Going to my home town of Baltimore tomorrow to see family and friends. Have not been there for almost two years. For reflection I will visit Carroll street where I was born in South Baltimore. I want to see North Avenue where I grew up and where the epicenters of protest occurred at Pennsylvania Avenue, Fulton Avenue and Druid Hill Avenue. I want to see my aunt who lives on Frederick Avenue where street THUGS wanted to loot and burn down a store across from where she lives, but were stopped by the people in that neighborhood. I want to thank some of them. I want to see the Inner Harbor where the Tale of the Cities is so stark of the well to do being just a few miles from the those without. I want to see my old High School Carver Vocational Technical High School and see for myself how much the trade programs were gut out of the school. I want to reflect on what Baltimore use to be decades ago from the riots after the murder of Dr. King and what it was before that uprising. Many businesses that my families and relatives once had never came back or just moved out. I believe Baltimore will come back. She has to come back. The media say over two hundred minority owned businesses were destroyed and many of those did not have insurance. I want to see a few of these for myself. I want to most of all to confront one of my cousins who told me over the phone that burning and looting helped brought a focus on the problem in the city. I want to know why North, East and South Baltimore were left largely untouched by the THUGS. It's going to be an interesting week.
