In response to the killing of Freddie Gray, Mya Hall, and others by the Baltimore Police Department, the protests in the street, and the mobilization of the National Guard to enforce a nightly curfew the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) issued the following statement:
“Our hearts are with the family and loved ones of Freddie Gray, a 25 year old Black man who was brutally and senselessly beaten by six officers of the Baltimore Police Department. Gray’s injuries were so horrific that his spine was severed during the encounter, and he later died from the injuries that he sustained. Just a few weeks prior, Mya Hall, a Black trans woman, was killed by the same police department.
Our country is at a critical juncture, forced to face with broken hearts the impacts of a broken democracy and economy. Since the beginning of this year alone, a Black person has been killed by police at the rate of one every eight hours. Every eight hours a mother loses their child to violence at the hands of the very people who took an oath to protect and serve.
Our country is at a critical juncture. Since the beginning of this year alone, a Black person has been killed by police at the rate of one every eight hours.
Baltimore is no different. Baltimore is 63% Black. 24% of people in Baltimore live below the poverty line, and there is a twenty year difference in life expectancy between those who live in the most affluent neighborhoods, and those who live just six miles away in the poorest neighborhoods. Since 2011, Baltimore has had to pay over $5.7 million to more than 100 families whose relatives have been killed or violently attacked by the police. All of the victims were Black – including a pregnant woman and an 87 year old grandmother.
That’s why it’s appalling that so much of the media coverage has expressed outrage at broken windows, yet very little for the broken families that are hanging on by a thread, holding the tatters of our economy and our democracy together.
We can and must do better to focus our attention and our action in the places where it belongs – getting to the root causes of why a rebellion is raging in Baltimore.
We know that change is coming, and that change is never convenient. Real change requires ruptures in our collective consciousness and disruptions in our everyday habits. What is happening in Baltimore is a rupture and a disruption that deserves our attention, our love, and our commitment to the birth of a new world that upholds the right to dignity and fairness for all.”
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $120,000 in one-time donations and to add 1383 new monthly donors by midnight on December 31.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy