Why is Freddie Gray dead?

Mary Bruno

Mary Bruno Jun 29, 2025

Feb 6, 2018

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          <article>
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                <h1>Why is Freddie Gray dead?</h1>
                <h2><p>Atlantic writer Ta-Nehisi Coates on Baltimore, post Freddie Gray: "... I see politicians calling for young people in Baltimore to remain peaceful and 'nonviolent.' These well-intended pleas strike me as the right answer to the wrong question. To understand the question, it's worth remembering what, specifically,</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/mary-bruno-crosscut-com/">Mary Bruno</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Feb 6, 2018</time></p>
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            <p>Atlantic writer Ta-Nehisi Coates on <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/04/nonviolence-as-compliance/391640/?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_wonk&ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">Baltimore, post Freddie Gray</a>: "... I see politicians calling for young people in Baltimore to remain peaceful and 'nonviolent.' These well-intended pleas strike me as the right answer to the wrong question. To understand the question, it's worth remembering what, specifically, happened to Freddie Gray. An officer made eye contact with Gray. Gray, for unknown reasons, ran. The officer and his colleagues then detained Gray. They found him in possession of a switchblade. They arrested him while he yelled in pain. And then, within an hour, his spine was mostly severed. A week later, he was dead. What specifically was the crime here? What particular threat did Freddie Gray pose? ... Why is Freddie Gray dead?"</p>
          </article>

Atlantic writer Ta-Nehisi Coates on Baltimore, post Freddie Gray: "... I see politicians calling for young people in Baltimore to remain peaceful and 'nonviolent.' These well-intended pleas strike me as the right answer to the wrong question. To understand the question, it's worth remembering what, specifically, happened to Freddie Gray. An officer made eye contact with Gray. Gray, for unknown reasons, ran. The officer and his colleagues then detained Gray. They found him in possession of a switchblade. They arrested him while he yelled in pain. And then, within an hour, his spine was mostly severed. A week later, he was dead. What specifically was the crime here? What particular threat did Freddie Gray pose? ... Why is Freddie Gray dead?"

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By Mary Bruno

Mary was Crosscut's Editor-in-Chief and Interim Publisher. In more than 25 years as a journalist, she has worked as a writer, editor and editorial director for a variety of print and web publications,