BALTIMORE — A social scientist, independent scholar, researcher, and now a film maker.
Dr. Rasheem began working on a docuseries over year ago called "The Baltimore Legacy Project," a series that reflects on the 2015 uprisings after Freddie Gray's death.
Although she isn't from Baltimore, she lived in the city a few years before the uprising and saw it first hand.
"And so I begin to go and my only hesitation about going is that just as I'm about to go, there is a car rolling in front of me on fire and I am like, what, where am I? Like this, you know what I mean? I've never experienced anything like this," Dr. Rasheem said.
Within the last year, she has interviewed a number of people about their experiences.
Each one sharing their view of what happened after Freddie Gray's death.
"And something in me knew that this is gonna be something that really impacted the city in a grand way," said Reverend Heber Brown III.
Including perspectives from law enforcement.
"I felt there was a great breach to whatever peace that we had and I took the burden of, listen, I've got to restore that peace because it was so, it wasn't fractured, it was just totally decimated, it was broken," said Melvin Russell, a former police colonel with the Baltimore City Police Department.
Dr. Rasheem aimed to highlight lesser-known community members doing vital work during the uprising, like Reverend Brown of the Black Church Food Security Network.
"It wasn't like a singular superhero kind of thing, not at least for those of us who have been committed in our various and respective ways in serving our city and our community. I really appreciated the fact that we came together, we created Baltimore United for Change. We created coalitions," Reverend Brown said.
The goal of the docuseries is to show a different side of Baltimore and highlight its history.
"I want them to know that Baltimore is a space that exists beyond The Wire. We are, as a collective, a lot more than that. I want them to know some of the change and some of the things that folks have been actively working on and continue to work on," Dr. Rasheem said.
"I think it's extremely important, what she and others like her are doing because here's the primary thing it does, it empowers the voiceless," Russell said.
"This documentary feels like a message in a bottle being thrown to a future that we may never see, who will one day look back at this piece, and I pray feel inspiration and pride because finally somebody is telling our story through our lenses and experience. Not the official story that gets printed or posted and funded by the power brokers of the city, but one of us," Reverend Brown said.
The first episode, "Baltimore Still Rising," will debut April 24 at the Senator Theatre.
After the film, there will be a panel discussion with the people in the episode.
It will also be a time to reflect on where Baltimore is as a city in 2025.
"How much healing has taken place and where are we 10 years later? Or did we somehow, we being a city, drop the ball and we're back to business as usual?"
Russell said he hopes people come with the mindset of continuing to change Baltimore for the better.
"So, if you don't take anything else away, be the change," said Russell.
The showcase is Thursday April 24th and is sold out, but Dr. Rasheem will have another screening September 12that the Motor House in Baltimore.
