In Context

Baltimore is a primarily African-American city with higher-than-average poverty rates.

2010 Baltimore demographics: 63.7% African American, 29.6% white.
2005-2009 Average: 16% of all Baltimore families were living below the poverty line, compared to 10% nationwide. In 2010, 57% of African American boys in Baltimore public schools received high school diplomas, a 12% increase over the previous three years. According to a Maryland state "report card," the comprehensive dropout rate for grades nine through twelve in the city of Baltimore declined from 11.69% in 2005 to 4.07% in 2010.
The Maryland Department of Education's suspension rates report indicates that from 2009-2010, 6,547 students from Baltimore public schools were suspended, down from 11,892 in the 2004-2005 school year; 95% of the students suspended in the Baltimore city schools in the 2009-2010 year were African American.
According to the 2008 DAWN Emergency Department Metro Report, there were 25,000 total substance abuse treatment admissions in Baltimore.
Residents of Baltimore seeking substance abuse treatment are more likely to report heroin as their "primary substance of abuse" than other members of the U.S. population seeking substance abuse treatment.
A 2010 report issued by the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services shows that Baltimore had the highest number of juvenile intakes in the state that year; 95% of all people subject to intake in Baltimore were African American. Most were between the ages of 15 and 17.

Photo caption: A scene from The Learning
Credit: Courtesy of The Learning