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During CNN’s live coverage of the devastation in Baltimore, CNN commentator Marc Lamont Hill used his voice to get people to change their minds about what’s happening. Instead of calling it a riot, Hill urges viewers to change their language and use: “uprising.” Hill passionately stated, “We have to be careful about the language we use to talk about this. I’m not calling these people rioters, I’m calling these uprising and that’s an important distinction to make.”

Hill is hurt, like many of us, because the powers-that-be are more upset about property damage than they are about the desecration of Black people. “There shouldn’t be calm tonight” in Baltimore since there’s been “Black people…dying in the streets for months, years, decades, centuries” and endorsed the need for “resistance to oppression and when resistance occurs, you can’t circumscribe resistance,” Hill said.

He continued on the segment, rivaling Jesse Williams’ position as our BAE and bodied the convo:

“We do have to understand that resistance looks different ways to different people and part of what it means to say Black lives matter, is to assert our right to have rage – righteous rage, righteous indignation in the face of state violence and extrajudicial killing. Freddie Gray is dead. That’s why the city is burning and let’s make that clear. It’s not burning because of these protesters. The city is burning because the police killed Freddie Gray and that’s a distinction we have to make.”

The other guest on the show, CNN political commentator, Van Jones didn’t agree with Marc’s sentiments and of course the show’s host, the incredibly annoying Don Lemon didn’t agree either, saying:
“Marc, I got to tell you this. I understand – yes, we should be outraged and we get that, we understand that and we devote so much coverage, not only this network, but other networks that I’ve seen, to talk about all of those issues that we’ve seen. We’ve exhausted many times the viewer with that, and we should continue to, but we’re trying to figure out exactly what is leading to what we’re seeing tonight and I agree with Van Jones, we cannot give credence to people who want to go out and burn down buildings and to hurt people.”

What do you think–is Baltimore burning because of the protestors or because police continue to kill us? Also–we challenge you to use “uprising” instead of “riot.” Let’s shape the story positively with language that properly reflects what’s happening here.

Up Next: Baltimore City Councilman Says, “Just Call Them Niggers!”

Baltimore Buzz: Viral Mom Who Punished Son Speaks Out; Councilman Says Don’t Call Young Protestors ‘Thugs’ & More  was originally published on hellobeautiful.com

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