A crowd of protesters took to the streets of Baltimore again Thursday evening.

At the foot of Baltimore City Hall a temporary fence stood between U.S. National Guard and citizens. The prevailing message echoed off the walls of the historic building: ‘All Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter.’

“How many of y’all been inside a cruiser? I know I have,” one woman hollered into a bullhorn.

“I have too, baby,” some in the crowd responded.

“You got a million police standing around us,” she continued. “Not one of them have the courage to say, I’m not here to hurt you … I’m here to protect you. I’m here to save your life. Not none of them have the courage to say that.”

Following Monday’s unrest and the National Guard’s arrival, downtown Baltimore seemed to carry on with business as usual. Neighborhoods were quiet, residents went back to work, and late night bars and restaurants swallowed the nightly curfews in stride.

But, meanwhile, community centers around Baltimore buzzed with a refreshed sense of direction.

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