Orioles COO John Angelos offers eye-opening perspective on Baltimore protests

[radhika]

38. I took in an Orioles game when I was visiting in Baltimore last year....

Kudos to Angelos, he does indeed get it.

I grew up in Baltimore City, later Baltimore County. I was a white Catholic school girl whose parents moved to the suburbs in the early 1960's. The suburbs were partly a response to racial turmoil in the city during an era of segregation, block busting and restricted communities.

Anyway, back to last August. My sister, brother-in-law and I (all Californians now) were visiting in Maryland and decided to take in a game. We were amazed how few of the attendees were persons of color, specifically African American. And Baltimore is and has been a Chocolate City, and Camden Yards in so easy to get to.

Yes, tickets are pricey. Agreed. But the O's were closing in on the Division Championship, and team spirit was super high in the whole city. It was surprising.

The population of the city has been falling, decent jobs are fleeing and outside trendy areas, urban decay is reclaiming some areas that were creatively gentrified during a period of civic restoration in the 80s.

If you spend any amount of time in Charm City, you'll see how racially divided it is. Lots of the cultural and tourist sites are primarily enjoyed by white vacationers and corporate groups. Many of my white suburban Maryland friends tell me they 'dread' going into downtown Baltimore - tried to warm me against it. "High murder rate". "Don't wear a nice watch, you'll be a target'.

Let's hope the city can start healing after this event. But, maybe not. Other cities have similar issues, and they don't seem to be healing.