Darlene Cain’s son, Dale Graham, was killed by Baltimore City police in 2008.
Twelve years later, Cain is continuing to fight for justice for families who have lost their loved ones to police brutality and other forms of violence, and to ensure that others do not meet a similar fate.
“There are men and women, young and old, who lost their life to police, been beaten down,” she said. “We’re just tired and we’re just ready–ready to take action and to get laws changed.”
Cain, 59, joined thousands of protesters in Baltimore on Monday for a youth-led march against police brutality and white supremacy–the fourth day of local protests in the city as part of a nationwide movement that was sparked by the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd, who died in police custody after an officer pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes.
The march began around 3 p.m. Monday at the Baltimore Convention Center and proceeded through downtown streets to City Hall, with participants “No justice, no peace. Prosecute the police,” “Hands up, don’t shoot,” and “Black lives matter,” as well as the names of some of the black people who have been killed by police and other violence, including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Freddie Gray.
Protesters also entered the Jones Falls Expressway at Gay Street and marched along the highway, which police closed off to traffic, before returning to City Hall while others marched along the eastern side of the downtown area.
Later that evening, after the march, officers donned riot gear and carried shields, but the night resolved largely without clashes between protesters and police.
Seeing more black lives lost to violence has been difficult, Cain said.
“Whether you’ve lost a child by police, gun violence or domestic violence, this opens up a lot of wounds for parents across the country,” she said.
Cain said she marches in memory of her son.
“I’m going to be out here as long as I’m my son’s mother and fight for him,” she said.
But she added that she was heartened to see the success of the march that was led by Baltimore’s young people.
“I expect to pass this torch soon because I’ll be 60 and I want to be able to get a little rest before it’s over,” she said. “That’s why I’m joining the youth to be united with them because they have a future and they deserve to live.”
Kobi Little, president of the Baltimore chapter of the NAACP, said he participated in the march to support and protect the young people who organized it.
Little said he was not surprised by the size of the crowds that showed up to the protest.
“I think people want their voices to be heard and the message that the organizers sent out resonated with the people who are here,” he said.
Jake McCauley, 23, said he had his own violent experience with police when he tried to purchase a handgun when he was 17 years old–too young to legally buy the gun, he admits.
McCauley met up with a seller he connected with online, and the two of them exchanged the gun and money.
The seller turned out to be an undercover cop, and as McCauley started walking away after making the deal, a car drove up with Baltimore County police officers.
McCauley said he took off running, the police tased him, and an officer tackled him.
“The rest catch up and then they all start beating me. And then they get me handcuffed and then they kept beating me,” he said. “They’re punching me, they’re kicking me, they’re stomping my skull into the ground over and over again. They’re laughing and joking the entire time.”
McCauley said he came to the demonstration on Monday “to voice opposition to the state.”
A woman named Mary Kate, who declined to give her last name, said there are “clear racial disparities” in Baltimore City. But she said those issues need to be addressed not just with words but with actions.
“I think that we pay lip service to those racial disparities but we don’t often follow that lip service up with action,” she said. “I think this is a whole lot of engaged citizens who would like to take some action, and I think they would like it to be positive and constructive action if those channels are available to them.”
A 25-year-old woman named Tori, who declined to give her last name, questioned whether much has changed at all in the five years since the Baltimore Uprising, when Baltimoreans protested the death of Freddie Gray in police custody.
“I don’t know how far Baltimore has come, but it couldn’t have come any farther than anybody else if we’re all still doing this together,” she said.
Tori said participating in these new protests is “scary… but it’s a necessary action” to bring attention to the issues that black people face.
But like Mary Kate, Tori said people have to do more than just raise awareness about the problems; they also have to work toward solutions.
“There has to be laws put in place, there have to be rules that are implemented to stop what’s happening in America, period,” she said. “Stop it all together. Stop the systematic racism. Stop the police brutality. Stop being against people for the color of their skin or whatever racial background that they have.”
Little said the government has failed to deliver services, such as health care, education, housing, economic opportunity, safety and security, to citizens in need. He said there needs to be a “rearrangement of the current financial system” to address those disparities.
Little said Maryland should “do away” completely with the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights, a state law from 1974 that increases protections for law enforcement officers from investigation and prosecution related to their professional conduct.
“It’s not an accountability measure, it doesn’t bring transparency, and it emboldens law enforcement officers to act in bad ways,” he said. “If you are given the power to use force on behalf of the state, then you should be held to a higher standard of accountability and to a higher level of responsibility. If we’re paying law enforcement officers professional salaries, then they ought to be held to levels of professional conduct that they have not lived up to ever.”
Cain said she has traveled to Annapolis to advocate for reforms to the law.
Although she has been pleased with the energy that protesters have had, she hopes those same people will show up to hold leaders accountable and push for legislative change.
“It’s wonderful to have all these people that are protesting, but we need this type of crowd when we’re out in court and when we’re all over trying to get justice,” she said.
Jaisal Noor is a reporter at The Real News Network and a 2019-2020 New Economies Reporting Fellow.
