The Body Politic

In 2020 African American Brandon M. Scott became the youngest mayor in Baltimore’s history, winning the election just after the police murder of George Floyd thanks to his promise to confront chronic violence and racism. He begins with a symbolic gesture – removing the painting of Lord Baltimore and his black child slave from the corridor in City Hall. He subsequently involves the police, city residents, volunteers and people who have committed crimes in the past. But his recipe for safer streets seems too complicated and naïve. He receives neither state nor federal support for solving deeply rooted societal problems. The results are slow in coming and Scott finds himself under political and media pressure.