Wes Moore, Erica L. Green and the book ‘Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City’

Freddie Gray died after being arrested, handcuffed, and succumbing to a spine injury six days after being taken into the custody of the police of Baltimore, Maryland. An ABC News report of Gray‘s April, 2015 arrest and it’s aftermath can in part be seen here.

(From left, Wes Moore and Erica L. Green. Moore and Green wrote Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City, an account of seven participants in the community uprisings in Baltimore after the death of Freddie Gray).

The book Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City by anti-poverty activist Wes Moore with New York Times federal education policy, civil rights and education equity reporter Erica L. Green looks into the perspectives of eight participants in community uprisings in Baltimore following Gray‘s death while in police custody.

(Freddie Gray was 25-years old when he was arrested and succumbed to injuries while in the custody of Baltimore police in April, 2015).

The perspectives of eight people with direct involvement in Baltimore, expressed in short chapters of alternating perspective of the uprising that began after Gray’s death. Perspectives included those Tawanda Jones, whose brother had died during a law enforcement incident; Major Marc Partee, the first African-American police commander of the city’s Inner Harbor district; Baltimore city councilman Nick Mosby; juvenile public defender Jennifer (Jenny) Egan, who volunteered to support jailed protestors; and John DeAngelo, scion of the city’s most powerful family and owner of the Baltimore Orioles, who face decisions he’d never before confronted. Other voices allowed for a diverse accounting that made this reporting accumulate impact that makes this work feel like narrative nonfiction.

(This alternate cover of Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City by Wes Moore and Erica L. Green captures a sense of place and feeling in the uprising after the death of Freddie Gray while in the custody of Baltimore police).

Many longstanding cultural forces surrounding poverty, race, the relationships between police and the community served, community services that lead to illness in the community, and many others are raised with compassion and advocacy in addressing systemic issues at the core of what happened to Freddie Gray and the Baltimore community over time. The epilogue following the perspectives of the five days in Baltimore after the death of Freddie Gray serves as a succinct call for action today, and when Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City was first published.

(Wes Moore co-wrote Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City with Erica L. Green).

Offering a personal touch in gathering multiple voices in the Baltimore uprising after Freddie Gray‘s death while in police custody was a clear achievement of the book Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City. The emotional advocacy of the book, and the balanced approach taken, indicates a sincere approach aimed at healing, compassion and understanding. The message included within needs speaking, which helps me appreciate the book. I grant Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City by Wes Moore and Erica L. Green 4.0-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, April 17, 2021