Violence frustrates historic Black cultural hub in Baltimore

By LEA SKENE
Associated Press

BALTIMORE (AP) — A weekend shooting in west Baltimore’s Upton neighborhood killed two people and left three others injured, including two young children whose mother later died. Less than two weeks earlier, a man was stabbed to death at the same busy intersection. Residents say the violence illustrates a larger trend: What used to be Baltimore’s preeminent Black business and entertainment district has declined over the past several decades amid urban flight and disinvestment. Now defined largely by the local drug trade, the community’s cultural artifacts include the childhood home of Thurgood Marshall and a bronze statue of jazz legend Billie Holiday, who performed at nearby clubs.