5 years after Freddie Gray’s death, this story is a MUST READ. The confluence of historical segregation, the depletion of affordable housing for Black Baltimoreans, & decimation of jobs that have created the conditions that plague city neighborhoods. baltimoresun.com/maryland/balti…
Segregated public housing. The Gilmor Homes was created to house Black defense workers. One year after families moved in, tenants were dealing w/the consequences of substandard construction. These problems that began in the 1940s were not repaired for decades. 
Although many residents support tge demolition of the Gilmor Homes, as residents of other dilapidated & troubled public housing units supported demolition, the City does not replace the units w/affordable housing. This the part of the City’s population drain rarely discussed.
When middle class whites leave #Baltimore, it is seen as a loss for the City, and multiple mayors have sought to reverse this loss for the City’s tax base. But there is not similar concern about or plan to address the loss of working class Black families.
Freddie Gray’s death should have focused the City not only on the police, but on the conditions that created his limited chances for a productive life in our city. The commitment should have been to change things for the 5 year old Freddies and Frederickas. Instead...
What will be the next Mayor’s commitment to the working class families who want to remain in the city, and need decent, safe, affordable housing? What if there was a comprehensive plan for just these 25,000. I’d love to see it. #Baltimore
Thank you for this excellent article @cmcampbell6.
One more note: not insignificant that Gilmor homes is named for a Confederate Calvalry Officer who became Baltimore’s first police commissioner. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said: “The past does not lie down quietly.”
