I was born in West Baltimore, lived in a situation in which violence was everywhere.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
It's hard for me to view Baltimore outside the context of what Baltimore has always been in my mind: a violent place.
I grew up on the streets of Baltimore, a city I love to this very day.
Although I was born in New York, I moved to Baltimore when I was young. And I like to say New York birthed me, but Baltimore raised me. A big part of my heart was always in Baltimore.
We moved to Baltimore, Maryland, in 1979, when I was five. The funny thing is that, even though Baltimore had one of the top murder rates in the country in those days, I grew up hearing about how dangerous New York was.
I was born in Chicago and grew up in the suburb of Evanston.
I'm from Detroit. I was from a kind of violent neighbourhood.
I was born in 1960 into a more violent America than we had in 2014. We haven't been in such a good place for more than 50 years.
I did not dedicate my life to making Baltimore a safer and more just place because it was easy.
I'm from a very violent city. I'm from New Orleans, Louisiana, and it's good to see me be able to express my art, have a good opportunity for my life, make history and say something, without being violent.
I was born in a ghetto on the North Side of Pittsburgh. I was born as Emmett Till was dying and the civil rights era was being born.