(I have been trying to email the following peace plan to Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake but the site seems to be down. )
Baltimore Peace Plan
Baltimore is simmering because of the brutal murder of Freddie Gray by the police. Already there has been two days of looting and rioting despite the peaceful protests of thousands. Protests are continuing and Saturday is expected to be the largest with protestors expected from all over America. Despite calls for peace from the family of Freddie Gray, local politicians, clergy, mayor, community organisers and others, mob violence, rioting and looting could still break out. These calls for peace went unheeded before as all it take is a few to create havoc and they did. I am sure the question on everyone’s mind is, “Will it happen again at the protests this Saturday?”
We must learn from the previous riots. Baltimoreans, even victims of police hostility, rallied to clean-up and protect their city. It was magnificent display of goodwill. We must harness that spirit of goodwill to minimize violence in the coming Saturday protest. I am sure all attention is towards mobilizing police and national guards. My plan mobilizes the peacemakers.
Let us create a Peace Task Force and the composition of this task force is critical. As expected the task force would include the mayor, the Police Commissioner, local politicians, the clergy, community organizers. But it would also include the peacemakers who were out in the street trying to keep peace when Baltimore was burning. Include the Nation of Islam and, yes, the gangs such as the Bloods and the Crips. The leaders of these and other gangs were heroic during the rioting. Despite being maligned, they put aside their differences to stand united in honoring Freddie Gray and valiantly put their bodies on the line to help prevent the rioting. Even now they do not get the credit they deserve and they belong on this task force.
This task force is not just about preventing rioting, but is also about healing and bringing adversaries together, most notably, the police and the community. This is a rare opportunity to do so, and we must not let it slip away. One more component of the task force who would play an essential role, would be an expert in conflict resolution. There is an abundance of goodwill in this city. Lets not underestimate it. Let us mobilize it. Time’s a-wasting!
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