The death of Freddy Gray, an African-American who died after being detained by police, has provoked the biggest wave of protest against the domestic policy of the US authorities in recent years. Baltimore has become a center for an "American Spring", where after Gray's funeral on April 27 riots broke out, which could not be stopped by any measures, including the introduction of night curfews. Residents of the largest cities of the US expressed their support for Baltimore’s people. 53 people have already been detained.
The family of Freddy Gray urged Americans to end the violence and begin peaceful demonstrations. US President Barack Obama expressed his concern about what is happening in Baltimore, saying that an investigation into the cause of the death of Gray "is vital." "Justice must be done. All the circumstances must be identified," Obama said.
Analysts, meanwhile, warned that Baltimore is not the end but only the beginning of a large-scale "American Spring" generated by long-standing problems of racial inequality in the United States. Damon Linker in The Week reminds us that similar riots have worried the States for a year now – starting from the summer riots in Ferguson and Staten Island, "There are many examples where African Americans have suffered blatant injustice, ordinary citizens from armed representatives of the state," Linker notes.
"If we can be absolutely sure about something, then it is only that these racially motivated riots will not be the last in our country. New riots, wounded police officers, arrests, looted and burned shops – we will see all of that – if not the next week, then next month or next year, because the egregious acts of violence against African Americans will continue," Damon Linker concluded.
