The Baltimore Uprising Revisited

On May 13th, Baltimore resident Freddie Gray was murdered by Baltimore police.

While legal experts or other semanticists may take issue with that term, the basic facts are clear. After being wrongfully detained, Freddie Gray was put into the back of a police van alive and was removed unconscious. While not resisting arrest, while in under the purview of the police, a young man

In the ensuing weeks, the city faced a reckoning. One of historical injustices and broken promises.

I have spent a fair amount of time questioning whether my images from this time need to be public. Journalistic voyeurism at protests, especially amongst young white photographers seeking to make a name for themselves has increased dramatically in our saturated social-media and political climate. I won’t deny the privilege I have in being able to make these images. My perspective could never match that of Devin Allen or other lifelong Baltimore residents. But as someone who called the city home, who shouted “no justice no peace” along with those on camera, I see these images as a love letter of resilience to a city I will always call home.