The Patriot Post® · Is 'Freddie Gray' the Right Name for a Youth Center?

If black lives really matter — and they absolutely do — the black community should be making some different choices. Case in point from the Fox affiliate in Baltimore: “A new Baltimore youth center has been named in honor of Freddie Gray.” You’ll recall that Gray is the black man who was arrested and later died from a spinal injury he received while in a police van. As with the deaths of Michael Brown and, to a far lesser extent, Eric Garner, Gray’s death led to riots in Baltimore and charges against the arresting officers. So what will kids learn at the Freddie Gray Youth Empowerment Center? It will offer job and computer training along with year-round community programs and free meals. Those are honorable things, and we’re certainly glad to see the church community of Baltimore take the lead in helping kids. But Gray’s “martyrdom” as part of a leftist narrative of racist police doesn’t automatically make him a role model for Baltimore’s youth. We just pray these kids are able to free themselves from the all-too-typical inner city fate.