Baltimore Students Respond to U.S. Capitol Riot
By Shantika Bhat, Khira Moore, and Kristiana Smith * March 26, 2021
Artwork Credit: Yifan Luo for CHARM
Initial Reactions
The insurrection at Capitol Hill left CHARM’s students in shock. The blatant disrespect shown by those who participated in the storm was appalling, to say the least. While there are some of us who were startled, others were saddened, disgusted, and even numb. The majority, however, were simply not surprised.
The racial disparities regarding black and brown communities and their interactions with law enforcement are evident during this time. A 2019 study by the National Academy of Sciences found that 1 in every 1,000 black men are at risk of being killed during an interaction with police. An article from students at Stanford University further highlights present-day examples of systemic racism and the roles they play in our society.
“The fact that a bunch of white people (who were criticizing protests earlier in the year) were able to break into one of the most important buildings in our country and be treated with any respect is so messed up, but protests that were mostly peaceful and dedicated to a movement that desires equality for black people were flooded with the police and in many cases resulted in violence on innocent individuals,” wrote 12th-grader Sarah Rad.
Because of the role that racial discrimination has played in police brutality, many believe that these insurrectionists would have been killed if they were people of color. This double standard is the reason why primarily white Trump supporters stormed the capitol and were able to return home afterwards.
“A woman lost her eye to rubber bullets during BLM protests and here you see a white lady getting maced and then having her hand held and led graciously out the Capitol like a baby,” said high school senior, Ja’Nora White.
Former President Donald Trump incited this riot after he told his supporters at a rally near the White House to march to the Capitol where Congress was certifying the election votes. When the rally was over, Trump was nowhere to be found while thousands of his supporters flooded Capitol Hill. If America is built on justice, how did those protecting the Capitol let them get so far? Who were they protecting?
“Everyone was saying when did America get like this.. It’s always been like this, said White. “The racism has always been blatant but now that it is an attack on a government building directly it’s now like OMG.”
We also interviewed Johnathan Veale, Communications team leader at CHARM, who said about the riot, “Something like this was going to happen either way.” I can’t help but agree with his statement. We needed something like this to happen if our country could ever get past the notion of white privilege not being real. This is our reality and when radicals set out to deface a government landmark, we can’t treat it like a typical Wednesday.
BLM vs. Capitol Riot
Many students are disturbed by the comparison supporters of the insurrection have made between the January events and unrest related to the Black Lives Matter movement.
High school senior Kayla Terrelong responded, “The comparisons were excuses, Black Lives Matter had peaceful protest and were terrorized by police, while these people raided a government building filled with officials and were taking photos with cops.”
The politically charged disturbance at the Capitol is only one of many violent upheavals American media has covered in the past several years. Back in 2015, Baltimore City saw a massive uproar in reaction to the killing of Freddie Gray.
The Freddie Gray riots were thrown into the spotlight of national coverage much like the January riot at Capitol Hill, however, there are stark differences between the pictures painted by headlines covering each event.
“They did not have the same energy,” said Veale.
While the unrest in Baltimore had been exclusively termed as violent “riots,” some sources ventured to label the heated gathering at Capitol Hill as an “insurrection,” “mob,” or even a “demonstration.” While these terms are loosely synonymous, the latter titles for the Capitol riots present have less severe connotations.
Image credit: CNN.com
What can be done differently?
Baltimore teens, like many others who witnessed the events on January 6th, are less than pleased with the Trump administration's response to the attack on Capitol Hill.
When asked on the survey about their initial reactions to the insurrection, one student answered in the form of two questions. “Why couldn’t these people take the loss and move on? How were they allowed to go this far?”
Former President Trump’s failure to promptly alert the National Guard shocked many along with seemingly passive response from the Capitol building’s security.
“Lock down the Capitol and never let anyone in again,” was Veale’s response when asked how something like the attack should be prevented from happening in the future.”
“We knew something like this would happen,” said White. She recalls several instances where posts were made on Twitter foreshadowing January 6th. “This was a threat to national security and there were so many signs hinting to what was going to happen but there were no precautionary measures taken.”
The major consensus is that more precautions should be taken in the present to avoid something similar happening in the future.
IMPACT on Mental Health
Due to the overwhelming stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, racism, and presidential election, mental health crises in youth are on the rise. As most of us at CHARM are middle schools and high schoolers, we understand how much isolation and the uncertainty during times like this can seriously affect our mental well-being.
“I became numb to a lot of things. And I became angry as well. It’s unfortunate because it’s like my mental health has been on the back burner sometimes”, said White.
“I feel unmotivated,” said Veale.
During a time where we are all at home we tend to go to social media to try to connect with one another. As teens, social media is our way of trying to connect with society. However, often that could be the source of unwanted emotions if exposed too much.
“It’s hard for me to take care of myself because I am an activist and I have to engage in all the news that is tragic,” said White.
Baltimore teens are especially vulnerable to mental health crises due to the large number of health disparities within our community. Not only has Baltimore had issues with police brutality but also the Black community has a larger mortality rate from COVID-19 compared to other races. According to the Office of Minority Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Black Americans have reported more symptoms of hopelessness and sadness compared to white Americans.
As the Pandemic and racist attacks have exacerbated the mental health crisis, the importance of self-care has taken the place to combat. We encourage you to find time to do things that make you feel happy and relaxed.
“Mental Health Care is a right, not a privilege,” said Kate Dodson vice president of global health at the United Nation Foundation.
Veale has been playing PlayStation and has been trying to reach out to people when needed. He said that it was very helpful for him to connect with people because it gave him a sense of normalcy and emotional connection.
“I turned off my notifications on social media because that's where I would get updates,” said White. “Taking a step back from social media …helps you to do stuff you want to.”
Mental Health Resources for Teens
As many tough events come and go it’s always good to practice self-care and taking care of your mental well-being. We at the CHARM Report would like to encourage our readers to look into these mental health resources if you or anyone you know needs them.
Visit Local Resources:
Baltimore Crisis Resource INC https://bcresponse.org/
Baltimore City Health Department: https://health.baltimorecity.gov/trauma-mental-health-resources
Black Mental Health Alliance: https://blackmentalhealth.com/
Self Care Resources:
APA Self-Care Resource Center- https://www.apa.org/topics/self-care
Active Minds- https://www.activeminds.org/about-mental-health/self-care/