Kwame Rose (born Darius Kwame Rosebrough) is an American social activist, artist, writer, musician, and public speaker. Rose gained notoriety during the

2015 Baltimore protests On April 12, 2015, Baltimore Police Department officers arrested Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African American resident of Baltimore, Maryland. Gray's neck and spine were injured while he was in a police vehicle and he went into a coma. On Ap ...

for his confrontation with

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

reporter

Geraldo Rivera Geraldo Rivera (born Gerald Riviera; July 4, 1943) is an American journalist, attorney, author, political commentator, and former television host. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Geraldo'' from 1987 to 1998. He gained publicity with the liv ...

, challenging the media's representation of protestors after

Freddie Gray On April 12, 2015, Freddie Carlos Gray Jr., a 25-year-old African American, was arrested by the Baltimore Police Department over his legal possession of a knife. While being transported in a police van, Gray sustained injuries and was taken to ...

's death. Since then, he has become one of the more visible protesters in Baltimore.

Early life

Kwame was born and raised in

Baltimore, MD Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. His passion for public speaking once earned him a full scholarship to the

University of Texas at San Antonio The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is a public research university in San Antonio, Texas. With over 34,000 students across its four campuses spanning 758 acres, UTSA is the largest university in San Antonio and the eighth-largest by ...

as a member of the Debate team. As a student, he advocated for hip-hop-infused education as a means to educate the youth and give a voice to the voiceless. After the completion of his freshman year, deteriorating social conditions in his hometown of Baltimore prompted the permanent return of the young activist with a firm commitment to improve and serve his community. In 2013, Kwame helped form the organization Brothers In Action, Inc., a mentoring group for young Black males in Baltimore City. He served on the Executive Board until recently stepping down to launch BE Foundation, in an effort to not only highlight Black youth but also, help them excel in pursuing their dreams and aspirations. In 2020, Kwame joined the labor movement by working with AFSCME Council 67, under the leadership of Glen Middleton.

Freddie Gray protests

On April 29, 2015, Rose confronted Fox News reporter Geraldo Rivera during the protests for

, asking him to leave Baltimore due to what Rose called one-sided coverage of the protests and the city while ignoring Baltimore's poverty and social issues, how these issues affect citizens' lives, or the community's efforts to unite and clean up the city. On Sept. 2, Rose was arrested during protests at the courthouse. The arrest was videotaped. Some

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

protesters insisted he was targeted for arrest. Rose was a featured interviewee in the 2017 documentary ''

Baltimore Rising ''Baltimore Rising'' is a 2017 documentary on the protests in Baltimore after the death of Freddie Gray. It was created, directed, and produced by actor and filmmaker Sonja Sohn and HBO Films. It covers the death of Freddie Gray, the protests a ...

'' on the protests.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Kwame Living people African-American activists Year of birth missing (living people) 1990s births Activists from Baltimore 21st-century African-American people