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Prince joins SoundCloud to release a Baltimore protest song

Prince just dropped a new song onto his SoundCloud (which is also new), and it's a tribute to Freddie Gray and the people of Baltimore. "Baltimore" is a delicate gospel track with a sly funk lining — it's got a Graffiti Bridge vibe to it — and paints a picture of people struggling against a world that's inherently hostile toward them. And there's some classic Purple One philosophizing going on too: "Peace is more than the absence of a war."

Prince will perform a concert in Baltimore tomorrow, which you'll be able to stream live on Tidal.

Morgan Freeman on Baltimore Protest Coverage: ‘F-ck the Media’

The screen icon discussed police brutality and the televised news media’s coverage of the Baltimore protests in the wake of Freddie Gray’s death while in police custody.

www.thedailybeast.com

“Isn’t that always happening?” says Freeman of the media’s penchant for unsubstantiated, biased conjecture during live news events. “Look at MSNBC, Fox News, and CNN. Go between those three. There’s a take, there’s a take, and there’s a take. It’s just commentary. CNN wants to be pure news, but the others are just commentary. They’re just commenting on things.”

“The other thing is that technology lets us see behind the scenes a little bit better,” he continues. “Police have a standard reaction to shooting somebody. I fear for my life and I fear for my safety. Now, at least you can see, ‘Hey, his hands were up in the air! What part of your safety were you afraid of? The guy was running away, what part of your safety was in danger?’ There was one situation I saw where a cop told a guy to get out of the car, said, ‘Show me your driver’s license,’ and the guy reached back into the car and the cop shot him!”

“Anyway, off the media,” he says, waving his hands in the air and chuckling. “F-ck the media.”

Freddie Gray: Baltimore police to face criminal charges - BBC News

Baltimore's top prosecutor says Freddie Gray's death was a homicide and plans to file criminal charges against officers involved in the case.

www.bbc.com

State prosecutor Marilyn Mosby said the death of the 25-year-old black man was a homicide, and his arrest was illegal.

The charges range from second-degree murder to assault. Protesters cheered as she made the announcement.

Gray suffered fatal spinal injuries while in custody, sparking protests that turned violent.

"The findings of our comprehensive, thorough, and independent investigation coupled with the medical examiner's determination was a homicide... has led us to believe that we have probable cause to file criminal charges," Mrs Mosby told a news conference.

She said Mr Gray died as a result of injuries suffered while he was shackled inside a Baltimore police van, but not restrained by a seat belt - as he was legally required to be.

The six police officers were expected to turn themselves in to the Baltimore jail on Friday, the Baltimore sheriff's office said. The officers were suspended after Gray's death.

1. 2nd-degree depraved heart murder
2. involuntary manslaughter
3. 2nd degree negligent assault
4. manslaughter by vehicle by means of gross negligence
5. manslaughter by vehicle by means of criminal negligence
6. misconduct in office for failure to secure prisoner
7. failure to render aid

1. Involuntary manslaughter 
2. assault in the 2nd degree
3. misconduct in office

1. Involuntary manslaughter
2. assault in the 2nd degree
3. assault in the 2nd degree [second of two similar charges]
4. misconduct in office
5. false imprisonment

1. Assault in the 2nd degree (intentional) 
2. assault in the 2nd degree (negligent)
3. misconduct in office
4. false imprisonment

1. Involuntary manslaughter
2. 2nd degree assault
3. misconduct in office

1. Intentional Assault in the 2nd degree
2. assault in the 2nd degree
3. negligent misconduct in office
4. false imprisonment

Cromartie first noticed the little boy in the photo because no one else — not even adults — were trying to help the police like he was, he tells Bustle. The boy was doggedly persistent, trying over and over again to hand water to the police officer in the picture. Finally, after numerous attempts, he got the officer’s attention, and that was when Cromartie snapped the photo. The pastor says he sees the picture as “a way to show that Baltimore is not as bad and that the people who riot are just a handful, that clearly you have, statewide, people who actually care.”

Cromartie tells Bustle, “He actually was the only one handing out water — that stood out by himself — and what was so intriguing was he was doing it on his own. It showed that he had a mind of his own that, despite everything that was going on, that he still wanted to make sure the police were okay and he may be realizing that someday he’s going to need the police. The police officer did not take the water and I didn’t expect him to. I would not take it considering what’s going on and how people are feeling.”

The most powerful thing to Cromartie was that the boy, who was with family as they helped with the clean-up efforts, had made his decision all on his own. Cromartie expressed surprise when I told him over the phone that others were now following suit and that photos had spread of citizens handing officers pizza at protests as well. The pastor sees it as a generational thing, more a marker of social media than actual care. “It’s just kind of crazy that people began to do it — to help officers — after they saw the photo,” Cromartie says.

The Baltimore Uprising is a symptom of a much larger problem! SIGN THE PLEDGE TO FIGHT RACISM WHEREVER IT REARS ITS UGLY HEAD: http://www.bravenewfilms.org/racism SUBSCRIBE:http://bit.ly/1JUX3Xv WATCH MORE: http://bit.ly/1GxWnUe

Something is wrong when thousands of resumes are mailed to employers with identical information and black-sounding names are 50% less likely to get a call back. 

Something is wrong when black people are charged prices roughly $700 higher than white people when buying cars. 

Something is wrong when black drivers are twice as likely to get pulled over by the police and black male teens are 21 times more likely to be killed by cops than their white counterparts. 

Something is wrong when black people are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of white people.

And something is wrong when we continue to NOT do anything about it! 

SIGN THE PLEDGE TO FIGHT RACISM http://www.bravenewfilms.org/racism

The Chicago White Sox are playing an actual MLB baseball game the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards in Baltimore today in a completely empty stadium due to the unrest over the death of Freddie Gray. Here are a few pictures that show the game happening to a crowd of no one. It looks like, well, what an empty stadium is supposed to look like.

Camden Yards has a seating capacity of 45,971. No one was in any of those seats. The only people at the stadium were the players, the umpires, a few scouts and the press (and perhaps a skeleton maintenance crew?). Basically, everyone can hear everything.

You can follow Scott on Twitter at @Disalmanacarian and his book at @Disalmanac. We welcome your comments at [email protected].