Thank You Governor Larry Hogan

Thank you for working so diligently to improve Maryland in ways in which you see fit. Understandably, holding the position of governor is a largely involved and tasking duty. Furthermore, it is a position that requires a certain amount of patience and understanding geared towards the people which you have solemnly swore to serve. Unfortunately, you have recently made a misstep in your calculations and executions of your plans-pertaining specifically to your current state of affairs in Baltimore. In your campaign, you stated, “our focus is on the issues that unite Marylanders from all backgrounds and political parties: jobs, middle class families, and restoring our economy.” Ironically, you seemed to have forgotten your underlying focuses of “[dividing] Marylanders from all backgrounds and political parties” through the hand you have dealt in the continued disenfranchisement of the Black community-specifically the Black youth of Baltimore. Although you may feel that the violence and unrest can be combatted with the construction of a juvenile detention center, what you are invariably participating in is the theft-the pilfering-of Baltimore’s Black youth, and the futures which they can achieve through the very same education which you are choosing to loot from them. Furthermore, it is rather ironic that an individual devoted to the betterment of a community, is at the same time tearing that community down. You must understand, it is rather difficult to see the good in a plan that will only lead to further unrest and anger in the community. The African American community has gone through numerous injustices and difficulties over a multitude of years. Many times, society makes it appear that the Black community has no where that they can turn to. Additionally, there is a systematic and deliberate perpetuation of this idea, with the hopes of barring the African American community from bettering itself-a perpetuation which you have found yourself serving.

I wholeheartedly advise that you learn to recognize and evaluate the privilege you have in being able to build yourself up while tearing down a collective of individuals who have been torn down through the ignorance and prejudice(s) of so many hurdles… It is disheartening and saddening to think that you lied your way to the position you find yourself in today; that you gave a hope and an assurance that was not there in the first place; that you can’t recognize that without the people-especially the people you have insulted and undermined-you would be nowhere and you would have no power; that you believe that the only way to insure a brighter future for someone is by giving them more opportunities and more clearance to be incarcerated and barred from that same future. The next time you believe you have the capacity to make informed decisions on behalf of a community of people facing struggles you will never identify with, evaluate yourself and give that responsibility to someone more capable-and far more admirable-than yourself.