“Philly Is Baltimore” Protest Planned Today

Source: Philly Is Baltimore page, Facebook

A “Philly Is Baltimore” rally is scheduled to take place at 4:30 p.m. today at City Hall. More than 1,400 people have already signed up on the event’s Facebook page to say they will attend.

The protest comes amidst days of protests in Baltimore — peaceful and otherwise — over the mysterious death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who suffered spinal injuries while in police custody there. And it comes while Philadelphia is undergoing a police reform effort of its own.

“There are so many similarities between what is happening in Baltimore and what is going on here in Philly,” protest organizers say on the Facebook page. “We stand with the Baltimore Protestors and Uprising.”

6ABC:

“It should be a peaceful demonstration but we are going to be honest about what’s going wrong in this country,” said Deandra Jefferson, Philadelphia Coalition for REAL Justice.

Jefferson, a senior at Temple University, is one of the organizers.

“They’re being killed by our cops and it’s not right and we have a right to, as the people, speak up and say that we have a flaw in this system and it needs to be fixed,” said Jefferson.

AP adds: “Police say they’ll give protesters room to demonstrate while making sure they and passers-by remain safe and peaceful.”