UPDATE: This post has been amended to include the summaries of the six finalists ONLY.
BALT has read through and summarized all 26 applications for the public to review. Our summaries include an overview of each applicant's budget, key players, and whether or not the applicant meets any of BALT's initial recommendations.
While BALT applauds the City and DOJ for entering into a consent decree, we are very skeptical of it’s efficacy or ability to dismantle Baltimore’s deep roots of racial injustice. The very process alone limits the solution to the four corners of the consent decree and doesn’t touch on years of oppression in the areas of housing, economics and health (to name a few). Any solution that does not consider systematic removal of Black wealth in Baltimore will fall short in addressing the unconstitutional behavior in BPD or any other aspect of city government.
To that end, BALT does not support or endorse any single applicant for Monitor. None of the applications to become the Consent Decree Monitor met BALT’s requirements for the participation of impacted people, transparency, or a formal infrastructure for stakeholders to engage in the court process. However, the following applications either addressed some of those requirements, inadequately addressed some of the requirements, or did not meet the requirements at all. We provide the following information with the hopes that it will help others evaluate the proposals commitment to the involvement of impacted individuals, transparency, and allowing the community to engage directly with the Court.
*For a downloadable version please email info@baltimoreactionlegal.org