(At Least) Five Times that The Wire Showed us Real World Baltimore

I’m a tourist to Baltimore and won’t claim otherwise. I’ve been there a couple of times (though I’ve been to DC much more) and don’t have anything poignant or memorable to offer from my stops there. Still, as a Person of Color, I sympathize with the frustrations of communities that feel like their city, their police force, and their government care little for their wellbeing. There’s a hopelessness in watching people try to affect change in response to the death of Freddie Gray, whose injuries and subsequent death have yet to be fully explained by the City of Baltimore. The Wire is a work of fiction and its invocation into this argument shouldn’t undercut the very real circumstances involving loss of life and slow moving justice in the very real Baltimore. But it is an adapted fiction to real people, situations, and environments that previously existed or still do exist in Baltimore. Watching the protests and riots play out, these are the moments that appeared to me from that iconic show. Also, both Wendell Pierce and David Simon have come out condemning the violence portrayed in Baltimore, which is – interesting to say the least. The destruction of the towers.

Episode: Time After Time Season 3 begins with this scene and it is still one of the most poignant moments in the show. The corner boys are walking to the site where the Mayor is making his speech about “revitalizing” the city. This, in effect, is his plan for gentrification by way of eliminating the notorious Towers….