My life as a Baltimore activist

I became an activist  in Baltimore about the time the Occupy movement started up.

Occupy held ideas I liked. I am definitely a part of the 99 percent. The one percent world I’ve had visits into but then always had to come back. Things were too expensive in one percent land for my 99 percent income.

The General Assembly (GA) was one of the things I liked about Occupy. Everyone got to express their opinions even me.  Occupy stirred something up in me that I didn’t even know truly existed such as the fact that no matter what was wrong in the world I could help fix it. I could be the change I wanted to see.

One thing I don’t miss is the endless marching such as the five mile march I did last year with Occupy Wall Street South with about 1,500 protesters. For someone who had only protested in Baltimore, it was a big deal.

Occupy as I knew it has since dismantled a bit. In Baltimore it seems to exist in name only and maybe one working group, Occupy Our Homes. There’s been talk about starting up the General Assembly again but no decision’s been made.

A little while after Occupy broke up; I joined the Baltimore People’s Assembly. The People’s Assembly fights against police brutality, for workers’ rights, for poor people rights, against school closings, against rec center closings, against racism and sexism and for healthcare for all.

Police brutality has been something major that has been a topic of many protests with the People’s Assembly. I’ve been to more vigils in 2012 that had victims of police involved shootings than I ever have in my life. The most recent was the case of Anthony Anderson Sr. His mom, Edith Fletcher told me police shot her son.  The medical examiner ruled it a homicide. No charges have been brought forth by State’s Attorney Greg Bernstein. A complaint has been filed with the Justice Department.

Last year, I remember the vigil of a homeless veteran, Rudy Bell. Bell was said to have had some kind of weapon and was breaking into a vacant house, where he had lived. Police entered the vacant house and Bell came out dead. Last year, there were 15 police-related shootings –  a number that many of us think deserves a federal and state investigation.

The People’s Assembly and I have also protested with Unite Here Local 7 down in the harbor. We’ve fought alongside them for hospitality workers’ rights. We’ve also rallied with Community Churches United regarding the Superblock development. We are asking that local residents be hired at a fair wage rather than bring in outside contractors.

This week we also will have a dinner discussion with Wal Mart employees, who are asking for better wages. It’s not easy for these employees to speak out. They are putting their jobs at risk but I’m proud of the brave few, who are fighting for so many more.

Another thing, I protested for was AIDS funding. I went to DC with members of the Baltimore Student Harm Reduction Coalition and supporters. Many believe as I do, that AIDS will someday be cured. I wish protesting didn’t come with the risk of arrest.

It wasn’t enough for me to be out protesting and chanting my lungs out, so I started writing about the causes I’ve been protesting about. Sometimes it’s challenging as an activist and a journalist not to get too caught up in the passion and simply report what happened.

Now, I understand what Paul Jay meant. It keeps me super busy though. Now, I get invites to almost every activist/advocacy organization in Baltimore’s events and some out of state as well asking me to come, spread the word and/or write about them. I need to be cloned to cover them all. I  will do my best to make it to as many as possible.

It’s exciting when you’ve protested about something and you see the positive results such as the Dream Act and gay marriage. They both passed. I see a lot of happier people since that happened in Maryland.

Until next week, I’ll be somewhere in the streets, advocating or activating.