Baltimore Rising
These photos were part of a larger body of work compiled by a team of photographers at Getty Imagse that was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2016. Freddie Gray, a black, 25-year-old man and resident of Baltimore’s Gilmor Houses housing project, died in police custody on April 19, 2015 after being arrested days earlier for possessing a switchblade knife. His death sparked widespread and intense protests throughout Baltimore as citizens reacted to the city’s systemic inequality and the alleged, routine excessive force used by police. The riots prompted Maryland’s Governor to declare a national emergency and call in the National Guard to quell the protests, as well as mass media attention. This body of work explores the days after Gray’s funeral, and how the community’s actions struck a chord in the ongoing national conversation regarding race relations and police treatment of America’s black community.