The Tale of Two Baltimores
A past correction or a future glimpse?
First off, rest in peace to Michael Kenneth Williams, who other than having three first names, was an amazing actor that played Omar Little on oldschool HBO’s ‘The Wire’ among many others.
If you haven’t watched the series, you should, because it has a strong cast, intricate story and is especially dated if you were cognizant in the early 2000s. The premise of the show is based on technology long gone now with the computer-in-your-pocket age and blockchain technology (reboot HBO?). It will be the show that we watch with our kids1 when they are much older and say, possibly while smoking a pipe in a high-pitched and squeaky voice, “Do you know what a payphone is?”
Either way, this segment of my brain fomenting is not dedicated to HBO or The Wire, or anything that remotely suggests “acting.” There are no Michael K. Williamses or prolific cursing Dominic Wests coming to stoke the curious and twisting Baltimore drug trafficking narrative and add a much needed reprieve of comedic humor within the dark and hopeless backdrop. This is dedicated to the real Baltimore, a dwindling and precipitous fall of a city that is misunderstood. Baltimore may show us what the future will hold for cities marked by historically racist policing and real estate policies that are unable or unwilling to reinvest in their communities in the 21st century.
The Right Investment
Baltimore is a fairly old city, by U.S. standards. The poem that eventually became “Star Spangled Banner” was written there by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812. Baltimore became a huge manufacturing hub because of its location and proximity to Washington D.C. Baltimore declined when those industries shifted and left the U.S. for China cheaper labor. The population boom? 1970 with nearly 1 million. The population now? Subtract nearly 400,000. More than any of its coastal neighbors or comparisons.2
Baltimore has a few issues, but for our purposes, what stands out has to be the 1,056 per 100,000 incarcerated population ratio.3 One thing that The Wire got right was the restrictive and oppressive police practices of the Baltimore Police Dept (BPD) since the 1970s, see below. Those practices targeted black and brown persons nearly exclusively, and from 2010-2015 nearly 65% of stops in Southeast Baltimore were black people. The actual black population of that area is just over 20%. It becomes less of a ‘problem’ and starts looking a lot like a conscious ‘decision.’
Enter the Justice Policy Institute and the Right Investment 2.0 which posits whether historical trends of disproportionate treatment in one of America’s oldest cities has something to do with it. They unveil a pretty slick way of understanding disproportionate outcomes, breaking down Baltimore by each neighborhood.4
Stable employment impacts both community and individual prosperity. A low unemployment rate indicates a prosperous community with more money circulating through the economy and is a bedrock for building strong and safe communities. Conversely, neighborhoods with high unemployment rates are plagued with other correlated problems. Research has found that these communities often suffer from “inadequate and low-quality housing, underfunded schools, few recreational activities, restricted access to services and public transportation, and limited opportunities for employment.” On an individual level, according to the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, unemployment is associated with depression, anxiety, poor self-esteem, and increased mortality rates. Unemployed residents can have a complicated relationship with their community, including feeling alienated and disaffected, which can impact safety. These ripple effects between employment and neighborhood health can lead to higher rates of violence, increased police presence, and a higher chance of criminal legal system involvement.
‘Community Indicators’ - The Right Investment 2.0
Remember in the previous segment where we talked about community safety? The Ted Bundy thing? This is the opposite of that. This feeling of shame - being classified as a criminal - can have unintended consequences not only on the criminal but society at large. Having a criminal record sometimes depends on walking the line in moral purgatory and not getting the ‘Dad bailed me out of jail and hired me an attorney’ or ‘Family knows police chief personally’ cards that others may get. Here, the starkness is apparent.
Baltimore
569,931- General Population
86,882- Total Arrests
6,024- Incarcerated Population
1,056.97- Incarcerated Population *per 100,000
Greater Roland Park / Poplar Hill
7,284 - General Population
1 - Incarcerated Population
13.7 - Incarcerated Population *per 100,000
78 - Total Arrests
10,013 - Calls for Service 911
Race / Ethnicity
Black - 8.8 %
White - 73.9 %
Hispanic / Latino - 4.2 %
Other - 13.1 %
Greater Rosemont
325 - Incarcerated Population
2,107.1. -Incarcerated Population *per 100,000
1,727 - Total Arrests
61,732 - Calls for Service 911
Race / Ethnicity
Black - 94.2 %
White - 1.2 %
Hispanic / Latino - 1.5 %
Other - 3.1%
The Maryland Department of Education released research in February 2023 indicating that Baltimore students had the lowest math scores across the state, with 93 percent lacking math aptitude of their grade level. In, 23 schools, zero students were proficient in math.
Unsurprisingly, the Justice Policy Institute found that those overly incarcerated communities tended to also have an impact on elementary schools and proficiency in math or vice versa. Belmont Elementary, in Greater Rosemont (GR) the incarcerated population is 325. If we look at Independence School Local 17 in Hampden, directly south of Roland Park/Poplar Hill, it has an incarcerated population of 40.
Also within the study there were elevated levels of lead in six Baltimore communities8 that make up for 21% of the Baltimore prison population. Many speculate that these higher levels of lead exposure have lead to an increased likelihood of committing crime, although only considered a strong correlation right now.
My good friend Johnny Hopkins9 reports that in one day, three properties in Baltimore become vacant. This ends up hemorrhaging the city nearly $100 million annually due to unpaid property taxes, income taxes, water and sewer bills. GR reported 19% vacancy in residential homes.10 Smack dab next to GR is Sandtown-Winchester, which city developers have left out of the plan for city investment since 2004. The incarceration rate including adjoining Harlem Park? 2562.9 per 100,000.11
Some of you were nodding until I talked about the vacant houses problem, but if you think about the cause and effect on either side of vacant housing, it is a more powerful indicator of the ramifications of a bloated and overextended CJS. An illustration: family moves in for lease, moves out when lease is over.12 But a family may abandon the house if there is say, black mold or asbestos. A family may also be evicted for nonpayment because the person usually keeping the lights on is in prison, or is hooked on substances. When that person gets out of prison and lives in the same or similar squallor, likely this will have adverse effects on recidivism and the like.13
If those things happen, the landlord loses out on rent. He just doesn’t get paid, and can’t pay his mortgage to keep the rental property. The house falls into foreclosure and no one buys it because improvements former landlord wanted to do never got done. In real estate investment, this is known as a “money pit” and is not a good investment. This cycle compounds over and over again, and may be the best indicator of a high crime + poverty neighborhood.
Redlining Legacy
“Redlining” is often a term used in civil rights discourse to describe the act, but also the general concept, of mortgage lenders rating certain areas A-B-C-D, with colors assigned accordingly in the earlier part of the 20th century. This specifically targeted black or brown communities, which were always rated D. Mortgage lenders would then not give loans to POC resulting in a lack of investment and wealth building.14 Redlining is why large swathes of cities are stuck in poverty compared to their upstanding counterparts only a mere five minutes away.
Of importance, Baltimore was one of the first places red-lining was enacted into law in 1911 by Mayor J.Barry Mahool15 until it was outlawed in 1968 by the Civil Rights Act. Our test community of GR is the largest one in red above. In addition to the real estate issues already outlined, and in comparison to the non-redlined neighbors, these maligned sectors of the city have a five-year lower life expectancy, higher mortality rates, higher teen birth rates, and lower rates of prenatal care. All of these factors support increased crime, as individuals living in Baltimore are a product of their environment.
When the Going Gets Tough….Leave
Baltimore may be the now poster child city for why restrictive and discriminatory practices aren’t just an issue in terms of civil rights, but also for capitalism. America is getting older now, and so we can see not only the legacies of the 1800s in our fabric, but the much closer and stark reality of disinvestment. Baltimore has become a sliver of what the future may bring in all major cities in America that disinvest in its main populace and cater to the >1%, who also happen to be predominately white.
Even more than that, past just Baltimore and the problems endemic to it, there is a thin thread stretching across America’s Star Spangled Banner, the Civil War, Segregation and continuing on to a small prison cell somewhere in the Baltimore City Correctional Center. That thread shows the uncomfortable but clear message America still sends to people of color, and those predominantly in the prison system, which is of control.16
Thanks for reading!
-HJRC
If you would like to become involved in helping Baltimore fight vacant lots and the oppressive prison system, please donate or contact one of these great local non-profits:
Comprehensive Housing Assistance Inc. (“CHAI”) for Baltimore
Holistic Life Foundation
https://holisticlifefoundation.org/abouthlf
St. Francis Neighborhood Center
https://www.stfranciscenter.org/
If you are a millennial
The overall Baltimore poverty rate of 23.5%
Massachusetts - 275 by 100,000 people
NYC - 185 by 100,000 people
Maine - 328 per 100,000 (this is closer to Baltimore’s population)
In the 1970s the prison populace from Baltimore city started being documented via their neighborhoods, rather than just Baltimore.
These two neighborhoods of Baltimore are separated by only a 20 min drive of six miles
If you are familiar with The Wire then Rosemont was the setting for the third season when Mcnulty and Baltimore’s best can’t find the bodies but they are being hid in the boarded up part of this neighborhood
Not known for their creativity in names
Elevated levels of lead can lead to ADHD, anxiety and depression
John Hopkins University, a Baltimore based institution
Markedly, if the vacant homes drops below 4% threshold, population rises along with housing prices.
92.5% of the Sandtown-Winchester/Harlem Park neighborhood is black.
This is more of a 2024 example, because prior to the Civil Rights Act, it wasn’t illegal to discriminate via housing on the basis of race.
If he’s on probation or parole, they likely can’t leave the immediate area anyway.
Think equity in your house
Aptly called “The Father of Segregation”