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The Rebellion in Baltimore is an uprising against austerity, claims top US academic. Gentrified cities, the fall of manufacturing, the filling of jails with black men - all fueled the violence that followed the killing of Freddie Gray.

Baltimore, not at all uniquely, has experienced a century of public policy designed, consciously so, to segregate and impoverish its black population.

A broad united front for justice and power, in addition to protesting atrocities, is guided by a sense of hope and a vision of a new day. It is not enough for us on the Left to comment favorably on the right of oppressed to rebel, to validate the rage that took a very destructive form. Rather, we must support those that engaged in efforts to redirect the rage to preserve their communities as part of a larger movement for justice for Freddie Gray.

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Baltimore is the latest city to crack down on unpaid residential water bills, despite concerns that the practice violates basic human rights. Meanwhile, the city’s corporate debtors continue to run their taps unaffected.

As Baltimore is policed like occupied territory today, remembering James Baldwin's words about Harlem in 1966. This article originally appeared in the July 11, 1966 issue of The Nation.

Officials calling for calm can offer no rational justification for Gray's death, and so they appeal for order.