News & Commentary

On Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017, at around 4:36 PM, Baltimore Police Department homicide Detective Sean Suiter suffered a fatal gunshot wound to his head, from his own service weapon, in a vacant lot in the Harlem Park neighborhood in Baltimore. 

On Tuesday Nov. 12, crowds gathered in front of the U.S. Supreme Court for the “Here is Home” rally, holding signs that read “Defend DACA” and “Let Dreamers Dream.” In the cold pouring rain, protestors cried, “Ni la llueva, ni el ventó, detiene el movimiento,” which translates to neither the rain nor the wind stops the movement.

Latinidad is complicated for me. It’s the transgenerational trauma passing through our bloodlines. It’s the constant reminders of the horrors our ancestors suffered and the atrocities some of our other ancestors likely committed. Latinidad is being hurt, learning from our abusers, and subjecting our very own to that same persecution. Latinidad is a violent term in itself: A monolith that erases Black and Indigenous people, it works to silence the experiences of non-white/mestizo people both in the United States and abroad. 

In the era of MeToo, brave people continue to speak out against sexual violence. Sonya Zollicoffer has joined voices across the nation by exposing the truth about the sexual harassment she endured while she was a police trainee in Prince George’s Police Department in 2001. Zollicoffer has also filed a legal challenge, along with members of the United Black Police Officers Association and the Hispanic National Law Enforcement Association, to racial discrimination and retaliation against officers and community members of color in the PGPD.

In Pocomoke City, a small town on Maryland’s lower Eastern Shore with a centuries-long history of racial oppression, three Black officers have fought against racial abuse from white coworkers, supervisors, and officials. In 2016, Police Chief Kelvin Sewell, Lieutenant Lynell Green, and Detective Franklin Savage sued officials in Worcester County and Pocomoke City, challenging a conspiracy of race discrimination and retaliation. This week, Chief Sewell and Lt. Green reached financial settlements for the racism they endured while on the force, as well as a Consent Decree to bring reform to the Pocomoke City Police Department. But the fight for justice still continues for Detective Savage.

Deshawna Bryant, a senior at Baltimore City High School, dreams of becoming a child psychologist. The youngest in her family, all her life Deshawna’s parents opened their home and hearts to many foster children, too. After high school, she plans on going to a university in Florida, and a big reason why is that it’s warm there all year round.

UPDATE: As this blog post was being sent to press, the court denied the Justice Department's request to delay Thursday's hearing. The court said, "The Government's motion is untimely. To postpone the public hearing at the eleventh hour would be to unduly burden and inconvenience the Court, the other

With the inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the United States, many people are looking for ways to speak out in support of civil rights and liberties.