Thousands Gather In Baltimore To Say Goodbye To Freddie Gray

Thousands of people gathered in a Baltimore church Monday to say goodbye to Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old man who died April 19 after sustaining a massive spinal cord injury while in police custody on April 12. Speakers at the service called for justice for Gray and all recent and future victims of police violence. Leaders like U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings and Reverend Jesse Jackson paid their respects at the service, where family and friends remembered Gray. There are still no good answers to exactly what happened after police took Gray into custody, or why it took them so long to call for help after it was clear he was injured. Bystanders took videos of police arresting Gray that show him crying out in pain, but police have resisted calls to release more information from that day. After a day of peaceful marches and protests this weekend, a clash between some demonstrators and police ended in more than 30 arrests, ABC News reported. Actions continued on Sunday, when Gray's family held a small, private funeral. The White House also sent representatives to Monday's services, including the head of the My Brother's Keeper initiative, which aims to help young men of color access greater opportunities. It's time to show who we really, really are," one funeral speaker said, urging people to remain peaceful. "Who we are should be optics of beauty and respect." Outrage over Gray's death — and the long list of recent deaths of Black men and women, including Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Rekia Boyd, and Walter Scott — has become powerful enough to convince rival gangs to come together to protest police brutality. As the Daily Beast reported Monday morning, members of the Bloods and Crips brokered a truce and stood united at protests this weekend. Police reported Monday that they had information about a potential threat from gangs to "take out" officers, but they offered few other details.