How Have Baltimore Protests Stayed Peaceful? Activists Take Lessons From 2015

Thousands of people in Baltimore have joined multiple marches over the past week, mourning the violent death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and calling for less funding for the Baltimore Police Department and more money for education, health and local groups in predominantly African American neighborhoods in the city.
The Baltimore Police Department is one of a handful of major city police departments that is currently operating under a federal consent decree after the Department of Justice found that the department has used violent and discriminatory tactics in poor and predominantly black neighborhoods for years.
"Police don't keep black communities safe," says Tre Murphy, the director of strategy and programs at the Baltimore-based group OrganizingBlack, which supports local activists.
Baltimore's protests have unfolded peacefully this week, unlike demonstrations that rocked the city in 2015 after 25-year-old Freddie Gray died in police custody of a spinal cord injury. That year, some protesters destroyed property, and Baltimore police reacted with tear gas, rubber bullets and widespread arrests.