Commentary during the unrest following Freddie Gray's death

Rev. David Carl Olson, Minister of First Unitarian Church of Baltimore, MD and several members of the congregation attended Freddie Gray’s funeral service yesterday. Tonight they are at several multifaith community meetings planning next steps for justice. Rev. Olson shared this with us at Side With Love:

"The challenge of the movement for justice in Baltimore includes the fact that an entire generation of young, poor Black men in this city have been raised under the regime of the war on drugs. They have known a life of harassment by the police for living in the neighborhoods they live in, for having the friends that they have, and for the decreasing opportunities that we have given them to build lives of purpose and meaning. We began Freddie Gray's funeral holding hands asking to be held accountable by each other, and offering to hold each other accountable. In Baltimore, communities of faith need to be held accountable to the claims for justice that our ethics and spirituality profess, and we need to build structures of community control of the police and community engagement of one another that community opportunities may be available across lines of division."