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tv   News  Al Jazeera  April 28, 2015 7:00pm-8:01pm EDT

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>> this is aljazeera america. live from new york city. i'm tony harris. police in baltimore promise a peaceful night after hours of unrest and destruction. volunteers take to the streets to try to cleanup and take to the streets. justices in the supreme court deepably divided putting questions to both sides. and in napal warning that the death toll could reach 10,000 as the workers struggle to help survivors.
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>> a she on the streets in baltimore. maryland's governor said that there will not be a repeat of last night's unrest. a curfew takes place in three hours. the worst rioting in baltimore in nearly 50 years. hundreds gathered near the scene of some of the worst violence yesterday. there were reports of scuffles but no major issues. city leaders and gang members came together today calling for an end to the violence, and president obama joined them in condemning the riots. >> it's not a protest, it's not a statement. it's people, a handful of people taking advantage of the situation for their own purposes, and they need to be treated as criminals. >> hundredses of volunteers came out today to clean up the damage. and the police say at least 20
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officers were hurt. and more than 200 people were arrested. john terry joins us now from baltimore, and john, how are things where you are right now? >>now? >> reporter: hey good evening, tony. i would describe things as far more festive far more festive than 24 hours and that's interesting because we're at the junction of northwest pennsylvania avenue in west baltimore. and 24 hours ago, this was the epicenter of the rock throwing and the looting and the burning. we're right outside of the first cvs pharmacy that you saw yesterday in the programming burned and looted. and today a of happier time. the band has been playing for most of the day and some people are dancing and there's a good natured march that went through, shouting we want peace in baltimore. and the question is, can this last as darkness falls? that's one of the issues now as
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this wraps up in the day in baltimore. tension in baltimore. the police and a loud group of protesters face-off in the city seen in some of the worst rioting last night. pepper spray and a police helicopter, barking instructions to the crowd circles overhead. it's here where the first of the two cvs stores were burned. >> this is our home. they have destroyed the neighborhood. stop the violence please. we don't need this. >> wanted governor, larry hogan, is being tested months after taking office. he has declared a state of emergency on the streets. and the governor said every available resource will be used to stop a repeat of last night. >> we are using whatever manpower necessary. what happened last night, it's
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not going to happen tonight. >> unareest in baltimore in the evening hours but across the city scores of fires were set and looting at mostly mom and pop stores until dawn. it kicked off when high school students challenged officers at a nearby mall and facing criticism to what many see as a hands-off approach to the troubles. >>ia didn't you move faster? >> because there were 14, 15, 16 years kids out there and they're old enough not to do those things, and they're still kids. >> the comments that many think may have encouraged the violence. she blames the media for twisting her words and fighting back. >> you can't see everything that i see. you don't know all the different moving pieces. we work very swiftly and it's a very delicate balancing act when we make sure that we're
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managing but not increasing and escalating the problem. >> it's clear many lessons will have to be learned from the outbreak of the violence. it will be a long hot summer here. and advocate, jesse jackson is in town, with washington d.c., barely 50 miles away, needs to take on. >> unemployment. people the jobs, 18,000 vacant homes, hear that, the plan for urban reconstruction must be heard and invested in. >> and just to add to the wider picture, there is a line of police in full riot gear here on northwest pennsylvania avenue. you can't see them. but occasionally, they have been intimidated by the public today, and they have not reacted in any way except for the report at 2:15 this afternoon. the police are policing account whole area of west baltimore at
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the moment. and things are quiet but the curfew will go into effect as scheduled tonight and tomorrow morning. >> as it should be, and today from the white house, president obama addressed the situation in baltimore. and our senior washington correspondent, mike viqueira is in washington d.c. for us, and what did the president have to say? >> well, tony, president obama took a hard line against the looting and the chaos that unfolded on the streets of baltimore last night. but practicallily in the same breath he asked for soul searching to look for some of the root causes in society that bring many of these young people out into the street and the protests and the violence. the president appeared in the rose garden with the japanese prime minister, and they talked about a host of issues. but it wasn't until the president was asked specifically by a reporter for his reaction to the events unfolding in baltimore that he talked first about the people
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that he characterized as criminals and thugs carrying out the violence. >> when individuals get crowbars and start prying open doors to loot, they're not protesting. they're not making a statement. they're stealing. when they burn down a building, they're committing arson. >> but then the president moved onto what he considered some of the deeper societal issues that are causing the violence. many of these neighborhoods are impoverished and there's a lack of opportunity for many of these young people, and he said that's part of the reason that's driving this, this string of unrest that we have seen with tensions between the law enforcement and the communities that they serve. >> do we really want to solve the problem? we could but this is important, this is it go significant.
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and we don't just pay attention to these communities when a cvs burns, and we don't just pay attention when a young man gets shot or has his spine snapped. that's how i feel. >> the prosecutes turned the crisis yes but it's a rolling crisis tony, decades in the making. >> mike viqueira, thank you and skirt smault is mayor of baltimore, and mr. mayor, there were four or five hours of really bad yesterday. but it appears that cooler heads are prevailing and what are your thoughts on how it happened it the day after? >> well, it started out last night, when the ministers were at the local baptist churches
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and invited some of the leaders of the gangs to meet with them. and they together went out on the street. and it was just another example of people coming together. and they were sending the install that more people in baltimore wanted peaceful activity than violent activity. and then early early this morning, we had people coming out from all over the city, not just in the affected areas but some of the areas of town, to help the cleanup crews so that sense of community and wanting to work together really did show itself well today. >> yeah, the president said today that the deeper problem is a lack of educational opportunities.
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>> . university of baltimore is located in the heart of the city. and you know, we often say we're not only the university of baltimore, but the university for baltimore. and we're working very closely with the public school system. and some of the community colleges and some of our sister institutions to reach out to the community. a lot of scholarships for young people graduating from the baltimore city public schools but ut key is to keep them in. there are just far few too many of our young men who drop out early and don't understand that you have to have a good education to get some of these jobs that are available. because in baltimore, we have jobs going vacant. but it's just that they require a level of literacy that maybe the young people's parents or grandparents did not have to attain years ago when the steel
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mills and everything were going here in the city. >> so i have to get your comments on this. and this is the man that you know and you certainly know his father. the oriole's chief operating officer, john angeles is defending the protesters in a manner here, but i want you to respond. he took his message to twitter and he said that the path during which the elite have shifted working class jobs away from baltimore and towns and cities armed the united states to third world dictatorships like china and others, and he went on to say that it plunged tens of millions of hard working americans into economic devastation. how of that can you relate to, from your 12 years as the mayor of baltimore?
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>> i think not using quite that language, many people have been talking about this economic gap, this income gap that we have in our country and it is because of this -- you know, it's changing economic picture globalization, and moving of jobs. but we are trying to respond to it, at least local elected officials, by saying there are jobs available but we have to have an education system that prepares young people for the jobs of today and tomorrow, and not the jobs of yesterday. and so while i agree that income inequality is an important issue, there are pathways to success. and overwhelmingly, that goes the important thing tony, overwhelmingly our young people are pursuing those paths to success. because what you saw in the streets yesterday is a minority within a minority.
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and not the majority of the young people of baltimore. >> i have to ask you one thing. people have been asking me and texting me and everything else, what's going on? what's the root of the problem here and why is baltimore in the kind of shape it's in? and i'm reminded of a comment that you made to me a couple of years ago. you said look, whart of what this city continues to fight against and overcome is middle class wealth in the city. and can you expand on that? and you said very specifically, it's not about white blight, but middle class blight. >> unfortunately for us, we're a city of 08 square miles surrounded by a fairly well off county where we have no taxing authority or anything, but other cities that saw this problem coming, what they did
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was an ex indianapolis, jacksonville. and louisville, they expanded their boundaries to capture some of their income that's going out. we're land locked and we can't an ex, and that's one of the structural problems that the mayors have to live with. >> mayor appreciate it. thank you for your time, and speedy recovery to you. thank you mayor curtis of baltimore, and now the president of the university of baltimore. well, the city has one of the highest levels of income inequality in the united states, and del walters has been talking to people about how it affects their daily lives del. >> tony, i have to tell you when you're driving into the city, and you know if abuse you've lived here and i have worked here, it hits new the face. row upon row upon row of houses boarded up.
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it has been that way since 1968. and most of the people that i talked to said that's too long. baltimore, the rate for african-american males 8.4%, and the rest of the nation, it's 5%. but according to a university of milwaukee settled, 57% of african-american males in this city don't have a job. that means 6 of 10 you see walking probably don't have a place to go and probably don't have a place to pick up a paycheck. i talked to the representative from the area, and he said it has been going on too long, and part of the blame is on capitol hill. >> you were on capitol hill and part of the power system. why didn't capitol hill fix this? >> well, capitol hill has no desire to fix this. >> why not? this is america. >> how many times did we come
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one an urban marshall plan, and people say this is not important. our priorities are this and that and the other. and you just keep coming back with it and coming back with it. which is one of the reasons that i got to congress on my own, because they weren't dealing with the daily issues. >> when you say they, what is they? >> i mean congress and the various presidents. >> so tony, what is it going to take to fix west baltimore? what is it going to take to fix this region? people that i talked to said that west baltimore didn't get here overnight and fixing it is not going to be overnight either. but one thing is certain weeks from now all. cameras will be gone and the problems that we just talked about will be here just like they were in 1968. >> del appreciate it, and
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that's del walters in baltimore. another story that we're telling here is education. city public schools are the worst performing in maryland. but they have made some progress in recent years. according to the department of education, 70% of high school seniors graduated in 2014 and that is up from 61% in 2010. in 2010, 24% of baltimore high school students dropped out. in 2014, just 11% of high school students left school. but less than half of baltimore city high school students passed the state high school assessment test in 2014. still to come, reading the tea leaves, same-sex marriage, what can be learned from the one jill who could decide the issue, plus more disruption on top of devastation. hundreds missing in napal after
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an avalanche.
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>> the supreme court was divided today as if heard arguments over whether the constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry. 12 couples brought the case to the supreme court. and laca stark how did the justices respond to today as a arguments? >> reporter: you hit it on the head, tony, they were divided along the usual lines. the concerned justices were worried that they should be the ones to change the definition of marriage between one man and one woman. and on the liberal side, they said look, marriage has evolved. and granting marriage to gay couples is not going to hurt he want ro sexual unions. four states that banned same-sex couple said that this should be left up to the state. and he got push back from judge
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judge. >> is it people acting through the democratic process or the federal courts, and we're asking you to confirm to decide the meaning of marriage. >> nobody is taking that away from anybody. every single individual in this society chooses if they they can their sexual orientation and who to marry or not marry. so we're not taking anybody's liberty away. >> now supporters of same-sex marriage say that this is a right really guaranteed by the constitution in a sense because it's a matter of equal rights and dignity. and for the couples involved in this case, it's a very personal fight. >> we got into this lawsuit because we wanted to stand up for our family, and families like ours, who are currently denied the protections of marriage. when i think about this case, i
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think about the love and devotion that me and my wife and my daughter have for each other. and how important it is for her and for us to be married. >> now beyond the personal, this is a very passionate battle for many, and there were demonstrators out enforce on the steps of the court. they were both for and against same-sexsame-sexsame-sex marriage. and there were even protesters inside of the court. someone got up yelling and tony, he was hauled away as you can imagine by the guards there, but we could hear him screaming for quite sometime in the halls. >> so lisa, when do we expect a decision? >> well, the justices will decide before the end of the term which ends in the end of june and we're all waiting it see what justice kennedy does.
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he's the linchpin, and he didn't tip his hand, tony. he asked harsh questions of both sides and we'll have to see where he comes down. >> wanted nigerian army said that it has rescued nearly 300 women and girls from boko haram, but military officials say that they're not the girls who were abducted a year ago. the girls were found in zambissa forest in northwest nigeria, which is a hideout for boko haram. we spoke to them today. >> in the last hour or so, the nigerian spokesperson has been tweeting about the story. as you explained, 200 girls have been rescued from zambissa and we're being told by the tweets coming out from the military, that until an ongoing process. a profiling process of these
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individuals, and operations going on in the sam bissa forest, they have been going on for weeks and we have been trying relentlessly to get the spokesperson to giving us more details about who these individuals are. are they the girls or other people who have been kidnapped over the six year long boko haram insurgency. and it's a trademark of what they're doing. we v gotten that. >> at least 250 people are missing after a land slide near capital mannedu. officials are worried that the earthquake that hit saturday has left the landscape vulnerable to more disasters. more than 4600 people are camped dead after the quake but officials say that the death toll could top 10,000.
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>> it's an operation that only stops for refueling but though the military has been militaryrized quickly, it's not enough to bring the country what it desperately needs. it's where the extra effort is needed most. >> from this altitude, you can see just how susceptible the terrain is, he has a colossal job on his hands. >> perched on mountainsides homes have collapsed. but the army says that there's no way to reach anybody inside unless the teams come down from helicopters. a small village has disappeared in a mound of earth and the number of dead is unknown. this is one of the many disasters in the wake of the
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quake and its aftershocks. the lieutenant colonel is defending his operation against international criticism. insisting that though many have died, few are counting those being saved. >> one helicopter from the nap olese army t. we have over 370 people. >> landing in the town, right now, the figure stands at just under 800. the doctors admit the situation is at a breaking point. she has a serious back injury. she has traveled more than 100 kilometers for treatment on the floor. there are no beds, no mats. this hospital is totally
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overwhelmed. it's remark that be that the doctors and nurses keep going they have been working since saturday. >> we have to help them. [ unintelligible ]. >> the treatment starts on the streets outside as the casualties keep coming in. and people continue to get injured when unstable buildings collapse often because of aftershocks, and others have been traveling long distances for treatment. at first sight, you would think that the earthquake had only just happened. >> a community comes together to clean up after violent riots, but parts of the community are deeply divided. and plus, they can predict unrest anywhere in the world.
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>> the streets of baltimore are still tense a day after some of the worst riots in the city in decades. residents and store owners spent the day cleaning up the damage left behind. and paul joins us from baltimore. let me ask you a question here this way. you know in our business sometimes, it's difficult for us to sort of change the narrative as quickly as the they're tisk may be changing around you. so i read a line to you that says the streets of baltimore are still tense. is that the reality there? is that a fair statement? >> well, tony, i think that it's fair to say that there's tension, sort of with a sort of sense of festivity here. it's a little too strong, but we have a new orleans style brass band at this intersection and now you
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probably hear that thunderry sound behind us, and that's a drum line, complete with cheer leaders as well. so this has really become the public square if you will in baltimore. we have lines of riot police, and heavy vehicles on one side and hundreds of people on the other, voicing their opinions, and as well as celebrating if you will. i think celebrating in the community and hope for positive change. one of the interesting things that i want to point out tony, in the line of riot police, there's a barrier set up, men women, children and families, in a buffer zone between the police and the crowds, and they are determined to stop something before it starts, and it's a heartening theme if you will. >> if you would talk to us about the cleanup today. i know that's another big part of today's story right?
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>> >> reporter: that's right well all around the city this morning, tony, as we drove around and made our way back, we saw large groups of people congregating in front of churches in front of shopping centers, and bucket brigades. people handing out lots of donated equipment brooms, shovels and garbage bags, and deploying out to the various neighborhoods. saying we need five people this and ten over there to the farmer's market. one place we saw in the historic neighborhood, we met the mom and pop owners of a hard hit hardware store. >> they had a big confrontation, and one of the guys sprayed pepper beer spray and it went all over everywhere. and i called the police 9-1-1 and i'm on hold, and i understand that it was busy last night. and time, i get the lady, and she said, i know you're having a busy night but we're having
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a problem up at the shopping center. we're being attacked and we just got pepper sprayed. and we need an officer. i said i need an officer we're being attacked. never came. >> no police shoulder up last night? >>lastnight? >> and tony, the homenedding there is that her neighbors came to the store before she could get there boarded up her windows, and kept people at bay before the right aid next door was looted. and all of the neighbors were back trying to help them have a fresh start. that gives you hope in how things will play out in the long run. >> paul, thank you. and today at the white house president obama said that the convictions that led to the unrest in baltimore have been developing for years. >> this has been a slow rolling crisis that has been going on for a long time. this is not new.
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and we shouldn't pretend that it's new. the good news is that perhaps there's some new found awareness because of social media and video cameras and so forth that there are problems. and challenges when it comes to how policing and our laws are applied in certain communities and we have to pay attention to it. >> okay, let's bring in reverend ron owens and he organized yesterday's funeral for freddie gray, and there of been several peaceful demonstrations in the city. we're finally. reverend owens spoke with us yesterday. and talked about the efforts to bring home. and what we saw shortly thereafter was a line of clergy members, and i believe in the group was elijah cummings, and
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we led them into pennsylvania avenue and sent up a line. and they moved peacefully toward hadn't police, who had formed kind of a static line out in front of that cvs pharmacy. and what they did they engaged the officers. and there was a conversation, and there were headaches and after about four or five hours it must be sad four or five hours or so of very tense difficult times yesterday afternoon and into the evening yesterday, we're looking at scenes today markedly different than what we saw yesterday. that's a little brazilian martial arts, kapawara going on there in the streets of baltimore. but i have to tell you that a lot of people are pointing to income inequality as a powerful factor behind the unrest in
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baltimore. that's not something that is easily measured. melissa chan is here to tell us about one index that scientists are using. >> it is not perfect but it's a common way for social scientists to measure inequality. and it's called the genie coefficient. here's how it works. zero represents absolute equality. everyone has the same amount. and 100 would be someone has all of the wealth in the country. there's a connection between the genie coefficient and instability. 41.1 compare that to sweden, a country known for its knock equality. and it has a score of 25. and let's look at the countries with a reputation for unrest. china, a genie coefficient of
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47. and that's lower than the united states, and turkey has 39. if we take the jenny coefficient seriously unrest shouldn't come as a surprise. that's what they said to me today. >> it's particularly true here in the united states, because we have made such a thing for the last half century about being a middle-class nation, and about everybody having a shot at the so-called american dream, and so on. in a society that has built up expectations of the sort we did, to impose on such a society a rapidly growing inequality, is a recipe, of course, for social explosion. >> baltimore by the way has a genie coefficient of 50. and if you look at ferguson,
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every incident is different and talking about race, and then there's the police. but this socioeconomic measure has hopefully a bit more context of what's happening nationally. >> good to see you and i'll have to sort through those numbers. there's a lot of information there. but let's check with the control room. and there he is. all right, let's bring in reverend ron owens and he organized yesterday's funeral for freddie gray, and he has been part of several peaceful demonstration innings the city. reverend, good to see you. the day after the day and evening of civil unrest, look, how are things playing out in baltimore today and put your reporter hat on for a second and described scene around you. >> i think what we're seeing, today is the best of baltimore and i understand that you are my fellow baltimore brother from the city. and i think that you see the
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best maintaining control from the police department. and i think that you see serious spectators trying to find a place and a way to participate in what's going on. i think that you see more of a gathering than you see a protest. >> you know, i said this last night on the air and yeah, yeah born and bred there in that city, and i said this last night. and it seems to be playing out so far today. that that is a city that has a lot of very strong african-american leadership, and that the african-american leadership in that city would snatch this situation up and take control of it. and i'm talking about you know, the alliance, which i know you're a part. and i'm talking about people like fumé and cummings and others but more than official baltimore, it is people in the community. let's roll this video of, we
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assume it's a mother spotting her son involved in the chaos snatching him up, and going upside his head. now, reverendos, that's the baltimore that i grew up in. can you speak to that, please? >> that's the same one that i have grown up in. i think what you're seeing is a generation that has been unparented. baltimore, like any other city, has been ravaged by first the war on drugs and the actual spread and use of drugs. baltimore was called the first crack nation, and crack has decimated whole families and an entire generation, and we have a jen haitian that is unparented and disconnected from discipline, but that's not our city. you see mothers who stop what they're doing to bring their children back. one of the things that we're doing is finding a way to
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encourage parents to participate in the march and go get their children and bring them to the march so they can understand how to march. the civil rights era brought us the opportunity to understand what marching was. you see some of the films from the 50s and the 60s and you see parents taking their children to the march. dragging kids who would prefer to be at home watching cartoons and coloring in the coloring book understanding what civil unrest and civil obedience is. >> so i have to ask you to turn back the hands of time just a bit here. i'm wondering what the gray family's reaction was to yesterday's violence, because i think that's an important statement to be made. and i wouldn't if you've had the opportunity to speak with them today. >> i did visit with them, giving them the chance to share a few moments of my condolences and prayers once again. to deal with a family going
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through a multitude of emotion. and the fact that they were grieving, and then to think that they're connected to the destruction and looting and violence while they're grieving that's a heavyweight on their shoulders. last night at the baptist church the 24 leaders in the pastoral community gathered with 250 other pastors as we have, the gray family, and their attorney came in, and said to the city that freddie gray would not be looting. >> and my understanding is that you were in the room for a meeting with the department of justice officials who the president has mentioned are in baltimore. and is that true in and break a little news for us here, my fellow baltimoreian, and share with us a bit of what was discussed in that meeting.
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>> that's true. i was in a group of less than ten, from political endeavors to ministerial endeavors to economic endeavors. not just ministers but what baltimore represents in the in the african-american community. we had the privilege of meeting with their civil rights director. and it was an honest and transparent exchange. i first want to thank the president for sending the department into the city with a sense of urgency and concern. and we are excite delighted to talk to our new attorney general, who has an ear of compassion to dictate what should occur. in that meeting we understood that they have the urgency, and the care and the concern and the need to do something rapidly. >> i appreciate that. thank you. reverend owens, it was a
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pleasure to talk to you. and the next time i'm in my neighborhood, i'm going to find you and we'll have a conversation. thank you. >> listen, i was telling -- absolutely. >> thank you sir a seattle man is suing the city for violation of his constitutional rights after his arrest summer. william win gate is black and the officer who arrested him is white. he joins us, more than on the $750,000 lawsuit and the arrest brought on as a golf club used as a walking stick. allen. >> reporter: absolutely right, tony. we'll show you that incident in just a moment. and this is a case where the chief of police finally ordered a full review of the incident. and pulled one officer off the streets, and another high ranking officer to extend an
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apology to the man involved, william win gate. the charges were dropped. and his walking stick was returned. it all sounds like a community reach out. but it's not enough. mr. wingate and his attorneys are asking for $3 million. >> at a protest in his honor william wingate. he claims that he threatened him with a putter. >> put that down, aren't you holding a golf club? >> what about my golf club. >> please set it down. >> in the video wingate appears startled and he said that he doesn't know what's going on. >> i thought that i jaywalked or something and i had no idea. >> 22 times she asks win gate
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to drop the golf club. >> what's going on? >> put it down. >> it's my golf club. >> set it down. >> five times she accuses him of threatening her. >> you're being audio and videotapes. >> i got nothing. >> you just swung that golf club at me. it was on audio and videotape. put it down, you're not free to leave. sir, put your golf club down. set is down! set it down. >> after another officer arrives on the scene wingate is handcuffed and taken to jail. jailed overnight the air force veteran and retired metro bus driver said that he has never had a problem with the police before. an expected lawsuit has formally been filed against the
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city, the police department and officer single thia whitlash, who arrested him. wingate seeks $70,000 in damages, for violation of rights, and discrimination and distress. >> i didn't know -- >> officer whitlash is still on desk duty. and in the lawsuit he claims that since his arrest, he was treated for post-traumatic distress, and he's fearful when he encounters police officers. >> [ unintelligible ]. >> now that lawsuit also includes an allegation that we haven't heard before that. and that's that mr. win gate asked for water when he was
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arrested and was refused repeatedly and he was forced to wait eight hours before he was time given water. >> my goodness. thank you. 12 couples brought a landmark case to the supreme court today. and the issue do same-sex couples have constitutional rights to marry in all 50 states? the nine justices, with some knowing that marriage has been reserved for he want ro sexual couples for millennia and others on a federal level. richard is a former special assistant and senior adviser to president bill clinton. so let me put that question to you. and i don't know what the court is going to decide. but i want your view of this. is there a constitutional right to marry for gay couples in the
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constitution and that's the question for justices to decide. what's your answer? >> my answer is yes and in the simple way to think about it, the equal protection clause guarantees that all citizens will be treated equally and if we're going to be in the business of issuing marriage licenses to anybody, we have to issue them to everybody. >> another question here. if the court doesn't decide this in the way that you think it should, if it up holds the bans on same-sex marriage, there's another question here, right? do those states have to recognize same-sex couples married in states where it is legal? does your marital status travel with you? >> right and it's an interesting question. and the court actually asked the lawyers today to answer two questions. the first question was the one thaw asked. is there a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, and the second question is, even if you can't get married in every
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state, if you're married in, say for instance california, where i am, and you travel to a state that does not recognize your marriage, does your state have to recognize it? and i would say yes the constitution says you must. because most states recognize every's marriages anyway, and you can't single out gay people to do that. >> can you remember where another social issue where public opinion has moved this quickly? 57% of the country approves of guy guy. and 2014, it was 30%. and the court can't ignore that can it? >> the public opinion has moved so quickly on this, and it seems that the country is ready for this. i think it's more and more people have come out and more and more have been willing to be open and honest of who they were americans have seen that gay people are everywhere, and
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they just the what everybody else has. >> richard socarides is a former adviser to president bill clinton. thank you. >> and coming up next on the program. don't take me out to the ballgame? the orioles and want white sox will play in baltimore tomorrow but the public can't go.
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>> we know what's going on, we know the problem. we know there was wrong done. we know we're not getting it right. we know all of these answers. it's dead wrong. >> former baltimore ravens great, ray lewis made an emotional appeal for peace on the streets of baltimore. he said that students blamed for monday's violence need to stay off the streets and stop escalating the problem and he
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said that they have no right to do what they're doing. the baltimore orioles will be playing tomorrow night. and they will be playing the white sox but major league baseball has announced that they will not be open to the public. back in 2012, i sat down with a panel of judges, attorneys and prosecutors, who were all working in the baltimore legal system talking about why so many young black men end up in that system. >> i think it starts way before it gets in the courtroom. i think that you walk down the street. and you see folks standing on the corner, a young african-american guy if a young black kid walks by, if it was three white guys, they wouldn't do that. >> wanted broader point is, poor black neighborhoods are policed more aggressively.
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>> the police go into a high drug neighborhood. and they talk about the neighborhoods in which people live as if they were the jungle. that's how they talk about where people live. where, this is where you are. but maybe if you went to some other neighborhoods, you would see a different thing but it's where they know they can get the numbers. it's where they know they were going to find what they're looking for. if you don't look, you won't find it. now, i'm not saying that it's not happening there. but i think it's a bias that we have as society. we pretty much adopted. and rap music and what people now call style and all of this other kind of crazy tattoos and all of that stuff doesn't help any. >> i don't agree. i don't think that the system is bias. i think there's a community of problems and issues, but i
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think that the fact that we have diversity on the bench and we have judges who are not going to treat that young black male -- but he asked the question about in the criminal justice system, and when he's talking about that, he's talking about in my courtroom. and my answer is no. and i'm thinking of some of the other judges, including you and i'm thinking no, it's not biased. >> right. your various courtrooms and if you're the defendant and you come in without the right mannerisms and don't have an attorney you can get caught up in the system. and there are plenty of people in jail that didn't do what they were convicted. >> but my thing is, the criminal justice system doesn't start in the courtroom. and that's where i'm talking about there's bias. it starts long before we get to the courtroom. and i think that the black male isn't given the benefit of the doubt. >> wow so for a look at what's coming up at the top of the hour, john seigenthaler.
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>> that's a fascinating discussion and we're going to continue the discussion tonight in baltimore. a curfew will be in effect, but right now people still on the streets, and city leaders hope that the people remain calm. i'll talk to the naacp about how to deal with the crisis, and also, solutions on race and class in baltimore. we heard from one church member who said that the best way to change baltimore is to become part of it. and also tonight the issue of same-sex marriage. the supreme court heard arguments today on the both sides of this issue and we're going to hear what some of the justices have to say. those stories in about 3 minutes. >> looking forward to it. thank you. and president obama and the first lady are hosting about 200 guests right now at the white house for a state dinner, in honor of visiting jap kneels prime minister. they were greeted by the obamas about an hour ago and iron
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chef monimoto, helped with the menu. that's all we have. i'm tony harris.
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>> hi everyone, this is al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler. >> uneasy calm after the violence in baltimore. an army of officers line the streets and president obama says attention must be paid. >> if we don't pay tanks to these communities when. >> showdown over same-sex marriage. a sharply divided supreme court takes up the heated debate.