Inflicting more pain on Baltimore: Mistrial in Freddie Gray case yet another example of system failing us
Allowing William Porter to walk in Freddie Gray case sheds even more light on a horribly broken justice system
D. Watkins Friday, Dec 18, 2015 10:57 AM UTC 0News baltimore police department
Want a gun? Take a bullet: Take this, gutless NRA cowards — you can have a gun, once you understand the pain of being shot
Gun control doesn't go far enough. If you want license to carry a weapon, you should know the pain of getting hit
D. Watkins Friday, Oct 16, 2015 8:18 PM UTC 0News 2016 Elections, Ben Carson
Dear white allies after Charleston: Please understand this about your privilege
White America, it's time we talk. In the days after Charleston, here's the way we're talking about race in America
D. Watkins Monday, Jun 22, 2015 11:00 PM UTC 0Life Charleston, Dylann Storm Roof
It doesn’t matter if we stay or run: Killer cops are playing a video game with black lives
"If he's innocent, why did he run," the earnest voices say. It's not hard to understand: They shoot either way
D. Watkins Tuesday, May 26, 2015 11:45 AM UTC 0News Cleveland, Editor's Picks
Dangling a bit of justice doesn’t make us equal: What’s next in Baltimore
As celebrations broke out in my city, I smiled for the first time in a week. But will we just get railroaded again?
D. Watkins Tuesday, May 5, 2015 9:59 AM UTC 0Life African Americans, Baltimore
Cops are the terrorists in our neighborhood: On Freddie Gray, another victim of police brutality
Where I live, the consequences of misunderstanding a cop could be death. Here's what young black kids need to know
D. Watkins Thursday, Apr 23, 2015 9:58 AM UTC 0Life African Americans, Baltimore
Black history bulldozed for another Starbucks: Against the new Baltimore
Gentrification is turning my hometown into an alien place. As the city is remade, do I even belong here anymore?
D. Watkins Monday, Mar 23, 2015 10:59 PM UTC 0Life Baltimore, black culture
My neighborhood revolution, one letter at a time
When a friend told me he was illiterate, I explained reading freed me. His response sparked a new sense of urgency
D. Watkins Sunday, Feb 1, 2015 12:30 AM UTC 0Life African Americans, Baltimore
Too poor for pop culture
Where I live in East Baltimore, everything looks like "The Wire" and nobody cares what a "selfie" is
D. Watkins Wednesday, Dec 31, 2014 12:00 AM UTC 0Life 10 Best Personal Essays 2014
Screw the national anthem
After what happened in Ferguson, I can't pretend the promise of that song extends to a black man like me
D. Watkins Tuesday, Sep 30, 2014 11:00 AM UTC 0Life African Americans
Gunplay is all I know
As as young black male in America, I'd rather be caught with a gun than without one
D. Watkins Sunday, Jul 13, 2014 11:00 PM UTC 0Life African Americans, Gun Control
Poor black people don’t work?: Lessons of a former dope dealer
I grew up in an inner city where everyone hustled. The work ethic that helped me sell drugs also got me to college
D. Watkins Tuesday, Apr 22, 2014 11:00 PM UTC 0Life African Americans, Baltimore
How glamorizing drugs is killing black kids
My nephew loves rap about drug dealing, but rappers don't talk about the dark side
D. Watkins Friday, Feb 28, 2014 11:59 PM UTC 0Entertainment Crack, Drug Dealing, Drugs, hip-hop
Too poor for pop culture
Where I live in East Baltimore, everything looks like "The Wire" and nobody cares what a "selfie" is
D. Watkins Wednesday, Feb 5, 2014 12:00 AM UTC 0Life African Americans, Baltimore
D. Watkins is the author of "The Beast Side: Living and Dying While Black in America." He has been published in Salon, New York Times, The Guardian and other publications, and he is a frequent contributor on NPR, CNN, and elsewhere. He holds a master's in education
from Johns Hopkins University and an MFA in creative writing from the University of Baltimore and teaches writing at Coppin State University. He was the winner of Baltimore magazine's "Best Writer" award in 2015.
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