Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott called out a local journalist who implied that a member of his staff was a part of the street gang, The Crips, simply because he was wearing a blue cap.
“Y’all according to Gary from Sinclair(Fox45) any black man in Baltimore with a blue hat and hoodie must be a crip. A blue hat in Baltimore = Crip? In Baltimore? These are the kind of questions being leveled against frontline community violence interrupters by MAGA activist, Sinclair reporter, and former RNC Delegate Gary Collins,” Mayor Scott captioned in a post with a screenshot of an email Sinclair sent to City Hall.
“This is ridiculous, this is racist, this is dangerous and this is unacceptable,” said Scott.
In the email, Collins inquires about footage of workers with Baltimore’s “Safe Streets” program, which was established in 2007 to reduce violence in the majority-Black city. Workers, typically outreach professionals, are hired to mediate conflicts that could result in gun violence.
Collins asked several questions about the Safe Streets worker.
“Why are the clear gang colors of blue, which tend to illustrate and communities that a person is affiliated or associated with the Crips or Crip related organizations, seen walking with two of the state’s most prominent elected officials?” the Fox reporter queried. “Are active members of ‘crews’, ‘groups,’ or other enterprises currently employed by Safe Streets?”
Collins also inquired as to whether there were measures in place to “ensure Maryland and Baltimore taxpayers aren’t funding individuals currently working with or affiliated with criminal groups.”
In his response, Mayor Scott wrote, “It’s simple. MAGA wants us to go back to the good ole days where being Black and outside was treated as a crime — despite the fact that we are making our own communities safer than they have been in 50 years.”
Baltimore and other majority Black and brown cities led by Black mayors have been under political scrutiny after President Donald Trump threatened to send the National Guard to crack down on what he described as out-of-control. Leaders like Scott have touted record-low crime in recent years and dismissed Trump’s threat as authoritarian.
“Are we done doing that work? No. Not by a long shot. But we have come too far to allow this type of blatant racism to creep back into normalcy,” Scott said of the email from Collins. “Gary, does wearing a blue suit make you a Crip?”
Scott also listed several Baltimore schools that wear blue as their school colors.
He added, “I guess all the students, alum and faculties are all Crips, and we should mandate they all change their colors?”
