Amid chants of “No justice, no peace” and “Hands up, don’t shoot,” Michael Jackson provided the soundtrack as people took the streets of Baltimore to protest police brutality following the funeral of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who died while in police custody.
Rihanna, Chuck D, ‘The Wire’ Stars & More React to Baltimore Riots
A particularly skillful Jackson impersonator (identified by Twitter as Dimitri Reeves) brought his act to the people, just a few blocks away from where the protests turned violent in West Baltimore. Over the sounds of helicopters and sirens, the dancer played everything from “Beat It” to “Scream” to MJ’s version of “Come Together.”
Perhaps most evocative was his traffic-stopping dance to “They Don’t Really Care About Us,” Jackson’s song about racial inequality that includes the lyrics “I am the victim of police brutality, now/I’m tired of bein’ the victim of hate” — Reeves showed off his flawless moonwalk to the song, right in the middle of the intersection.
Watch the videos (c/o Sputnik News) below:
Performance for the crowd #FreddieGray pic.twitter.com/0N9qW299wf
— Sputnik US (@SputnikNewsUS) April 27, 2015
Amid the riot, a dance party has broken out #FreddieGray pic.twitter.com/Lz7elTejZR
— Sputnik US (@SputnikNewsUS) April 27, 2015
Dance party! #BaltimoreRiots pic.twitter.com/gkpuVIGJp0
— Sputnik US (@SputnikNewsUS) April 27, 2015
“Come together” #baltimoreprotests pic.twitter.com/KrvSnrFioI
— Sputnik US (@SputnikNewsUS) April 27, 2015
“They don’t really care about us” #BaltimoreProtests pic.twitter.com/ORUjSclQlU
— Sputnik US (@SputnikNewsUS) April 27, 2015