Leslie Gray Streeter and MUST READ in the Post today

Leslie Gray Streeter has a powerful commentary in The Palm Beach Post today. She doesn't pull any punches in defending the City she loves: Baltimore. Here is an excerpt:

     I don’t know who started it, whose fault it is, whether it’s cops or gangs or kids or what. All I know is that my city is in flames, lit by an anger and a righteous weariness, fanned by idiots who in some cases don’t even live there [emphasis added], but then kept alive by criminals and craziness.
     The reporters are calling these “violent protests,” but the crazies setting fires don’t care about Freddie Gray or why he wound up dead with a broken back after being arrested by Baltimore City Police. They just want to destroy, and that desire ignites and burns and eats itself and ignites again, and it’s all there on TV where everyone can see it. And even though it has nothing to do with me, these people share my city of birth and my skin color and they won’t stop destroying, and at this point it doesn’t matter why.
     This is not all Baltimoreans, not all black people. These are some. But people all over the world who know nothing else about my city are having their suspicions confirmed by people who do not care about it.

Baltimore is being exploited by many who have an agenda that has nothing to do with race; race is the convenient cover.

There are many people who work tirelessly making society better but you must acknowledge also there are others who work just as tirelessly to exploit cracks in society to tear it apart. To not be aware of that is naïve at best. It's been proven conclusively in places such as Durham, North Carolina, that outside provocateurs have fomented violence in the wake of what happened in Ferguson, MO. There's no doubt in my mind that's the case in Baltimore right now.

No doubt the vast majority of Black and African Americans in Baltimore are terribly disturbed with what is happening there.

Last night (4/29) in the Lake Worth City Commission chambers a former city commissioner, Cara Jennings, wore a shirt emblazoned with the message "#blacklivesmatter". True. Black lives do matter and so do White lives, Haitian lives, Guatemalan lives, and every other life. Cara Jennings was at a protest here in Lake Worth last year that featured these two signs:

That protest ended peacefully and everyone went home. For the next few days there was talk about it, what it meant and who benefited (if anyone), a lot of noise on Facebook, and a few angry emails . . . and a week later it was all forgotten. Well, mostly forgotten.

This Sunday in Lake Worth will be a Crime Walk with PBSO. Later on I'll post the specifics, location and time, etc. The stated purpose of the walk is to raise awareness in neighborhoods about crime and what people can do about it. They'll be walking streets and alleys and documenting the things they see then work with PBSO to come up with solutions.

At last years protest the goal was clear and you had to be blind not to see it: some in our City of Lake Worth were trying to drive a wedge between the Guatemalan community and other communities/organizations in our City. They were called out and that effort failed.

The point is this: if you see something say something. If you see what you think is someone or a group of people trying to cause trouble or foment trouble in the community make sure you tell someone. It's that simple. Stay vigilant and aware.