Poverty

People driving past the Island bring him things: food, furniture, and appliances. For the last few weeks JT's space, on the median under the Franklin St. overpass, has looked like a typical bachelor's living room.

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Update: Since the publication of this article, JT has received a Section-8 voucher for housing assistance, which he had been on a waiting list for for about six years. The Island is gone, but he can still be found selling water there on most afternoons.

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Every year around the world countries celebrate International Workers Day or Labor Day on May 1 – commonly known as May Day.

   For the youngest republic in the industrialized world it also marks the anniversary of the 1886 Haymarket massacre – a three-day strike for an 8-hour work day that took place in Chicago, Ill, which turned violent when police fired on demonstrators, killing several as well as fellow officers.

Video from May Day 2010 in Baltimore and the United Workers "Our Harbor Day":

On May 1st the United Workers marched for living wages and work with dignity, targeting the developers behind the Inner Harbor. "Our Harbor Day" mobilized three separate political theater performances and street marches (on "earth", "education", and "work") from the greater Baltimore social justice community, which converged on City Hall for a concluding performance followed by a march to and through the Inner Harbor itself.

There were posters of Obama as Hitler, the "Democratic Nazi Party", "Keep Your Laws Off My Body" (except for abortion - I asked) and other various and sundry examples of ugliness.

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I went to the rally and got there at about 5:35 pm. Already there were signs posted saying the event (which had a huge line already waiting to get in) had reached capacity. I hope members of Healthcare-Now of MD were there early.

We’ll chase a white middle class teenage boy across the country to make sure he receives expensive chemo that he doesn’t even want, but we can’t even cover basic dental care for children on Medicaid?

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In light of the current debate about health care rationing, as well some recent conversations I’ve had about race, the following comparison struck me as somewhat painful:

B-MORE FAIR

Saturday, April 18th - 12:00 NOON – 4 p.m. followed by Human Rights Zone march to Inner Harbor.

Join Baltimore’s community organizations in a celebration of the vision to secure justice and human rights in our city. On Saturday, April 18th, community leaders from around Baltimore will host a day of food, music, dance, children’s programs, workshops, info booths, and more.