A Ground-Level View of Baltimore’s Protests: Hope, Anger, and Beauty

Protesters, police, tear gas, and roller skates collide in Andrew Renneisen’s gorgeous photos.

Protesters in Baltimore stand between the police and other protesters in hopes of keeping the peace.<a href="http://www.andrewrenneisen.com">Andrew Renneisen</a>

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On April 12, Freddie Gray was arrested by Baltimore police. One hour later he was comatose. A week later he was dead, succumbing to spinal injuries inflicted while in custody. On Monday, Gray’s funeral was followed by peaceful protests as well as looting, arson, and confrontations with police.

Photographer Andrew Renneisen was on the streets that night and the following day as the city took stock of the riots’ aftermath, capturing images of violence and destruction, but also hope and courage.

All photos by Andrew Renneisen.

A protester picks up a tear gas canister after it was fired to disperse a small crowd that stayed past a 10 p.m. curfew.
 

Baltimore residents watch the scene of a fire at Baker and North Mount Streets.
 

A car burns on Fulton Avenue.
 

Residents watch the fire at Baker and North Mount Streets.
 

Freddie Gray’s friends and family pray at the New Shiloh Baptist Church the night of the riots.
 

A police officer across the street from the fire at Baker and North Mount Streets.
 

The fire’s aftermath.
 

Citizens clean up a CVS that was looted and set on fire during protests.
 

A protester on the morning after Monday’s massive protests.
 

Police create a wall on West North Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
 

A peace walk in honor of Freddie Gray Andrew Renneisen
 

A helicopter hovers over a rally following the peace walk. Andrew Renneisen
 

Protesters link arms together after bottles were thrown at police.
 

Black baby dolls hang from a tree to protest Gray’s death.
 

Police form a line and deploy tear gas to disperse protesters.
 

Roller skating amid the protests.
 

Tear gas floats behind a protester.

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In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

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