White flight decimated Baltimore businesses long before rioters showed up

On Monday, April 27, the city of Baltimore, Maryland, found itself in the grips of civil unrest. Tension between police and the city’s African American community had been steadily building since the death of Freddie Gray on April 19.

Gray, a black man, succumbed to spinal injuries suffered whilst in police custody. Meanwhile the reasons for his arrest, as well as what exactly transpired afterwards remain frustratingly unclear.

{{inline-ad}}

The tension boiled over in the hours after Gray’s funeral on Monday. Around 3:30pm, groups of protesters confronted police monitoring the proceedings. Some began throwing bottles, bricks, and other projectiles at officers and journalists, according to CNN. By late afternoon, reports filtered in that a CVS pharmacy in West Baltimore was broken into, looted, and set aflame.

This particular image—a ravaged, burnt out CVS—struck a nerve. Those watching events ensue from afar seemed at a loss. Why would protesters vent their frustrations on a local drug store; one of the few…