By Briana Booker
I was born & raised in Baltimore City. People keep asking me what are my thoughts about the gang related outbreak of violence in Baltimore.
I figured there was no better way to go about the answer than my beloved blog.
The wave of violence in Baltimore city is no secret. Black people…White people…the rich…the poor are all concerned.
There have been at least 40 people shot in Baltimore and it’s only the middle of July.
The cops promise citizens that the police force will step up enforcement to protect neighborhoods, but it doesn’t mean much to the people of Baltimore.
The Black Guerrilla family prison gang is retaliating for the Federal government cracking down on their operations.
If you are not familiar with the Black Guerrilla family prison gang, they originated in California prison systems by the Black Panther member George Jackson during the late 1960’s.
The gang ideology focused on Marxist/Maoist/ Leninist philosophies. The primary goal of the Black Guerrilla gang was to eradicate racism, dignify prison life and eventually overthrow the government.
Those that join the Black Guerrilla have a life pledge of allegiance, loyalty to the prison gang.
In a city like Baltimore, the life pledge of loyalty is a major threat to the safety of the community. The streets of Baltimore filled with fatherless homes, low-income families and under-educated citizens.
People in the city either fear the gang, look up to the gang, are part of the gang or never heard of the gang.
The Black Guerrilla has strong ties to street gangs. Right now, an order is placed to kill gang members faulted for the Federal crackdown.
From there, it’s expected that the gangs will go on killing sprees throughout Baltimore city…for the innocent in the community. No one is safe.
This is not the end of the violence – extortion, contract assaults, murder, drug wars ( predominately heroin and marijuana), and human trafficking will all be on the rise. It’s not just a Baltimore concern. It’s a nationwide concern. An International concern.
What do we do about the wave of violence in Baltimore?
The cops want people to speak up in the community, but no one wants to do that. Some of the cops are in on the gang life. One tip could mean you or someone in your family might be dead the next day.
I have spent a great deal of my life in Baltimore. And trust me, it’s been a place I’ve tried to get away from all of my life. I don’t see much opportunity here…especially for people of color that started from the bottom.
The solution I see happening for Baltimore is to bring back the days of community self-empowerment. Where are the Malcolm X leaders? Where are the Martin Luther Kings?
I have always wondered where Black people would be today, if those two men came together to start an uniformed movement to allow Black people to prosper as a whole.
When Black communities gain some level of prosperity in the poorest cities in America…that would honestly be the day Gangs will no longer have the ‘Almighty’ power they have in the community.
It takes people standing up against fear and community division to take on the Gangs of Baltimore and the nation. Gangs divide the community. Gangs take in those that feel they have no home, no love.
This city needs more love, more educated people and more give a fuck.
If I could think of one song to show the wave of violence in Baltimore,it would be the Rolling Stones’ Gimme Shelter.
“The storm[ gang] is threatening my very life today. If I don’t get some shelter, Lord I’m gonna fade away…It’s just a shot away.”
Let’s start today to educate ourselves on the need to work together for our community financial empowerment, spiritual empowerment, political empowerment, and social empowerment.
Take power away from the gangs.
What do you think will reduce the violence in Baltimore city? Leave a comment.