Christina Ralls? mother had never spoken about the 1968 riots that destroyed her East Baltimore home.
Now, 40 years later, Ralls? mother told her story for the first time, along with nine others who lived through the riots.
The details became the focus of a mosaic Ralls created honoring the memories and reflections of the riots.
“I never knew the details or anything about it,” said Ralls, a master?s student at Maryland Institute College of Art and visiting artist at the University of Baltimore.
She learned the story of her motherand a story of the city during some of its most turbulent days through her research.
The mosaic, which Ralls called “a monument for the people,” will be presented on Saturday as a part of a two-day conference on the 1968 riots that ravaged much of Baltimore.
Ralls met for several weeks with a diverse group of those who saw the riots up close ? from her mother who lost her home to a person who admitted looting. The forum gave the group?s members a chance to tell their stories of the riots and hear those of others.
Each member created a story tile for the mosaic, Ralls said.
She hopes the mosaic will be displayed in the city and become a place for reflection where the past informs the present.
“I hope this can be considered the city?s story,” Ralls said.
Forty years after the riots swept through Baltimore and more than 100 other cities, the UB conference, “Baltimore ?68: Riots and Rebirth,” showcases a wide range of researchers, activists and storytellers.
Panels will explore topics like the riots? effect on businesses, politics and race relations; the role of the black clergy; public housing and segregation; lingering effects in an overwhelmingly black city.
The conference will bring together those who lived through the riots and younger generations who know little about it.
“You can?t understand this city unless you know about what happened in April 1968,” said Jessica Elfenbein, lead organizer of the conference.
“Even out of difficult circumstances, some good stuff does come.”
The conference, 2 1/2 years in the making, grew out of Elfenbein?s realization that talk of the riots seemed to be missing from Baltimore history discussions. The conference also solidifies the role of history in civic life, making a good case for universities as civic leaders, she said.
For Towson professorMatthew Durington, talking about the riots provides a chance to examine the complex factors in Baltimore?s changing neighborhoods.
Durington and four of his Towson students will present their research on the gentrification of the Sharp Leadenhall neighborhood. By analyzing a specific area, the researchers can view the wider story of gentrification in Baltimore, he said.
“The ?68 riots provide one more narrative arc on this longer history since World War II in the rationale for gentrification,” Durington said.
Riots and rebirth
The University of Baltimore is hosting “Baltimore ?68: Riots and Rebirth” beginning Thursday, April 3 with an evening reception.
Scheduled events
Friday, April 4
» 10:30 a.m. ? Round table discussion on urban renewal and dislocation in postwar Baltimore; round table on response of faith community
» 2:30 p.m. ? The riots and structural racism
» 3:45 p.m. ? 40 years of gentrification dilemmas
Saturday, April 5
» 9 a.m. ? Teaching the riots of 1968: High school teachers? round table; political reaction and policy consequences
» 11 a.m. ? Convergences and divergences: The civil rights and anti-war movements; collecting and using personal recollections
» For a complete schedule, visit ubalt.edu/template.cfm?page=1634
