8-Week Long Freddie Gray Course Begins At UMd. School Of Law
BALTIMORE (WJZ)—An 8-week long Freddie Gray course begins today for students at the University of Maryland School of Law.
WJZ's Marcus Washington has more on the course.
It's a case that made national headlines. 25-year-old Freddie Gray died in police custody a week after he was arrested on April 12. His death sparked protests which eventually led to riots and looting through the streets of Baltimore.
Now, the Baltimore unrest is a discussion in a classroom full of law students.
The class is titled "Freddie Gray's Baltimore: Past, Present, and Moving Forward" and will focus on examining the unrest in Baltimore as well as its causes and possible solutions by focusing on social, economic, and other issues.
"It was incredibly emotional to go over the events and to review again what happened and how the event got us to this point," said Eric Suarez, a student a University of Maryland School of Law.
Third-year law student, Susan Dumont, who comes from an area near Ferguson, Missouri, says she couldn't pass up on the opportunity.
"How do we get the entire country to understand how important this is without having this happen in every single city," Dumont said.
The 8-week course runs from 3:15 p.m. 5:15 p.m. and is taught by Maryland Carey Law faculty members as well as practicing professionals, and elected officials.
Professor Michael Greenberger says this course isn't designed to point fingers, but to look at every situation surrounding Freddie Gray and the unrest.
Officials say the course was set in motion when law school faculty members discussed how they could help students understand the many issues raised following Freddie Gray's death.
The 8-week course will tackle eight topics, including housing segregation, employment and economic disparities, and race and policing.
The course's target is to focus on the foundation of what's causing the problem, or what's not available to fix it.
"Most of us come into law school with a sense of justice and that's what I hope to take out of this," said Suarez
Officials at the University of Maryland, Baltimore say they are meeting to discuss how the course could be open to undergraduate students and even the community.
