BALTIMORE — Ten years ago, the death of Freddie Gray in police custody ignited an uproar in Baltimore that reverberated across the nation. But for many residents of Sandtown-Winchester — the neighborhood where Gray lived and was arrested — the unrest was far from sudden. It was, as one community member described, “a long time coming.”
“The pain of the people… there were many Freddie Grays before Freddie and nobody cared,” said Rev. Lisa Weah, pastor of New Bethlehem Baptist Church. “His death was the match that lit the fire that was ready to explode.”Today, that fire has cooled, but the wounds remain. Boarded-up homes still line the streets, and many longtime residents say that little has changed in the decade since 2015. Yet amid the abandonment, a grassroots movement is quietly rebuilding—one block, one family, one safe space at a time.
A Community Reclaims Itself
In response to the ongoing disinvestment, community leaders formed the Sandtown-Winchester Community Collective, a coalition of faith leaders, activists, and entrepreneurs dedicated to revitalization from within.
“We were the haven, the safe space, the peaceful presence,” said Rev. Weah. “People came to us to gather, to get resources. That’s where healing starts.”Talea Dixon, a program coordinator with the Collective, sees the neighborhood’s challenges firsthand. “If you look around Sandtown, Sandtown is the biggest challenge for Sandtown,” she said. “Somebody asked what it looked like before Freddie Gray. The answer? Pretty much the same.”
But Dixon, like others in the Collective, is less focused on the past than on what’s possible for the future.
“Healing, for a community that’s been broken for so many different reasons—that’s the mission,” she said.
Infrastructure of Hope
Concrete change is slow in a neighborhood that many say has been forgotten. Sandtown currently has just one public school and one charter school. Access to fresh food is limited. Vacant properties outnumber viable businesses.
“We need a sustainable market where people have access to food,” said Dorian Walker, Executive Director of the Family Survivors Network. “We need more support in our schools. But more than anything, we need unity.”The Collective is working to reopen safe spaces like the Lillian Jones Rec Center, which once served as a hub for local youth. Their vision includes turning empty lots into gardens, transforming abandoned buildings into housing, and reviving a sense of neighborhood pride.
From Fragmentation to Family
Ten years ago, Sandtown was fractured. Now, its residents are beginning to stitch the fabric back together—not with sweeping federal aid or grand city programs, but with grassroots energy and sheer will.
“So many people have gotten outside of their doors, off their stoops, and are creating things—leading things,” said Walker. “The community’s at a point now where it’s like, ‘Well, we’ll do it.’
For Pastor Angelic Williams of St. Luke’s Church, who arrived in the neighborhood just over two years ago, the slow transformation can be seen in their growth. As they've had more and more outreach with the community , the church has gained several more members and volunteers foer their service projects, like their food giveaways.
“When I got here, our church wasn’t as known,” she said. “Now, people from the community are serving—not just worshiping. They live here. They’re neighbors.”
The Work Continues
The Collective leaders are realistic. They know they are working “at least 10 to 20 years behind,” as Weah puts it. But they also know that the work is bigger than them—and that healing doesn’t always start with funding, but with presence.
“Full healing is going to require the resources matching the heart,” Weah said. However, even when support from the outside has fallen short, Sandtown’s team of leaders stay the course.
“You never cared,” said Walker. “But we no longer care about you not caring. Because we’re mobilizing in a way you can’t touch. And that’s freeing. That’s healing—even without a store, even without [a] market.”
Pastor Weah says they do this work with Freddie's Gray and his family in their hearts.
"Know that you're not alone in your pain," Weah said. "There’s a community that valued your loved one’s life and is going to keep the legacy alive."
The Sandtown Winchester Community Collective meets every month at the historic Sharon Baptist Church, but on April 27th they'll host a special event called Freddie Gray: The Aftermath.
When: 3pm - 5pm
Address: 1375 N. Stricker Street