Maryland Leaders Speak Out For Justice At Baltimore Rally
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- Groups of demonstrators came together in Baltimore Saturday to rally for peace. The planned march was to be a mass protest of Gray's treatment by police, but after State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby's Friday's announcement of police charges, the tone had changed to more celebratory.
State Senator Catherine Pugh was among the speakers at Saturday's rally. Pugh has been very active in the last weeks, pushing for peaceful protesting in the police-custody death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray.
"Peaceful demonstration helps us get the point across and you all have demonstrated and you've shown America that we can demonstrate peacefully. But more than that-- Freddie Gray becomes symbolic of all the black men in this country who have been treated unfairly by our police. And we know that police reform is on the way."
The state senator emphasized the call for public and private partnerships that put the same kind of investments in uptown and downtown, saying Baltimore needs great neighborhoods too.
"This is a moment in which we can begin to elevate the conversation around race and race relations in this country," Pugh added.
Pugh commended Mosby for her continuation of moving the ball of justice forward. Pugh also reiterated the importance of voter registration to build communities.
Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, who has been a strong advocate this week for peaceful demonstrations, spoke to WJZ about Saturday's rally and his support for Baltimore.
"I am extremely happy to see the diversity that we have here. We're not going to be able to resolve these issues unless we have a diverse group of people dealing with these issues. It's wonderful that people realize that this is not just an African-American issue," Cummings told WJZ.
Cummings noted he was happy to see that today's rally was peaceful and hopes that it will continue throughout the weekend. The congressman said he had a conference with the mayor this morning discussing future initiatives.
"We're going to plan an initiative to try to make sure that we begin to address some of these systemic problems that our neighbors and our children have," Cummings said.
How does America address these systemic issues? Cummings says foundations, universities, private entities, companies and government need to come together in order to move forward.
"This is a heavy lift, but we have to lift it," Cummings says.
Of yesterday's charges against six police officers, Cummings says it is only the beginning of justice being served.
"The police officers, they deserve justice, just as Freddie Gray deserves justice. What happened yesterday was the beginning of the wheel of justice turning."