Baltimore riots: Why it's not 1968
| Baltimore
Baltimore is not burning down.
Yes, you鈥檝e been watching the news and it sure looks like the city was aflame. Residents frustrated by deep racial and economic divisions that cracked open long ago were throwing stones at police. Opportunists were smashing store windows and looting what they can carry. Fire crews were dousing small businesses struck by arson.
But the focus of cameras is narrow and bright. On Monday, the violence was scattered in areas across the city. It is not 1968, where rioting engulfed whole sections and set back Baltimore for generations. It is not a series-ending finale of 鈥淭he Wire,鈥� with gangs rising to take over City Hall.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 so disturbing is that the news gives people the impression the entire city was in chaos, which wasn鈥檛 the case,鈥� says Elizabeth Nix, an assistant professor of legal, ethical, and historical studies at the University of Baltimore and co-editor of a book on the 鈥�68 riots. 鈥淏ut with social media, people see these images over and over, and they get conflated with fictional depictions of the city.鈥�
Ms. Nix has lived in Baltimore for 20 years, much of that time on Union Square, former home of famed journalist H.L. Mencken. She鈥檚 helped found a city charter school and sent her own kids to public schools.
鈥淚t is just very sad,鈥� she says of the events of recent days. 鈥淚t is heartening today to see all the groups of people coming out, all kinds of people cleaning up.鈥�
The 1968 riots destroyed more than 1,000 businesses. Six people died over the course of eight days of violence. Yet city officials never really examined the causes of the social unrest. Baltimore鈥檚 long, slow decline continued.
鈥淚鈥檓 hopeful that isn鈥檛 the case today,鈥� says Nix.
One contrast: No one was killed in Monday night's violence, which erupted after the funeral of Freddie Gray, who died after injuries sustained in police custody.
Lord knows the city has big problems. Whole blocks of East Baltimore are unoccupied. Police commissioners come and go on a regular basis, whipsawing department policy. The current commissioner, Anthony Batts, is a California transplant who arrived in 2012. In February, he made news by saying he was surprised at the 鈥�1950s racism鈥� he鈥檇 encountered in his new job.
Mayors come and go, too. The most recent previous mayor was Sheila Dixon, a savvy former teacher and strong leader who was also, unfortunately, a crook. 聽She was convicted in 2009 of stealing gift cards intended for distribution to needy families.
But if the leadership has been inconsistent, the Patapsco River is always there. Baltimore鈥檚 waterfront vistas are a boon and an economic draw. Million-dollar condos line the Federal Hill, Fells Point, and Canton neighborhoods. The water draws corporate headquarters like Under Armour鈥檚 Tide Point campus.
The city鈥檚 historic neighborhoods and vibrant night life are a big draw for Millenials looking for 鈥渁uthenticity鈥� in their residence of choice. Its proximity to Washington means some of the money that鈥檚 washed through the nation鈥檚 capital in recent decades sloshes up here. The school system is challenged as a whole, but Baltimore still has some of the best individual public high schools in America, which produce such national leaders are Rep. Elijah Cummings (D) of Maryland, who spoke Monday at Freddie Gray鈥檚 funeral.
The city鈥檚 resilience is reflected in the very places where rioting has occurred.
Much of the action on Monday took place near Mondawmin Mall, a sprawling shopping center on Liberty Heights Avenue west of Druid Hill Park. Mondawmin was developed in the 1950s by James Rouse, a visionary city planner instrumental in busting the restrictive racial covenants of some North Baltimore neighborhoods. More recently it鈥檚 been rebuilt with a Target and other new store as a mid-city shopping oasis.
Other looting hit stores near the Inner Harbor. That鈥檚 long been the face of Baltimore鈥檚 national image, but at this point it鈥檚 not just the harbor area but a miles-long waterfront area that stretches from the iconic Camden Yards stadium on the west to the high-rises and restaurants of Harbor East, next to Little Italy.
Shops were smashed and burned on the East Side near Johns Hopkins Hospital, too.
Baltimore has public health problems. Its infant mortality rate is high, for instance. But Hopkins is a world-class hospital located in a high-poverty area that treats all comers. It is the centerpiece of a regional medical economy that provides thousands of jobs for Baltimoreans, from doctors and nurses to receptionists and maintenance crews.
Maybe arson and looting will cripple these places. That鈥檚 possible. It鈥檚 possible unrest will spread and consume whole neighborhoods. On Tuesday, though, volunteers were out cleaning up and relative calm prevailed.
The British bombarded Fort McHenry and tried to burn the city in 1814. It didn鈥檛 work then. And in 2015 when the violence cools and the camera crews depart, Baltimore will still be there.
