Content Advisory: This audio is drawn from recordings of the 2015 Baltimore Uprising and reflects the impact of racialized violence. Listen with mindful awareness and deep care.

Sound summary:

[The sounds of a large group of angry protestors yelling and chanting mixed with automobile and motorcycle rumblings in the background. One woman yells out louder than the others, but her words are largely drowned out by the noise surrounding her.]

[A woman yells at police officers:] All you Blacks in uniform are a bunch of bitches!… [unintelligible yelling.]…Yeah!…[unintelligible yelling.]

[The sound of a loud, rumbling motorcycle coming to a stop and idling interrupts the woman’s voice and the sounds of the crowd yelling.]

[Woman continues, speaking sternly to the police]: Go home, it’s night.

[Police officer] …we’re going to arrest someone…

[A large group of people protest and chantunintelligibly.]

[A reporter speaks, but he is partially drowned out by the sound of impassioned chanting.]

[Reporter]: Thank you…[unintelligible]…I don’t know why that man was arrested…didn’t see what he allegedly did…

[The crowd chants passionately and clearly]: All night we will fight for Freddie Gray!

[Reporter continues] …regarding these protests…we’ll see what happens.

[The sound of loud, rumbling motorcycle noises drowns out the noisy crowd for a moment.]

[The sound of a crowd protesting loudly overpowers the motorcycle noises.]

[A man declares]: This beer right here is for Freddie Gray. I pour this out for Freddie Gray. [Sound of liquid falling on a hard surface]

[A crowd of people protest loudly.]

[A man yells]: This is not a war. It’s not a war. We want peace. But y’all got to give us that and y’all keep coming and taking everything we got. We gotta take our charge back...

[Jumbled audio]

Impassioned chanting is overlaid with general sounds of an agitated crowd.

[Crowd chants]: We will fight for Freddie Gray!

[A reporter speaks calmly]: We got the protestors. These young men are incredibly angry with everything happening…

[Chanting in the background continues with some of the language censored by eight short beeps.]

At the same time, a another reporter is heard speaking over the protesters and the censored beeping.

[Reporter]: Opposing factions unite… [Her voice is drowned out by the crowd.]

[A reporter talks over the chanting crowd, but his words are unintelligible.]

Protestors chanting passionately: All day we will fight for Freddie Gray!

[A reporter speaks evenly]: As you can see, they have a lot of emotion.

[Protestors chanting passionately]: All day we will fight for Freddie Gray!

[A protestor asks]: Hey yo, who burned that car, yo? Who burned that car?

[Someone replies]: …a handful of criminals and thugs who, uh… [His voice is drowned out by the crowd.]

[Another voice declares]: We show them something different. Show the world something different. They waiting for you all to act a fool tonight.

[Voice continues(?) in response from other protesters]: Yeah, yeah… Show ‘em something different. Show them something different. Stop populating the jails. Stop populating the jails.

[Crowd]: All day we will fight for Freddie Gray!

The chanting cuts to a group of people singing the hymn “We Are Soldiers in the Army.”

[Voices singing] Hold up the bloodstained banner, oh Lord, hold it up until we die. We are soldiers in the army…

[A man declares]: We’re so just in. We got the Power Rules over here and we got Bloods over here. We stay in this one. We are one right now.

Another man responds ]: It’s Black men United.

[Sounds of an agitated crowd replace the individual voices.]

[There is a quick popping sound, like a gunshot.]

[A reporter speaks evenly]: As the day comes to an end, there are few certainties.

[Someone interrupts her and yells unintelligibly.]

[Reporter continues]: The next night will bring a citywide curfew and a new chapter in Baltimore history will need to be... [Her voice trails off.]

[A final voice speaks]: This is one of our darkest days as a city.

[The audio crackles for a few seconds before cutting off abruptly.]

Audio created by Devin Allen.

Exhibition Guide

A God Blessed Land (Empire of Dirt)

Art Object Info

A God Blessed Land (Empire of Dirt)