--- title: Baltimore Protests, Then and Now description: Photographs from Baltimore this week mirror some taken in 1968 canonical: https://time.com/3839059/baltimore-riots-1968-2015-photos/ author: Marisa Schwartz article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-28T21:44:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:19.839Z article:section: History og:title: Baltimore Unrest, Then and Now og:description: Some photographs from Baltimore this week have antecedents in 1968 og:url: https://time.com/3839059/baltimore-riots-1968-2015-photos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf56c1753f68824ec/6987ed733c16398823455c21/baltime-riot-diptych-2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Baltimore riot protest og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Baltimore Unrest, Then and Now twitter:description: Some photographs from Baltimore this week have antecedents in 1968 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf56c1753f68824ec/6987ed733c16398823455c21/baltime-riot-diptych-2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Baltimore Protests, Then and Now  by [Marisa Schwartz](https://time.com/author/marisa-schwartz/)  ## Marisa Schwartz Apr 28, 2015 9:44 PM UTC  Getty Images (2)  by [Marisa Schwartz](https://time.com/author/marisa-schwartz/)  ## Marisa Schwartz Apr 28, 2015 9:44 PM UTC The 1968 Baltimore riots, sparked by the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. days, began with frustrated teenagers throwing rocks and smashing windows on April 6, 1968\. By the next morning, three people were dead, 70 injured, more than 100 arrested and 5,500 National Guardsmen — along with more than 1,500 other law enforcement officials — occupied the city, according to an account in [_Baltimore Magazine_](http://www.baltimoremagazine.net/2007/5/1/100-years-the-riots-of-1968?p=2007/5/100-years-the-riots-of-1968). Despite the distance of time and the differences between then and now, it’s hard not to see parallels between some of the striking imagery from 1968 and photographs from the ongoing [protest-turned-riot ](http://time.com/topic/baltimore-unrest/)that followed the funeral of Freddie Gray. [_Read Next: The Pain of Watching Baltimore Burn—Again_](http://time.com/3837955) ### See the Clashes in Baltimore After Freddie Gray's Funeral  A rioter stands atop a burning car as another man pours fuel onto the fire while Baltimore firefighters behind them fight fires in multiple burning buildings set ablaze by rioters during clashes in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Jim Bourg—Reuters  Firefighters battle a blaze after riots in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Jerry Jackson—TNS /Landov  Two cars burn in the middle of an intersection during riots near New Shiloh Baptist Church in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Andrew Burton—Getty Images  Protestors and pedestrians walk down Pennsylvania Avenue as smoke from a nearby CVS on fire covers the area in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Noah Scialom—EPA  A demonstrator raises his fist as police stand in formation as a store burns during unrest following the funeral of Freddie Gray in Baltimore on Monday, April 27, 2015. Patrick Semansky—AP  Demonstrators climb on a destroyed Baltimore Police car in the street near the corner of Pennsylvania and North avenues during violent protests following the funeral of Freddie Gray in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images  Police carry an injured officer from the streets near Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images  A demonstrator looks up after being sprayed with pepper spray during clashes in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Shannon Stapleton—Reuters  A man walks past a burning police vehicle in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Patrick Semansky—AP  Police put out a fire while responding to people protesting after the funeral of Freddie Gray in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Michael Reynolds—EPA  Police officers arrest a man near Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Drew Angerer—Getty Images  Police officers use pepper spray against demonstrators after the funeral of Freddie Gray in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Jose Luis Magana—AP  Baltimore police officers tackle and arrest looters after they emerged from a "Deals" store with merchandise during clashes between rioters and police in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Jim Bourg—Reuters  A protestor unrolls police caution tape on North Avenue and Fulton Street during a protest for the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Noah Scialom—EPA  A man hurls a rock at Baltimore police officers outside the Mondawmin Mall following the funeral of Freddie Gray in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images  Police officers walk in formation on Reisterstown Road near Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore on April 27, 2015 . Drew Angerer—Getty Images  Baltimore police officers form a line in front of protesters near Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images  A woman cries as demonstrators throw rocks at police officers during clashes in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Shannon Stapleton—Reuters  Protesters surround a police officer near Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Drew Angerer—Getty Images  Friends and relatives say their last goodbyes to Freddie Gray as his casket is lowered into his grave at the Woodland Cemetery in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images  A pillow depicts the image of Freddie Gray inside his open casket during the funeral at New Shiloh Baptist Church in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Michael Reynolds—EPA  Gloria Darden, mother of Freddie Gray, is comforted as she embraces his body before his funeral at New Shiloh Baptist Church in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Patrick Semansky—AP  Gloria Darden, mother of Freddie Gray, is embraced before her son's funeral at New Shiloh Baptist Church in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images  A man is carried away by police during riots in Baltimore, 1968. Afro American Newspaper/Gado/Getty Images  Baltimore Police officers arrest a man following the funeral of Freddie Gray near Mowdamin Mall in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Drew Angerer—Getty Images  Students demonstrate during a Black Power event at Morgan State University in Baltimore on April 6, 1968. Afro American Newspaper/Gado/Getty Images  Protestors participate in a vigil for Freddie Gray down the street from the Baltimore Police Department's Western District police station in Baltimore on April 21, 2015. Drew Angerer—Getty Images  National Guardsmen seal off a business-residential section of Baltimore and prepare to use tear gas against looters on April 8, 1968. Baltimore News-American/AP  Baltimore Police form a perimeter around a CVS pharmacy that was looted and burned in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images  Smoke billows from a liquor store which was looted during the third day of violence, which saw over 400 fires, in Baltimore on April 8, 1968. Baltimore News-American/AP  Fire fighters respond to a fire at a CVS pharmacy in Baltimore on April 27, 2015. Sait Serkan Gurbuz—Reuters  Baltimore City police pin down a curfew breaker in Baltimore on April 9, 1968. AP  Law enforcement officers detain a demonstrator on Gilmore Avenue near Baltimore Police Department Western District during a protest against the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore on April 25, 2015. Sait Serkan Gurbuz—Reuters ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3839059/baltimore-riots-1968-2015-photos/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3839059/baltimore-riots-1968-2015-photos/"},"headline":"Baltimore Protests, Then and Now","datePublished":"2015-04-28T21:44:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:19.839Z","description":"Some photographs from Baltimore this week have antecedents in 1968","url":"https://time.com/3839059/baltimore-riots-1968-2015-photos/","keywords":["photography","Crime","police","Race","Racism","baltimore","riot","1968","freddie gray"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf56c1753f68824ec/6987ed733c16398823455c21/baltime-riot-diptych-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Marisa Schwartz","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/marisa-schwartz/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf56c1753f68824ec/6987ed733c16398823455c21/baltime-riot-diptych-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Baltimore riot protest","caption":"Baltimore riot protest","creditText":"Getty Images (2)","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/photography/","name":"photography"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3839059/baltimore-riots-1968-2015-photos/","name":"Baltimore Protests, Then and Now"}}]}] ```