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The criminal trial for the six officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray isn’t set to start until October, but this morning, the city of Baltimore agreed to pay his family $6.4 million in restitution. The Baltimore Sun reports that the city’s spending panel, the Board of Estimates, is expected to approve the settlement at a meeting tomorrow. Gray’s family had not yet filed a civil suit against the city.

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The appearance of anti-protest laws in so many countries reveals a general trend in the way governments envision the future. As the state’s utter failure to assist those most hurt by the ongoing economic crisis becomes impossible to ignore and as even the recovery from crisis proves hollow for most people, protests and riots are spreading worldwide, with no sign of slowing down.

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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.

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