National

Justice Not Delayed in Baltimore

Published

11 years ago

May 5, 2015

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake of Baltimore, Md., speaks to a staffer during a swearing in ceremony earlier this year. (Courtesy Photo/Office of the Mayor)

By George E. Curry
NNPA Editor-in-Chief

NEWS ANALYSIS

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Three extremely qualified African American women are at the forefront of making certain that Freddie Gray’s death at the hands of police in Baltimore will not go unpunished.

Loretta Lynch began her first day as U.S. attorney general by focusing her attention on Baltimore and offering the assistance of her department. Within hours of receiving a report from the medical examiner that Gray’s death had been ruled a homicide, state attorney Marilyn J. Mosby promptly announced the filing of charges against six Baltimore cops in connection with Freddie Gray’s death. A couple of hours later, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake followed up with a strong warning to rogue cops that her administration would not tolerate racism.

Mosby summed it up this way: “If, with the nation watching, three black women at three different levels can’t get justice and healing for this community, you tell me where we’re going to get it in our country.”

One legal maximum holds that justice delayed is justice denied. If that’s the case, early indications are that there will be no delay in justice in Baltimore in connection with the death of Freddie Gray, who was arrested and placed in a police van without a seat belt on April 12. He fell into a coma en route and died a week later as a result of injuries to his spinal cord.

Mosby, a descendant of five generations of police officers, surprised the public last Friday by how quickly she filed charges against six police officers.

At the news conference, she said: “To those that are angry, hurt or have their own experiences of injustice at the hands of police officers I urge you to channel that energy peacefully as we prosecute this case I have heard your calls for ‘No justice, no peace,’ however your peace is sincerely needed as I work to deliver justice on behalf of Freddie Gray.”

Mosby is a graduate of Tuskegee University, a historically Black institution in Alabama. At 35 years old, she is believed to be the youngest chief prosecutor in the nation. And she clearly aligned herself with the young people who had protested Gray’s death.

“….to the youth of the city. I will seek justice on your behalf. This is a moment. This is your moment. Let’s insure we have peaceful and productive rallies that will develop structural and systemic changes for generations to come. You’re at the forefront of this cause and as young people, our time is now.”

In a statement to the media that lasted less than two minutes, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake warned: “To those of you who want to engage in brutality, misconduct, racism and corruption, let me be clear: There is no place for you in the Baltimore City Police Department.”

On Friday, President Obama said, “It is absolutely vital that the truth comes out on what happened to Freddie Gray. And it is my practice not to comment on the legal processes involved; that would not be appropriate. But I can tell you that justice needs to be served.”

When strong sisters take strong stances, invariably there are vocal opponents.

Rawlings-Blake was repeatedly criticized for not requesting the National Guard and heavy military equipment earlier to curb the violence that flared after Gray’s death. But, as she repeatedly explained, she wanted to avoid the over reaction that Ferguson had undergone, which only incited more street violence.

Speaking at Gray’s funeral, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) declared, “I’ve often said that our children are the living messages we send to the future we will never see, but now, our children are sending us to a future they will never see. There is something wrong with that picture,” he said “I’m in the twilight years, but I am telling you we will not rest we will not rest until we address this and see that justice is done.”

To the surprise of no one, the Fraternal Order of Police asked Mosby to step down as prosecutor.

Gene Ryan, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3, wrote: “I have very deep concerns about the many conflicts of interest presented by your office conducting an investigation in this case. These conflicts include your personal and professional relations with Gray family attorney, William Murphy, and the lead prosecutor’s connections with members of the local media,” he wrote. “Based on several nationally televised interviews, these reporters are likely to be witnesses in any potential litigation regarding this incident.”

The FOP is raising money for the accused police officers, but must find another site after GoFundMe, the crowd funding site, took down the site.

According to public records, Murphy donated $5,000 to Mosby’s campaign and served on her transition committee.

The Baltimore Sun quoted Rochelle Ritchie, a spokesperson for Mosby: “State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby has been elected by the residents in Baltimore City to uphold the law in every neighborhood including her own, regardless of if her husband is the councilman within the district where numerous crimes occur. Hundreds of people donated to her campaign. There is no conflict of interest surrounding Billy Murphy. He is representing the family in a civil case which has nothing to do with the criminal case.”

In an interview with the New York Times, Mosby said her life experiences made her uniquely qualified to prosecute this case.

Mosby, whose husband serves on the city council, would later tell a reporter, “I’ve had experiences as an African-American woman where I’ve been harassed by police, or my husband has been pulled over and harassed by police. Does that give me a perspective? I think it does.”

Follow George Curry on Twitter at @currygeorge.

###

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

After Charges Filed and Curfew Lifted, Baltimore Regroups

Don't Miss

Justice Not Delayed in Baltimore

Oakland Post

Click to comment

#NNPA BlackPress

Poll Shows Support for Policies That Help Families Afford Child Care

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

Published

3 days ago

March 2, 2026

Oakland Post

By First Five Years Fund

New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

The national survey was conducted by UpOne Insight on behalf of the First Five Years Fund from January 13–18, 2026.

Key findings include:

• Parents need help: 80% of voters say the ability of working parents to find and afford child care is either in a state of crisis or a major problem.

• This is an affordability issue: 82% believe federal child care funding will help lower costs for working families — including 69% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 94% of Democrats.

• And there continues to be strong support (62%) for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), a federal program that makes it possible for hundreds of thousands of families to afford safe, quality care for their children while parents work or go to school, including a majority of Republicans, 63% of Independents and 72% of Democrats.

• Support for funding child care programs remains strong: 75% believe child care funding should be increased or kept at current levels — including 75% of Republicans, 85% of Independents, and 97% of Democrats.

• 74% say funding for child care is an important and good use of tax dollars, including a majority of Republicans, three-quarters of Independents, and nine in ten Democrats.

FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling said, “Voters across the country are sending a clear message: federal child care and early learning programs work. These investments help parents stay in the workforce, strengthen families, and support healthy child development. They have also long had strong bipartisan support in Congress. At a time when affordability is top of mind for families, continued federal funding is essential to ensure child care remains accessible and within reach.”

First Five Years Fund works to protect, prioritize, and build bipartisan support for quality child care and early learning programs at the federal level. Reliable, affordable, and high-quality early learning and child care can be transformative, not only enhancing a child’s prospects for a brighter future but also bolstering working parents and fostering economic stability nationwide.

We work with Congress and the Administration to identify federal solutions that work for families with young children, as well as states and communities. We work with policymakers to identify ways to increase access to affordable, high-quality child care and early learning programs for children. And we collaborate with advocacy groups to help align best practices with the best possible policies. http://www.ffyf.org

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

4 days ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

#NNPA BlackPress

Trump’s MAGA Allies are Creating Executive Order Plan to Steal the 2026 Midterms

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

Published

6 days ago

February 27, 2026

Oakland Post

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

A group of MAGA pro-Trump activists, who say they are working in coordination with the White House, are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that would claim without evidence that China interfered with the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential to President Joe Biden by over 7 million votes. Since Trump lost to Biden in 2020, he has repeatedly claimed that the election was “stolen” without evidence. The report of a group of “Trump allies” preparing an executive order to give Trump power over elections was first reported by The Washington Post.

The lies around the right-wing campaign that pushed falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen was trafficked through right-wing media, particularly Fox News. Fox News was then sued for defamation for the claims by Dominion Voting Systems. Fox lost the case and had to settle for the largest defamation amount on record of $787.5 million in April 2023.

The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

The story in The Washington Post arrives as Trump increasingly signals that he may take actions that would alter the result of the 2026 midterms. The Republicans are widely expected to lose as their approval ratings plummet as a result of a failing economy under Trump. Over 50 members of Congress have announced they will retire this year and not return in 2027.

The Trump Department of Justice, which now has a large image of Trump on the side of it, “sued five new states Thursday [Feb. 26, 2026] demanding access to their unredacted voter rolls — escalating a campaign that has been rejected by multiple federal courts and faces resistance from Republican-led states as well,” according to Democracy Docket, a group that works to protect voting rights.

Trump claimed back in late 2020, the last year of his first term, that he had the authority to issue an executive order related to mail-in voting for the 2020 elections — which he would then lose. But the Constitution states that control of elections lies with the states. As the GOP works to place hurdles in front of voting, Democrats worked to make voting easier.

In March 2021, President Biden signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to expand voting access as part of the Biden Administration’s effort “to promote and defend the right to vote for all Americans who are legally entitled to participate in elections.”

Trump’s focus is clearly on altering the November 2026 midterm elections. Trump’s polling numbers and the elections and special elections that have taken place around the U.S. over the last year clearly indicate that Republicans are about to be hit by a blue wave of Democratic victories.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and hosts the show LAUREN LIVE on YouTube @LaurenVictoriaBurke. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke