslim Fasting is a total abstention from eating and
drinking from dawn to dusk for 29 or 30 days of the month of
Ramadan. In addition, avoiding immoral behavior and anger
and showing compassion is part of the requirements of
fasting. The purpose of fasting is manifold. Allah (the God
Almighty) mentioned it in the Holy Book of Islam, Quran,
that fasting is prescribed for the believers as it was
prescribed for the people before them, so that they may
acquire self control and God-consciousness (Quran 2:183).
Therefore, the purpose of fasting is to develop
self-control, God-consciousness, improvement of health by
reducing or eliminating impurities from the body, and to
become aware of the plight of the poor, hungry, and the
sick.
Ramadan is a month of spiritual consciousness and high sense
of social responsibility.The fulfillment of one's
obligations during this month is rewarded 70 times. Fasting
is one of the 5 pillars of Islam including Announcement of
Faith, Salaat (praying 5 times a day), Zakaat (the right of
the poor on the wealth of the financially able), Fasting
during the month of Ramadan, and Hajj (once in a life time
pilgrimage to Kaaba). It is an obligation on every adult and
healthy Muslim to fast during the month of Ramadan.
The month of Ramadan is also the month in which Holy Quran
was sent down from the highest level of heaven to the 1st
level, from where it was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him) in a piece meal basis over a period of 23
years. It is a very joyous occasion for the Muslims of the
world. They fast during the day, pray, and read Quran during
the part of the night.
There is a special night called the Night of Power, which is
mentioned in the Quran (Chapter 97), as a night of peace,
mercy, and light. Worshiping during this night is better
than the worship of 1,000 months. During this night,
Muhammad was chosen by Allah, as the Messenger of God, and
Quran was sent to the 1st level of heaven. During this
night, Allah, God Almighty, sends down an army of special
angels, under the leadership of Archangel Gabriel, who go to
every nook and cranny of the earth to pray for the mercy of
Allah, God Almighty, and salvation of the believers.
Unlike common calendar, which is Solar based, Islamic
calendar is Lunar based. It does not mean that Muslims
worship moon. It's another way to count days of the month
and the year. Like all Islamic months, Ramadan, 9th Lunar
month, begins after sighting the Crescent, but not the new
moon which is a dark disk. This year the new moon will be on
Tuesday, June 16, 2015. The probability to see the Crescent
for Ramadan is on Wednesday, June 17, 2015, just after the
sunset on the Western horizon.
All healthy Muslim adults including homemakers, school-going
kids around the age of 13, factory workers, businessmen, and
others among them will be fasting. Your Muslim neighbors
will be getting up very early to take their sahoor, a
pre-dawn meal before starting their fast. So, don't get
alarmed if you hear lot of noise next door. Summer School
and Summer Camp staff has to show understanding and
consideration towards Muslim students who may be fasting
during the month of Ramadan from June 18 to July 17, 2015.
They should be assigned alternate activities instead of
strenuous outdoor Physicians should also understand that
their patients might be fasting. They should prescribe the
medicine in a way that they could take it with their
pre-dawn or after sunset meals. However, if the patients'
life may be in jeopardy, explain it to the patients or seek
help from a Muslim Medical Chaplain at a local hospital or
an Imam/director of a local Masjid/Islamic Center. According
to Muslim physicians, there are some physiological benefits
from Muslim Fasting (total abstention from food and liquids)
including lowering of blood sugar, lowering of cholesterol,
and lowering of systolic blood pressure.
At the completion of month of Fasting, Muslims all over the
world celebrate their holiday of Eid al-Fitr. It is the
biggest Muslim holiday. It is a true thanksgiving for a
Muslim believer for having the opportunity to obey Allah,
God Almighty, by observing Fasting. It is celebrated on the
1st day of 10th Lunar month, Shaw'waal. This year, it will
be on June 18.
The holiday begins with Muslims putting on their best,
preferably new clothes and going to the Eid congregation.
Eid congregations are very large gatherings of Muslim men,
women, and children across the country. You can also witness
these gatherings by simply finding out through Web,
newspapers, radio, and TV. Afterwards, people greet each
other with hugs and handshakes. The children receive gifts
of money and toys. After the congregation, Muslims visit
each other at their homes and hold lunches or dinners for
family and friends. Don't be surprised if you are invited to
an Eid dinner or Eid celebration by your Muslim neighbors or
friends. Please do accept such an invitation. The
hospitality, friendliness, and variety of international
Muslim cuisine will pleasantly surprise you.
Greetings of Ramadan, Ramadan Karim!
P.S. Muslims should call their local Masjid for the
beginning and end of Ramadan.
Additional information can be acquired through e-mail:
alisiddiqui.imam@gmail.com
Also check http://www.crescentwatch.org/cgi-bin/cw.cgi
Viewpoint & Analysis
Baltimore: The New Gaza
What Role for Muslims (and Other People of Conscience)?
By Nadrat Siddique
On Saturday, April 25, a large protest against the police
murder of Black Baltimore native Freddie Gray was called by
the Baltimore Peoples Power Assembly and the Baltimore Bloc.
By evening, the legal permitted protest dissolved into large
scale street blockages, including, to the chagrin of the
authorities, in the vicinity of the stadium where the
baseball game was underway. Traffic came to a standstill,
and a very large number of police descended on the area and
surrounded the protestors. Corporate media immediately
characterized the spontaneous actions following the
permitted protest, as riots—and the participants as
thugs, hoodlums, rioters, and other pejoratives. The media
accorded similar treatment to the student action near
Baltimore's Mondawmin Mall two days later.
Given all that Baltimore youth have endured for decades, and
given the dehumanization, degradation, marginalization, and
indeed genocide, which much of Black Baltimore has
experienced in a largely Black city, under an administration
which can only be characterized as Jim Crow in Black face,
the Baltimore Uprising was inevitable. The only thing
surprising about it was that it took so many years to reach
this point. This report examines the events of Saturday,
April 25 and Monday, April 27, and the underlying political
climate which led to them. It starts with an overview of
conditions in Baltimore, including the city's vast prison
industry and the daily police terror faced by Baltimore
natives, then focuses on the specific conditions under which
Baltimore's Black and Brown youth live. Finally, it attempts
to illustrate the inevitability of the Baltimore Uprising.
An interview with grassroots activist, Reverend Annie
Chambers, whose Big Momma's House for years offered support
to indigent Baltimore children and youth, follows the
report.
BACKGROUND
Although statistics don't tell the whole story, they are a
good starting point. According to U.S. Census Bureau figures
for Baltimore, the unemployment rate for young black men
between the ages of 20 to 24, was an astounding 37% in 2013.
For white men of the same age, the unemployment rate was
10%. Grassroots organizations, which work directly with
local populations in Baltimore, report even more dismal
statistics. The Baltimore Black Think Tank (BBTT), an
advocacy group for Black and poor people in the city, says
nearly 60 percent of Black males in Baltimore are
unemployed.
According to government sources, nearly 24% of Baltimore's
population is living below the poverty line ($20,090 per
year for a family of three). But, according to the BBTT,
"Economic Conditions for 67% of the total Black population
in Baltimore City have been determined to be critical."
In Baltimore, as elsewhere, economics clearly correlates
with how long and how well one will live. A juxtaposition of
the Black neighborhoods of Upton and Druid Heights, with the
primarily White, Jewish neighborhood of Roland Park is
telling: The life expectancy in Upton and Druid Heights is
63-years old. In Roland Park, it is 83-years old. In the
Sandtown‐Winchester/ Harlem Park community where
Freddie Gray lived, seven percent of the children have
elevated lead levels in their blood, with severe
implications for their development and well-being. In Roland
Park, no children have elevated lead levels in their blood.
Freddie Gray and his two sisters had blood lead levels
"above the threshold for the kind of poisoning which causes
permanent brain damage," according to tests ordered by the
family, which successfully sued their then-landlord, but the
damage was already done. Freddie was in special education
classes for the duration of his academic career, and
ultimately dropped out of high school.
The gap in income between Upton/Druid Heights and Roland
Park is no less stark than that in life expectancy. In
Upton/Druid Heights, the median income is $13,388 a year. In
Roland Park, it is $90,492. These neighborhoods are less
than five miles away from each other. But this disparity is
not limited to Upton/Druid Heights, and Roland Park.
Citywide, average White income is almost twice as much as
that of Blacks.
Prison Industry
As in other big cities, poverty, unemployment,
disenfranchisement, and gentrification—
in short, the disinheriting of the poor—is invariably
addressed by the System through imprisonment of the target
population. To that end, there are nine prisons in
Baltimore. A tenth prison—for Baltimore
youth—was just approved by the Maryland State Board of
Public Works. All of the existing prisons were built by the
Democrats. So, while many, including Blacks, view the
Democratic Party as the friend of Black people, it is more
accurate to say the party is deeply enmeshed in the prison
industry in Baltimore, and as such, is the instrument of
White Supremacy.
If one is arrested in Baltimore, one is first taken to
Baltimore Central Booking. It is among the 20 largest jails
in the U.S. More than 73,000 people go through Baltimore
Central Booking every year. In comparison with the other 19
largest jails in the country, Baltimore has the dubious
distinction of holding the highest percentage of its
population in jail. As a result of years of gentrification,
only 63.7% of Baltimore's population is Black (29.6% are
White). Over 35,000 people are committed to the Baltimore
City Detention Center each year. The majority of these are
Black. This is yet one more indicator that this population
has been targeted for marginalization, demoralization, and
ultimately genocide.
The Baltimore jail system is one of the oldest and largest
pretrial facilities in the country. The Baltimore City
Detention Center consists of five buildings and can hold
around 4,000 people. Significantly—and very
differently from other jails—the Baltimore Jail system
is paid for by the State of Maryland, not by Baltimore. This
means there is no incentive for Baltimore authorities to
limit the number of people they arrest and incarcerate. So,
not surprisingly, nearly 4,000 people are locked up in the
Baltimore Jail system on any given day.
Roughly nine out of 10 of those held in the Baltimore Jail
system have not yet gone to trial, and hence are still
legally innocent. The majority of those being held are Black
men, mostly under the age of 35.
Of the approximately 4,000 people detained at Central
Booking on any given day, about 33% are accused of violent
offenses. Twenty-eight percent (28%) are incarcerated for
drug offenses. Another 19% are held on other nonviolent
offenses (other than drugs). Twelve percent are locked up
for a violation of probation. The jail itself classifies 27%
of detainees as low security. So, even at this pre-trial
level, it is safe to say that a very large percentage of
detainees are held for non-violent offenses, by a White
Supremacist power structure which has a vested interest in
their labeling, marginalization, and ultimately their
elimination.
After one is convicted in Baltimore, one is usually removed
to state prison. Statistics for who is in state prison,
revealed in a February 2015 report by the Justice Police
Institute (JPI) in collaboration with the Prison Policy
Initiative, are eye-opening. One out of three Maryland
residents in state prison is from Baltimore. This is despite
the fact that Maryland is a relatively populous state, and
only one in ten Maryland residents is from Baltimore.
The JPI report examined 55 communities in Baltimore. Off the
55 communities, five contributed the largest number of
people to state prison. The community sending the largest
number of people to prison was—not
surprisingly—that of Freddie Gray:
Sandtown‐Winchester/Harlem Park. There, 3% of the
total population is in prison. So, 458 people from Freddie
Gray's community are locked up in Maryland state prison. And
the state spends $17 million on keeping them there.
Freddie Gray's community is 96.6 % Black. There,
unemployment for people between the ages of 16 - 64 is 52%.
Thirty‐four percent (34%) of the inhabitants do not
have a high school diploma or GED. One out of three houses
in the community was vacant or abandoned in 2012.
Just below Freddy's community in terms of highest
incarceration were the communities of Southwest Baltimore,
Greater Rosemont, Clifton‐Berea, and Southern Park
Heights. A combined total of 1,416 people from these
communities are held in Maryland state prison. So, one in
four people who are in prison from Baltimore City come from
these four communities, plus Freddy's community of
Sandtown‐Winchester/ Harlem Park. Most of these
communities are Black. And Maryland taxpayers dole out $10
million per year to each of these communities to lock up
their citizens.
The community with the smallest number of people locked up
was Greater Roland Park/Poplar Hill. Not surprisingly, the
population of Roland Park is 77.5% White, with Asians
forming 9.8% of the population, and Blacks 7.9%.
The report enlarged its scope to name the 25 Baltimore
communities with the highest incarceration rates. These
were: Pimlico/Arlington/Hilltop; Southern Park Heights;
Dorchester/Ashburton; Forest Park/Walbrook; Greater
Mondawmin; Penn North/Reservoir Hill; Greater Charles
Village/Barclay; Edmondson Village; Greater Rosemont;
Sandtown‐Winchester/Harlem Park; Upton/Druid Heights;
Allendale/Irvington/South Hilton; Southwest Baltimore;
Greater Govans; Northwood; Midway/Coldstream; Belair/Edison;
Cedonia/Frankford; Greenmount East; Clifton‐Berea;
Oldtown/Middle East; Madison/East End; Patterson Park (North
and East); Cherry Hill; and Brooklyn/Curtis Bay/Hawkins
Point.
Most of these 25 communities are majority Black. A few of
the communities had working class/poor White populations. At
least $5 million per year is spent by Maryland taxpayers to
incarcerate people from each of these twenty-five
communities. Seven out of 10 Baltimore residents in a state
prison in 2010 were from one of these 25 communities. In
total, Maryland taxpayers spend $288 million each year to
lock up mostly Black and poor people from Baltimore
City.
Police Murders
After the establishment of Baltimore's Central Booking, it
became the job of the police to deliver people there.
(Previously police had taken suspects to the respective
precincts where they were arrested.) However, many people
never make it to Central Booking because they are
brutalized—sometimes to death—by police prior to
being booked, charged, tried, or convicted. Police brutality
is epidemic. Before Freddie Gray, there was 46-year old
Anthony Anderson, slammed to the ground so hard by police
that his spleen ruptured. There was Maurice Donald Johnson,
shot multiple times by police in his mother's living room.
There was 22-year old Sean Gamble, retreating to his car
parked outside a nightclub, shot multiple times by police.
Twenty-nine year old Dale Graham, shot by police after a
family disagreement. Fourteen-year old Kevin Cooper shot
inside his mother's home by police. Thirteen-year old Monae
Turnage shot dead on her way home from watching a movie with
school friends, with a rifle later found in a plainclothes
police officer's car. Forty-four year old Tyrone West,
pulled by his dreadlocks from his sister's Lexus which he
was driving, to be beaten and stomped to death by 12 police
officers. Twenty-nine-year old George Booker Wells, shot and
killed by police, after they chased him two blocks from his
girlfriend's house. Twenty-five year old Donte Bennett, shot
with his hands up after he'd been running from police.
William Torbitt, a Black police officer, shot to death by
other police officers near a nightclub. Nineteen-year old
George King, tasered to death by police as he lay
recuperating in a hospital bed. And heart wrenchingly, the
list continues to grow.
The States Attorney, a Zionist Jew named Gregg Bernstein,
was in office when most of these cases came to light. Tasked
with indicting in cases where a crime had occurred, he
refused to prosecute the officers in nearly every case,
saying the officers had not used excessive force, and had
followed police procedures. To him, it seemed of no
consequence that in some of the cases which came before him,
such as that of Anthony Anderson, the State's own medical
examiner had ruled the death a homicide. Similarly video
footage and eyewitness testimony of police beatings and use
of excessive force seemed of no matter to him. Bernstein
himself lived comfortably in Roland Park, a neighborhood of
zero percent incarceration.
Non-Fatal (but Serious) Incidents of Police Brutality
In addition to the people killed outright by the Baltimore
Police Department, a very large number of Baltimore Blacks
are profiled, harassed, or brutalized by police. By 2014,
the situation had gotten so far out of hand that even the
pro-establishment Baltimore Sun released a major report
revealing that large numbers of Baltimore natives had been
brutalized and battered so badly that they successfully sued
the city to the tune of $5.7 million. This included 102
separate court cases since 2011. (Since then, an additional
$587,250 has been awarded in settlements to subsequent
victims.) According to the Sun report, the cases show that
"officers have battered dozens of residents who suffered
broken bones — jaws, noses, arms, legs, ankles —
head trauma, organ failure, and even death, coming during
questionable arrests. Some residents were beaten while
handcuffed; others were thrown to the pavement."
An eighty-seven-year-old grandmother, named Venus Green, was
pushed, shoved, and brutalized by police to the extent that
she suffered a broken shoulder. She was then hogtied and
placed face down on her couch. A 26-year old pregnant woman,
named Starr Brown, was slammed to the ground by police,
despite her pleas that she was pregnant. Then there was
Dondi Johnson Sr. who was left paralyzed in 2005 after being
recklessly driven around by police.
Baltimore has a very large and visible Black Muslim
population. If one is evidently Muslim, one is greeted with
"As-salaam alaikom" at every turn. In that sense, Baltimore
is a very Muslim friendly city. But—Black Muslims are
the targets of police, along with everyone else. A 36-year
old Muslim named Abdul Salaam, was pulled from his car in
his driveway after police followed him home for an alleged
seat belt violation, slammed to the ground, then hogtied and
beaten so badly in front of his young son, that it was a
miracle he survived. Another Muslim, Salahudeen Abdul-Aziz,
whose beating by police resulted in a broken nose, facial
fracture and other injuries, was not taken to a hospital for
many hours.
These cases are known primarily because the victims filed
civil suits against the police, but for every case in which
charges are filed, there are a multitude of others which
never come to light because the victim fears police
retribution; is unaware of his or her rights; or lacks the
means, communication skills, or determination to bring
charges.
Perversely, the injuries, beatings, and trauma are
administered by police, who, in the United States, take an
oath to "protect and serve" their constituents. Even more
Orwellian, those who receive compensation for grievous
injuries, including some which could have resulted in death,
are not permitted to speak of their experience afterwards.
If they talk, their award can be rescinded in whole or in
part.
No Signs of Improvement
But even broad scale and successful litigation doesn't
appear to have made the police more responsive or
conscientious in their dealings with those whom they are
paid to serve. In May 2015, the Baltimore Sun published
another report on the condition of detainees brought to
Central Booking. They found that in the period from June
2012 through April 2015, a whopping 2,600 people were
brought by police to Central Booking with injuries so severe
the jail would not accept them (they had to be taken to the
hospital instead). "Intake officers in Central Booking noted
a wide variety of injuries, including fractured bones,
facial trauma and hypertension. Of the detainees denied
entry, 123 had visible head injuries, the third most common
medical problem" the report said. So while "rioting" youth
were framed by the corporate media and government as the
problem in Baltimore, many Baltimore residents pinpoint the
police as the problem, indeed as the source of the terror
under which they live.
Conditions for Baltimore Youth
After the street blockages on Saturday, April 25, and the
youth uprising on Monday, April 27, the authorities, fearing
an escalation and its implications for corporate interests,
instated a city wide curfew from 10:00 PM to 5:00 AM.
What people outside Baltimore forgot is that youth in
Baltimore were already under a curfew, enacted in June 2014,
prior to any putative riots. That curfew required youth
under 14 to be off the streets by 9:00 PM, and those age
d14-16 had to be off the streets by 10:00 PM on school
nights and 11:00 PM on weekends and over the summer. If they
ventured out, they could be nabbed off the street by police.
According to Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, police would
"bring youths found in violation of the new time limits to a
year-round youth connection center." In the process, a youth
could be handed over to Child Protective Services. Even if a
youth was not removed from his parent and placed with that
agency, parents faced a fine of up to $500.
The previous youth curfew, like the current city-wide one,
was selectively enforced. The June 2014 curfew was almost
never enforced in affluent, predominantly White areas. So
White youth could consort, congregate to smoke weed, and
engage in social interactions without
interference—actions which would quickly land Black
youth in the hands of the police.
Over and above police encounters arising from the curfew,
Black children and youth undergo experiences with police
early on which inculcate a well-founded distrust, animosity,
and fear in them. Black children—who watch their
parents, siblings, relatives, neighbors, or teachers being
degraded, abused, beaten, or even murdered by the
police—experience the trauma as if it is happening to
them. Given Baltimore's skyrocketing rates of police
brutality, many Black inner city children are traumatized by
seeing—whether on television, social media, or on the
street—people who look like them being frisked; pulled
from their cars and made to sit on the pavement; stomped,
beaten, or slammed to the ground; or being shot multiple
times by the police. Imagine a Black child listening to news
of little Monae Turnage murdered, her body covered with
trash, the rifle casings traced to a weapon in a police car.
Or hearing of young George King, tasered to death by police
while he lay helpless in a hospital bed. Many children fear
similar treatment will be dealt to them or someone close to
them.
According to Reverend Annie Chambers, a former Black
Panther, whose organization, Big Momma's house, offered
support services to indigent children in Baltimore for
years, the children, including teenagers who are already shy
and/or sensitive about their bodies, are stopped and
physically harassed on a whim by police. They are often
forced to strip to their underwear in public by police.
Sometimes the police go so far as to demand a body cavity
search, clearly meant to humiliate the child or youth.
Groping of girls' breasts by police during such a stop is
common, adds Reverend Chambers.
Actual detention of children is not unheard of either. The
city detention center has up to twenty minors in its custody
on any given day. The child prisoners are sometimes kept in
solitary confinement for a month or longer. In March 2015,
the U.S. Justice Department's Division of Civil Rights found
that "Teenagers awaiting trial on adult charges in Baltimore
are being kept in solitary confinement far too long —
up to 143 days in one case."
Indeed the State seems determined to imprison—rather
than to educate, nurture, or uplift—Baltimore's Black
youth. Up until 2013, the State's efforts were geared at
building a $70 million youth jail. After concerted lobbying
and citywide protests by the Baltimore Algebra Project and
other opponents, the plans were finally dropped. Then, on
May 13, 2015—just two weeks after the Baltimore Youth
Uprising, the Board of Public Works of the State of Maryland
approved plans to build a $30 million youth jail. This time
it was passed with little to no debate.
To add insult to injury, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan
reallocated $68 million—which legislators had set
aside for schools—to the pension system. Of the $68
million, Baltimore schools were to have gotten $11.6
million.
But then writing off Black youth is nothing new to the State
of Maryland. Around 1996, the situation was so dire that
parents of Baltimore City students sued the Maryland State
Department of Education for underfunding Baltimore City
Schools. One Judge Kaplin ruled that the Department of
Education was underfunding the Baltimore City Public School
System, in comparison to other districts in the state of
Maryland, and ordered the State to pay Baltimore City
schools their due. The state blatantly ignored his orders.
As a result, students lead strikes, hosted rallies, and
attempted to perform a citizen arrest of the Maryland State
Department of Education Superintendent Nancy Grasmick. In
subsequent years, similar lawsuits were filed against the
Maryland State Department of Education, but conditions did
not improve significantly.
In 2007, the Baltimore Black Think Tank reported that
Baltimore City Schools contained lead in the drinking
fountain water. In 2009, student leaders from the Baltimore
Algebra Project described the city's school buildings as
crumbling, the school bathrooms devoid of soap and paper
towels, the school lunches as inedible, and textbooks as
being in short supply.
By 2010, conditions in Baltimore City Public Schools had
deteriorated so significantly that students from the
Baltimore Algebra Project and other groups petitioned the
Board of Education to enact the "National Student Bill of
Rights." Included in the draft were demands such as: the
right to study curriculum which addressed the real,
material, and cultural needs of the communities from which
the students came; the right to safe housing; the right to
safe public schools; the right to high quality food; the
right to freedom from unwarranted search, seizure or arrest
by police; the right to establish systems of restorative
justice in schools and communities, and cessation of
exclusion from educational opportunities except by a jury of
peers; and the right not be charged for crimes as adults
until the age of 18."
The National Student Bill of Rights was swept under rug by
the Board of Education.
In 2013, in a continuing trend, the city closed 20
recreation centers which could have benefitted Black and
Brown youth. Not surprisingly, among these was the Lillian
Jones center at Gilmor Elementary, in Freddie Gray's
neighborhood. Four more recreation centers in the poor and
working class West Baltimore communities of Crispus Attucks,
Central Rosemont, Hilton and Harlem Park were closed
permanently.
While recreation centers were being closed left and right,
police department budgets seemed immune to cuts: "In 1991,
the city spent roughly $8.7 million to operate 76 recreation
centers. The budget for police that year was $182 million.
This year, the city will spend $10.6 million on its
recreation centers and $324.9 million on comparable law
enforcement programs," reported the Baltimore Sun.
One in three Baltimore City children live below the poverty
line. As Reverend Annie Chambers told this writer, many of
the children who came to Big Momma's House did not have
underwear or socks to wear to school. Once in school, they
didn't have pencils or paper to complete their
assignments.
Clearly Black youth in Baltimore face multiple challenges:
They are targeted by the police, the education system, the
prison system, the media, even by the local Arab or Indo-Pak
corner store owner who imagines them all to be criminals and
speaks to them only through a bullet proof glass partition.
Some such youth live in households lacking basic
necessities, such as food, clothing, shoes, and electricity.
Some have parents who are on drugs, "running the streets,"
or in the prison system.
Leading up to the Baltimore Uprising, government and
corporate interests had clearly determined that Baltimore's
youth were expendable. As an expendable segment of the
population, they were to be eliminated. To accomplish that
goal, Baltimore was turned into an open air prison, holding
little promise for its imprisoned population. That
population is offered only curfew, prisons, barbed wire, and
police beatings. Baltimore has, without exaggeration, become
the new Gaza.
April 25
After Saturday's [April 25] legal permitted march ended, the
protestors took it upon themselves to engage in disciplined
street blockages. They did not, at first, damage any
property. Then, near McKeldin Square (Baltimore Inner
Harbor) and Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles baseball
stadium), the protestors moved into the middle of the street
like a wave, and linked arms. They refused to move despite
police orders to do so, but remained largely peaceful. The
baseball game ended, and affluent White Baltimore Orioles
fans came pouring out of the stadium, but could not leave
due to the street blockages. Angered at being inconvenienced
by Black Baltimore, they hurled epithets of "n-gger" and
other obscenities at the protestors. Many protestors were
already enraged by the murder of yet another young black
man, Freddie Gray, and the expectation that the police would
once again be immune to prosecution. It was perhaps these
factors, coupled with the extremely heavy police cordons,
even during the peaceful protest, and the racial attacks by
the White Orioles fans, which caused some to snap. They took
to smashing police cars, knocking over barricades and
trashcans, and breaking windows. Their energies were focused
to a large extent on the Galleria (upscale shopping mall at
Baltimore's Inner Harbor), and nearby restaurants and bars,
built by the Zionists heading the Greater Baltimore
Committee, and viewed widely as part of the gentrification
which forced Black people out of the area over the past
decade. As a result of this action, the Baltimore light
rail, which stops near the stadium, and is usually littered
with drunk White Oriole fans after a game, suspended its
operations. The protestors did not disperse until after
11:00 PM.
April 27
Freddie Gray's funeral was held on the morning of April 27.
Many well-known politicians and religious figures attended
and spoke passionately about the injustice dealt to Freddie.
Shortly afterwards, some of them, notably Reverend Jesse
Jackson and Reverend Al Sharpton, met with the mayor,
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who oversaw the killing of Gray
and countless other Black men, not uttering a word against
the police.
Later that afternoon, when schools let out, the dynamics of
the situation took a 180 degree turn, as the youth took
charge. Near Mondawmin Mall, where many students catch buses
to return home after school, the buses were grounded by the
authorities. Left with no mode of transportation to their
homes, the students, with some teacher support, seized the
occasion, taking to the streets and facing off with police.
The standoff continued for hours, with students throwing
rocks, bricks, and urine at the heavily armed phalanx of
police. Hundreds of police cars, bearcats, armored personnel
carriers, and helicopters were called into the area.
It is instructive to examine the targets of the students
during Monday's events. The students targeted police vans,
like the one in which Freddie Gray was murdered. They
targeted police cars and police officers (98 police were
injured), instruments of the black community's repression.
They hit a fire truck, which was observed with cracked
windshield. They cut the hose on another fire truck, which
was in the process of extinguishing a fire at a CVS store,
also targeted in the action. Observers familiar with
historical role of fire trucks note that non-violent civil
rights activists, challenging White Supremacy during the
1960s and 1970s, were periodically doused with fire hoses,
whose concentrated stream of water could cause serious harm,
and even death to a protestor. In the eyes of many, fire
trucks were no more neutral than police cars.
The youth also targeted the Save-A-Lot (discount food chain)
and a CVS (drug) store. Community elders and others
confirmed to this writer that many youth felt they had a
rare opportunity to get "real food," and they took it. They
also expropriated toilet paper, medicine, and other
essentials, often in short supply in neighborhoods targeted
for financial ruin.
The "Sports Mart," an athletic shoe store owned by one Harry
Levy, in Mondawmin Mall was targeted. Interestingly,
television cameras revealed that the shoes taken were, in
many cases, singles (one shoe, as opposed to a pair). So the
shop owner was left with many single shoes, but few pairs.
The Jewish shoe store owner lamented on corporate media that
he had been in business for a good length of time, and would
be unable to reopen for business.
An incipient senior center was targeted. Southern Baptist
Church claimed to be behind the construction, but community
leaders confirm that the center was, in actuality, a pet
project of Johns Hopkins University, associated with
experimentation on Black people and organ harvesting of
Black corpses (without the consent of the dead). It is
widely viewed as a racist institution by Blacks.
A liquor store was hit by the youth. The Korean owners were
renowned for profiting from the sale of the toxin to Black
folk, whom they treated with such disdain as to use gloves
in case of accidental contact with the customers, whom they
viewed as a lower life form.
Corporate media was targeted: a WNEW reporter was assaulted
(other protestors stopped his assault). Corporate media were
clearly not popular amongst the youth, and with good reason:
these media insisted on using pejorative terminologies,
usually originating with government officials, for the youth
who were responding to savage police attacks. Yet Fox, WNEW,
and others never used such language for the police
perpetrators, and in a display of clearly slanted
journalism, failed to give any meaningful coverage to the
youth participating in the Uprising. They did not ask the
youth what were their goals or motivations, or what inspired
or angered them.
Instead, these media collaborated in insidious ways with the
establishment: As Baltimore Black Think Tank President David
Wiggins pointed out, WNEW, one of the main corporate media
organs issuing on-the-ground reports during the uprising,
promised to turn in its video to authorities. The
authorities, in turn, would use it to aid in prosecuting and
persecuting the youth. Many in the Baltimore Black
community, youth and adults alike, were quickly realizing
that the coverage given to the Uprising by corporate media
would be on par with that accorded to Katrina
survivors—one sided and exhibiting clear racial and
class bias.
A few days after the Monday youth uprising, a Baltimore
Orioles game was cancelled, with massive revenue losses to
the corporate interests in the area. Those losses continued
when the Orioles were forced to hold a subsequent game
before an empty stadium. The Baltimore youth were doing
exactly what global resistance movements against occupation
and tyranny have done throughout time—hitting tourism,
financial targets, and symbols of the occupation.
Has Peaceful Protesting Worked in Baltimore?
Baltimore has a long history of civic organizations, from
the NAACP, SCLC, NAN, Baltimore Algebra Project, APC, and
others protesting for Black causes. One family affected by
police brutality, the West family, have protested nearly
every Wednesday since the death of their loved one, Tyrone
West, nearly two years ago. Despite the presence of numerous
eye-witnesses to West's beating death by 10 -15 police, and
despite the family's weekly protests, not one officer was
fired from the police force, let alone indicted, convicted,
or jailed in the case.
In the Anthony Anderson case, although the State's own
medical examiner ruled the death of that innocent Black man
a homicide—the States' Attorney refused to indict.
Similarly, after every beating, shooting, or death in police
custody of a Black man or woman in Baltimore, people gather
to protest, chant, and march. They hold town halls, appeal
to City Hall, and lobby the legislature. And no indictments
of police are handed down. The police remain on paid leave
pending investigation. When the investigation is completed,
it is found they were acting within the limits of their
assigned duty.
One day, the youth decided that enough was enough.
Statements of Elected Officials and Others on the
Uprising
While the youth, like the youth of Gaza, Palestine, put
their lives and liberty on the line, paid politicians and
"leaders" were in damage control mode. They were largely
united in their pro-business stance:
President Obama said the "looters" should be treated as
"criminals" and "thugs." "There is no excuse for the kind of
violence we saw yesterday," he continued. "They're not
protesting. They're not making a statement. They're
stealing. When they burn down a building they're committing
arson."
Governor Larry Hogan opined, "These acts of violence and
destruction of property cannot and will not be tolerated. I
strongly condemn the actions of those who engaged in direct
attacks against innocent civilians, businesses, and law
enforcement officers."
Attorney General Loretta Lynch said, "I condemn the
senseless acts of violence by some individuals in Baltimore
that have resulted in harm to law enforcement officers,
destruction of property and a shattering of the peace in the
city of Baltimore. Those who commit violent actions,
ostensibly in protest of the death of Freddie Gray, do a
disservice to his family, to his loved ones, and to
legitimate peaceful protestors.."
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake chimed in, "The rioting, looting,
and violence will not be tolerated.. Too many people have
spent generations building up this city for it to be
destroyed by thugs, who in a very senseless way, are trying
to tear down what so many have fought for, tearing down
businesses, tearing down and destroying property.."
Baltimore City Council member Brandon Scott said, the
rioters were "cowards." Congressman Elijah Cummings
condemned the rioters for attempting to take advantage of a
chaotic situation and for "distracting from finding
solutions to the problem."
Pastor Jamal Bryant, the pastor of a megachurch in Baltimore
said, "Rioting and looting will not get us justice; nor will
it turn the tide." And Reverend Al Sharpton of the National
Action Network said, "We should be fighting the violence and
not adding to it."
The common thread among the politicians rushing to condemn
the youth was that none of them had previously taken a firm
stance or effective actions against police brutality or
police murders of Black people in Baltimore or elsewhere.
Nor had they instructed their constituents in effective
means of stopping police brutality and murder.
Statements from the Baltimore grassroots
In stark contrast to these statements was the stance of
prominent Baltimore grassroots leaders. Many of these had a
track record of opposing police brutality in Baltimore.
Naim Ajamu, a well-known community leader on Baltimore's
West Side said, "Why are we called thugs? Are those on Wall
Street called thugs? Are the Koch Brothers called thugs? Are
the criminals in politics called thugs!? We have been
marginalized over and over again! Stephanie Rawlings-Blake
is a thug! Hogan is a thug! Batts is a thug!
Reverend Annie Chambers of Big Momma's House said, "The
children struck a match, lit the fire. Let's hope the adults
have the sense to put some wood onto the fire, continue to
fight. I'm glad the children did what they did, because they
stood up and said I'm human and I want to be treated like
I'm human. I'm an instrument and a soldier in the Army of
the Lord. They're not thugs and thieves. They're truly
soldiers in the Army of the Lord."
Steven Ceci, of the All Peoples Congress said, "I stand
firmly with the youth of Baltimore that have every right to
rebel.. The fact of the matter is that what is occurring in
the streets of Baltimore is a rebellion, and yes, it is a
rebellion, not a riot. When people rise up because of a
political or social issue such as police terror and state
repression, then it is a rebellion. When white college
students flip cars over and burn them over a sporting event
which has no political meaning that is a riot. There are
various ways to protest, one of which is battling the police
and destroying private property."
David L. Johnson, Sr. of the News Networks and Analysis
Project/ Baltimore Black Think Tank, said, "Young people
showed them that this new world order ain't gonna be easy to
implement on their generation. Only the Uncle Toms seem
happy to comply with it.. A mayor and police commissioner
recklessly determined to protect business interest and
property above black lives is just not right. The saddest
point of the day is the fact that these negroes simply
cannot do any better. Young people showed them a thing or
two. White police with guns and ammo...Black people see that
every day. Black babies angry as hell--white folk ain't
never seen anything like it."
Darren Muhammad, "State of the City" talk show host and
grassroots activist said, "The biggest looter in recent
American history calling our young people looters.. If they
looted, they learned from the best, you Obama. You robbed
and looted Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Egypt, and other
countries.."
David Wiggins, Baltimore Black Think Tank President, said:
"Baltimore families and children deserve to be protected
from deprivations of civil rights under color of law and
murder by police under color of law. We will resist murder
under color of law with equal or greater force than you
attempt to use to force us into submission. We are not
intimidated, and we are cognizant of our natural right to
resist law enforcement under color of law used to force us
to submit to murder under color of law. Self-defense from
murder under color of law is not violence. The youth of
Baltimore are defending themselves from murder under color
of law, because you [Governor Larry Hogan] have failed to
protect them.
Conclusion
In Ferguson, when an NAACP representative was speaking at a
rally against police brutality shortly after the police
murder of Michael Brown, the youth turned their backs to
him. The established clergy and politicians have failed the
youth, and the youth know these have no backbone. As in
Ferguson, the youth in Baltimore are the real leaders. They
have an innate sense of justice. Time and time again, even
folk strongly opposed to the "riots" have told this writer
that it was the actions of the youth, at least in part,
which lead to the six police involved in Gray's murder being
indicted. Inshallah, history will judge the Baltimore
Uprising to have been inevitable, righteous, and
effective.
What should Muslims (and Other People of Conscience) do
now?
The Qur'an says: "Free the captives." It also says, "Incline
not to those who do wrong, or the Fire will seize you."
Further, the Sublime Book says, "And why should ye not fight
in the cause of Allah and of those who, being weak, are
ill-treated (and oppressed)? Men, women, and children, whose
cry is: "Our Lord! Rescue us from this town, whose people
are oppressors; and raise for us from thee one who will
protect; and raise for us from thee one who will help!"
What do these verses translate to in modern times? The
police force evolved from the slave patrols. The job of the
slave patrols was to capture runaway slaves and return them
to sordid situations of oppression. Today's slaves are the
innocents—the children of Baltimore and other cities
in urban America--upon whose necks the System has its boot.
We must free them from the prison in which America holds
them. Not all prisons have four walls. As we know from Gaza
, Palestine, a prison can be open air. Baltimore is a less
well known open air prison. Muslims should be a major force
at protests against police brutality. Masajid ought to
invite people who have been victims of police brutality to
speak. Muslims should take civil disobedience training.
General strikes, street blockages, economic boycotts, and
disruptions of the councils of the oppressor are very
effective non-violent tools. Muslims should be prepared to
use them when the time comes (following the leadership of
the native people of the area, off course).
Muslims should also study the power dynamics of the cities
they inhabit. Usually the ruling elite, who oppress Black,
Brown, Red, and the poor people domestically, operate
similarly on the international front, whether actively, or
through alliances with international oppressors. In
Baltimore, the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC), an
alliance of corporate interests, promulgates the White
Supremacist agenda, and spearheads gentrification and
disenfranchisement of the native Black population. At the
same time, many in the GBC appear to be Zionist (White
Supremacist) Jews, who contribute to the oppression of
Palestinians in Occupied Palestine. Every city has its
equivalent of the Greater Baltimore Committee. Muslims
should investigate the personalities in such business
entities, as well as in their local chamber of commerce, and
organize boycotts of businesses implicated in gentrification
and disenfranchisement.
What Muslims Should Not Do
Keeping in mind the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be
Upon Him): "Do not help the oppressor, even by handing him a
pen," Muslims should not engage in dialogue with police or
government officials who are responsible for, or oversee
police brutality. We should also be aware of which
opposition groups are meeting, either privately or publicly,
with representatives of the oppressive power structure.
Finally, be aware of front groups, coalitions, and others
which purport to be working to eliminate police brutality
and other social ills, but accept money from the power
structure (including 501(c) 3's). Obviously, one's
independence and integrity is impugned by accepting money
from an oppressor. Avoid working closely with these groups,
as they nearly always engage in feel good activities which
lead to a great deal of venting, but little real change.
Instead, either formulate new organizations, or work with
small, independent grassroots organizations, which rely on
funding from their members.
A CONVERSATION WITH REVEREND ANNIE CHAMBERS (BIG MOMMA'S
HOUSE)
-
MAY 1, 2015
Describe the area in which you work.
I work all over. Baltimore has changed a lot. They have
pushed out a lot of poor people. I work with people on
Caroline Street. Also the projects I work in are Perkins,
Douglas, Gilmor, and others. They're taking away public
housing. Now people have nowhere to live. We fight for basic
things like food and shelter. Shelter is getting to be a
real challenge.
I work with a mother with three children. The police came to
her house and found a tiny amount of marijuana. As a result,
she and her three children are homeless. Average rent in
Baltimore is $800 or $900 per month, which she cannot
afford. She goes from place to place, depending on family
members to take her in. The homeless shelters in the city
are a joke. Her sixteen-year old can't stay with her at a
shelter because he's considered an adult male. She wanted to
stay with me, when I have is a one bedroom. She says all she
needs is a floor to sleep on.
Describe the conditions faced by the young people in
Baltimore.
I deal with children and people on a daily basis who don't
have shoes. They wear fifty cent flip flops all summer long.
And it's not only that they don't have shoes. You got
parents who can't get a proper shirt or pair of pants.
We dressed the children ourselves, because they don't have
clothes.
The children come to me are often hungry. A boy told me ten
different ways to fix "Oodles of Noodles." He wanted to know
why I didn't have "Oodles of Noodles." I hate "Oodles of
Noodles." One day I made spaghetti, and he had some. He said
it was some funny tasting "Oodles of Noodles." I gave him a
cupcake instead.
Many of the children we deal with are in a shelter at night.
They walk the street during the day. We take them on field
trips. We educate them in Black history. We teach them art.
Every child who went to Big Momma's house was one or two
grades ahead when they went back into the public school
system.
Do many of these children have parents who are locked
up?
If you have ten children, maybe half of those will have
parents who are locked up.
The education system has failed the children. The system
has failed them. We have failed them. The system thinks
nothing of putting them in prison. In fact, they think
nothing of putting the children in prison with the older
people.
If you're a black male walking down the street, you're a
target. I've seen police strip the boys down to their
underwear. Even make them take their underwear off. Do a
body cavity search. They will grope all over the girls'
breasts. And the children haven't done anything.
A ten-year old told me: The police better not mess with me.
I asked him what he would do if they did mess with him. He
said: I will kill the police.
Police stomp a man like Tyrone West in the chest. They know
what they are doing. Then they say it was okay, the man is
dead. But that man was a father, an uncle, a brother.
People think children don't see all these things. They keep
telling the children to be peaceful.
The children were tired. They were caged. How do you expect
them to feel when they keep seeing the police kill us. The
officials always come up with some explanation for why they
killed us.
How do you think Tyrone's children are going to feel when
they see that the police beat their father or uncle to
death? So the anger is already there in the children. The
powder keg was already there. The children throwing rocks in
Baltimore were not thugs, thieves, or soldiers. They did
what they had to, and now the whole world is noticing. I am
proud of them.
Minister Malcolm told us, never start a fight. But if they
bring it to you, make sure you finish the fight.
This government goes over the world talking about human
rights. We [Black people in Baltimore] ask: Am I not a
human? Just because my skin is brown, or black or red, am I
not a human? We have not gotten any human rights yet. We
have to pray, get up, and start battling. I'll be 75-years
old in August, and I've been praying to see this day.
I'm tired of the preachers, faith-based leaders. They keep
talking about peace. We haven't had any peace since we've
been here.
Those children were doing what we should have done. If you
want respect from those devils, you must command it. I
understand from people who were in the first march, people
were spitting on them. My grandson and other young people
told me they were spit on. They were called niggers. The
white people who were with them were called nigger lovers.
They had beer thrown on them. And they decided they were not
going to take it anymore.
All the public radio and television personalities were
talking bad about the children. Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson,
and all the other self-proclaimed advocates came into town,
and thumbed their nose at the people. They didn't march with
the people. They met with the mayor.
I didn't see any of these men come out in defense of the
children, except [Pastor] Jamal Bryant. And he stayed only
five minutes. I prayed that the Lord would smite them. They
are part of the problem. Then for [Baltimore Mayor]
Stephanie Rawlings Blake to call our children thugs. The
next election, everybody who has breath in their body should
work to get her out of office.
[Police Commissioner] Batts came into office with the
agenda to eliminate our people. His plan was to push Black
people out of the city. They got rid of all the Section 8
[subsidized] housing, making it very difficult for poor
people on very low incomes to survive in Baltimore.
Another problem that arises: If you don't have water, the
government can take your children from you.
Why would you not have water?
Because you couldn't pay your water bill.
And why would that be? Wouldn't a water bill be at most $30,
50, or 100? That doesn't seem like a big deal, considering
how high rent and utilities are in Baltimore.
The water bill may be $300, $400, or $500.
So the pretext of unpaid water bills is one way the System
separates Black children from their parents. In what other
ways do they attempt to destroy the Black family?
The media aired that clip of the woman who grabbed her son
out of the protest. She slapped him in the head. They aired
that many times. They were gloating over it.
But think about it: In the times we live in, if a Black
parent beats their child, they're going to jail. Parents
can't even holler at their children, because the police will
come and take the child away from the parent.
A woman across the street whipped her child for stealing out
the Dollar Store. The cops came and locked the mother up.
Next time they try to do that, I'm going to remind them
about that woman they put on TV. It was okay for her to hit
her son upside the head, because he was part of the Uprising
(which they call a "riot"). These people [in government] are
liars and connivers.
Talk about the terminologies used by the government and
corporate media to describe the young people who
participated in Monday's actions.
The word "thug" came out of our mayor's mouth. It got picked
up by the media who kept it going. "Hoodlums" came out of
the mouth of Dante Hickman who calls himself a minister.
Dante Hickman, of the Southern Baptist Convention?
Yes. And President Obama called them thieves. The media
picked that up and ran with it. These are labels put on the
children. If I'm hungry and can't get food, and I take some,
I'm a thief. If I'm oppressed and I strike back, I'm a
hoodlum. We didn't have a riot. I know what a riot is. I've
seen plenty of them. We had an uprising.
The thug is the police department. The hoodlums are those
down in City Hall who are doing the master's will. The
thieves are the carpetbaggers in the churches and
corporations. Put the labels where they belong.
The children struck a match. They lit the fire. Let's hope
the adults have the sense to put some wood onto the fire.
Continue to fight.
I'm glad the children did what they did because they stood
up and said, "I'm human and I want to be treated like I'm
human. I'm an instrument and a soldier in the Army of the
Lord." They're not thugs and thieves. They're truly soldiers
in the Army of the Lord.
Reverend Mother Annie Chambers is a Black Panther, a mother,
a grandmother, and a great grandmother. She's a fighter for
her people, which she considers to be all humanity.
Parts of this paper were first presented by the author
before the National Majlis-e-Shura of
Jamaat al-Muslimeen, in May 2015.
Endnotes
1 U.S. Census Bureau figures, quoted in CNN Money, April 29,
2015
2 U.S. Census Bureau figures, quoted in CNN Money, April 29,
2015
3 U.S. Census Bureau figures, quoted in CNN Money, April 29,
2015
4 Website for Baltimore Black Think Tank President,
http://davidanthonywiggins.com/
5 "The Right Investment: Corrections Spending in Baltimore
City," copyright 2015 by the Justice
Policy Institute, and the Prison Policy Initiative
http://prisonpolicy.org/origin/ or
www.justicepolicy.org/TheRightInvestment.
6 Southern Movement Assembly webpage:
http://www.southtosouth.org/#!Timeline-Baltimore-Black-commuities-
Police/cd0a/556322610cf2adc1ad583977
7 CNN Money, April 29, 2015
8 CNN Money, April 29, 2015
9 Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services web
page:
http://www.dpscs.state.md.us/locations/prisons.shtml
10 Baltimore Behind Bars, by the Justice Police
Institute
http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/10-06_rep_baltbehndbars_md-ps-ac-rd.pdf
11 Baltimore Behind Bars, by the Justice Police
Institute
http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/10-06_rep_baltbehndbars_md-ps-ac-rd.pdf
12 U.S. Census Bureau, 2010
13 Baltimore Behind Bars, by the Justice Police
Institute
http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/10-06_rep_baltbehndbars_md-ps-ac-rd.pdf
14 Baltimore Behind Bars, by the Justice Police
Institute
http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/10-06_rep_baltbehndbars_md-ps-ac-rd.pdf
15 Baltimore Behind Bars, by the Justice Police
Institute
http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/10-06_rep_baltbehndbars_md-ps-ac-rd.pdf
16 Baltimore Behind Bars, by the Justice Police
Institute
http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/10-06_rep_baltbehndbars_md-ps-ac-rd.pdf
17 Baltimore Behind Bars, by the Justice Police
Institute
http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/10-06_rep_baltbehndbars_md-ps-ac-rd.pdf
18 Baltimore Behind Bars, by the Justice Police
Institute
http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/10-06_rep_baltbehndbars_md-ps-ac-rd.pdf
19 Baltimore Behind Bars, by the Justice Police
Institute
http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/10-06_rep_baltbehndbars_md-ps-ac-rd.pdf
20 Baltimore Behind Bars, by the Justice Police
Institute
http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/10-06_rep_baltbehndbars_md-ps-ac-rd.pdf
21 Baltimore Behind Bars, by the Justice Police
Institute
http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/10-06_rep_baltbehndbars_md-ps-ac-rd.pdf
22 Baltimore Behind Bars, by the Justice Police
Institute
http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/10-06_rep_baltbehndbars_md-ps-ac-rd.pdf
23 "The Right Investment: Corrections Spending in Baltimore
City," copyright 2015 by the
Justice Policy Institute, and the Prison Policy
Initiative
http://prisonpolicy.org/origin/ or
www.justicepolicy.org/TheRightInvestment.
24 "The Right Investment: Corrections Spending in Baltimore
City," copyright 2015 by the
Justice Policy Institute, and the Prison Policy
Initiative
http://prisonpolicy.org/origin/ or
www.justicepolicy.org/TheRightInvestment.
25 "The Right Investment: Corrections Spending in Baltimore
City," copyright 2015 by the
Justice Policy Institute, and the Prison Policy
Initiative
http://prisonpolicy.org/origin/ or
www.justicepolicy.org/TheRightInvestment.
26 "The Right Investment: Corrections Spending in Baltimore
City," copyright 2015 by the
Justice Policy Institute, and the Prison Policy
Initiative
http://prisonpolicy.org/origin/ or
www.justicepolicy.org/TheRightInvestment.
27 "The Right Investment: Corrections Spending in Baltimore
City," copyright 2015 by the
Justice Policy Institute, and the Prison Policy
Initiative
http://prisonpolicy.org/origin/ or
www.justicepolicy.org/TheRightInvestment.
28 "The Right Investment: Corrections Spending in Baltimore
City," copyright 2015 by the
Justice Policy Institute, and the Prison Policy
Initiative
http://prisonpolicy.org/origin/ or
www.justicepolicy.org/TheRightInvestment.
29 "The Right Investment: Corrections Spending in Baltimore
City," copyright 2015 by the
Justice Policy Institute, and the Prison Policy
Initiative
http://prisonpolicy.org/origin/ or
www.justicepolicy.org/TheRightInvestment.
30 "The Right Investment: Corrections Spending in Baltimore
City," copyright 2015 by the
Justice Policy Institute, and the Prison Policy
Initiative
http://prisonpolicy.org/origin/ or
www.justicepolicy.org/TheRightInvestment.
31 "Undue Force," Baltimore Sun, September 28, 2014
32 "Undue Force," Baltimore Sun, September 28, 2014
33 "Undue Force," Baltimore Sun, September 28, 2014
34 "Undue Force," Baltimore Sun, September 28, 2014
35 "Undue Force," Baltimore Sun, September 28, 2014
36 "Family of man who died in Baltimore police custody files
lawsuit," Baltimore Sun, June 23,
2014
37 Baltimore Sun, May 9, 2015
38 Baltimore Sun, May 9, 2015
39 Baltimore Sun, May 9, 2015
40 Baltimore Sun, June 4, 2014
41 Baltimore Sun, June 4, 2014
42 Baltimore Sun, May 13, 2015
43 Baltimore Sun, March 27, 2015
44 "State approves $30 million youth jail," The Baltimore
Sun, May 13, 2015
45 "Hogan funds pensions, but nothing more for schools, "The
Baltimore Sun, May 15, 2015
46 "The Case for the National Student Bill of Rights," By
Bryant Muldrew
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/democracy_and_education/2012/4/the_case_for_the_national_
student_bill_of_rights.html
47 "Algebra Project students demand a better education,"
Baltimore Sun, September 24, 2009
48 National Student Bill of Rights
http://nationalstudentbillofrights.org/the-rights-we-should-ave/
49 "City closes about 20 rec centers; private groups fill
gap," Baltimore Sun, July 2, 2013
50 CNN Money, April 29, 2015.
51 "Surveillance Video Shows Looting Inside Mondawmin Mall"
CBS Baltimore, April 28, 2015
52 "Obama shames Baltimore looters and condemns 'riots in
the streets"
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3059336/Obama-shamesBaltimore-looters-condemns-
riots-streets.html
53 "Statement From Governor Larry Hogan On Violence In
Baltimore City," April 27, 2015
http://governor.maryland.gov/2015/04/27/statement-from-goveror-larry-hogan-on-violence-in-
baltimore-city/
54 Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, Press
Release, April 27, 2015
55 Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, April 27, 2015
56 CNN, April 27, 2015
57 Naim Ajamu facebook page, April 29, 2015
58 Steve Ceci facebook page, April 28, 2015
59 David L. Johnson, Sr. facebook page, April 27 - 28,
2015.
60 David Wiggins facebook page, (April 28)
