The city of Baltimore recently had its AFRAM (African American Festival) weekend celebrations. The festival started on June 19th, Emancipation Day (Juneteenth), and went until the 21st of June. This celebration is meant to be a time of community and healing, a time of connection and relaxation and a moment to find power and strength by honoring and reflecting on history. However, capitalist greed, as it does around the world, found a way to rob the people of peace.
Fox News would have you believe that AFRAM was invaded and taken over by “juveniles” who wanted to do nothing but fight and wreak havoc. They point to one fight between kids and immediately write off the whole weekend as a failure. This could not be further from the truth. It was the Baltimore Pig Department that invaded and took over AFRAM. It was the pigs who surrounded the youth learning zone at the festival with police trucks and armed officers. It was the pigs who chased Black youth through the park, instigated confrontations with bystanders and threatened violence on concerned onlookers. It was the pigs who flew the helicopter low over the trees of Druid Hill Park, drowning out the performances and scaring kids.
This behavior by the Baltimore Pig Department is nothing new. Just last year, AFRAM took place in the shadow of the murder of beloved arabber Bilal “BJ” Yusuf-Muhammad Abdullah Jr. by Baltimore Pigs on June 17, 2025. Three pigs — Omar Rodriguez, Ashley Negron and Devin Yancy — fired 38 rounds at him; his family later sued the officers over the shooting. Days later, Dontae Melton Jr. was killed by police custody and medical neglect.
At this year’s festival, it was the Baltimore Pig Department’s “Group Violence Reduction Unit” that was the real demon and devil ruining the event for everyone. This same unit that was terrorizing kids at AFRAM is responsible for the deaths of multiple Black men across the city.
On the last night of the festival, following the end of the headlining performance, the crowd was harassed by the Police helicopter searchlight. Each time the chopper flew over the crowd, the searchlight made sure to sweep the crowd from top to bottom.
This heavy-handed occupation by BPD was a message. Racist police and those who profit from their practices cannot see a unified Black Baltimore. They cannot see a Black Baltimore that is educated on its past and ready to fight for its future. Whether it be at an art festival or in our neighborhoods, the only answer to seeing peace and unity is by kicking the pigs out.
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