Violence is an illness, and Baltimore, along with the rest of the country, is very sick. As we watch the violence in Ferguson, Mo., we are reminded of the importance of the fight against violence in our own city.
This is no physical fight, however. Rather, it must be a campaign against the root causes of a violent culture: poverty, racism, urban blight and troubled relationships between youth and police and between people and their communities.
What's happening in Ferguson could happen in Baltimore. Now is the time to eliminate these root causes in order to prevent further grief and tragedy.
There's a lot of hard work to do, and many organizations are already working to address the problems in our city.
To address the school-to-prison pipeline, the Youth Opportunity Academy provides alternative education, skills training and work experience for unemployed youths ages 16-24 who are not currently in school.
Youth Unlocked aims to reduce incarceration rates for youths in Baltimore by engaging them in community projects and dialogues between kids and police officers.
The Safe Streets program has volunteers who intervene in escalating conflicts with nonviolent methods. All of these organizations need your support, whether through monetary donations or donations of time.
We also need to tell our representatives how strongly we care about making change. Citizens can call or write their representatives in Congress and tell them to support the Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act (H.R. 5478) and the End Racial Profiling Act (S.1038.)
The power to change Baltimore is in our hands. Let's use it.
Emilia Halvorsen, Baltimore