Group speaks out about local, national race relations

A small crowd gathered at Colorado College to talk about race relations following a tense week of protests in Baltimore.

Protests turned violent on the streets of the Maryland city over Freddie Gray’s death. However, tension eased as six police officers linked to his death were arrested.

The group gathered at Colorado College talked about racism and ways to challenge problems in the U.S.

“I would just love to see people being way more compassionate, putting yourself in other people’s shoes,” said college student Nebeu Abraha.

He said controversy surrounding Gray’s death goes deeper than the relationship between minority groups and law enforcement.

“You start to look at how the police and that individual officer, whoever it may be, is just a part of that bigger system that I personally and people I know are trying to bring down,” said Abraha.

Fatima Ali said everyone must tackle stereotypes and see the beauty in one another. She also agrees with Abraha that there are bigger problems that need to be addressed when it comes to police.

“What I draw from that is a sadness and an ungratefulness that we have toward our police force because they are here to protect us and they aren’t the enemy. The bigotry people are raised in and exposed to in those early developmental years is what we need to fight,” said Fatima.

Patsy Bjork stepped up to the microphone and shared a few words with the group. She said people need to stop being afraid and confront people who say racist things.

“When we hear people speak hate, we need to address it. I see it all the time, I see it within family members, I see it in the community, people are afraid,” said Bjork.

People who organized the gathering say they plan to do more to raise awareness about issues in Baltimore in the coming week.