Baltimore as a parable of inner city trauma

ON a recent Saturday evening, members of the Washington elite and its media corps gathered for the annual black-tie White House Press Association dinner at the Hilton Hotel in midtown Washington.

Addressing the audience that included a lot of powerful and wealthy Americans was President Barack Obama, whose election in 2008 had ignited so many hopes.

In particular, the election of the first African American as president seemed to mark a turning point in race relations in America, suggesting that the deep rift between blacks and whites in the country may be narrowing. But while President Obama was entertaining the guests at the dinner, unrest was brewing just 65 kilometres away, in the city of Baltimore. Young African Americans were protesting against the death of Freddie Gray, a young black man who apparently suffered a fatal spinal cord injury while in police custody.