After 25-year-old, Baltimore native Freddie Gray passed away from life-threatening injuries while in police custody, riots erupted within the angry, Maryland public.

Freddie Gray, a young, African-American adult, suffered a severe spinal injury while in the custody of police then died a few days later in the hospital. To how he acquired these injuries and why he never received proper,

timely medical care is still a mystery.

What led to his arrest and all the events after remain under investigation, with police releasing only small bits of information.

A large rally took place in the city as they supported charges against the six officers associated with Freddie Gray’s death, according to USA Today. The largely peaceful protests occurred over the weekend just before Gray’s wake was held. Hours after Freddie Gray was put to rest, rioters then exploded with rage Monday evening, spilling into the wee hours of Tuesday. As protesters took to the usually peaceful streets of Baltimore, 20 businesses and 144 cars were burned. Initially, the protests were conducted peacefully then on April 24th, hints arose that they would soon take a violent turn.

With rallies now occurring across the United States, in both black and white neighborhoods, viewers to the ongoing situation may be struggling with the difficulty to digest this situation. Citizens have become all too familiar with the devastating narrative of an unarmed black man being victimized by authoritative brutality. Over the past couple years names such as Trayvon Martin, Walter Scott, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Eric Harris, and now Freddie Gray have become synonymous with the abusive, criminal, and murderous actions of police. Those are just among of the few who have received national media coverage, sparking protests in not just our nations but others such as France and England who too are unable to fathom these unexplainable situations.

What I’m struggling with is the media’s inability to accurately depict the situation occurring in Baltimore right now. Not only is it frustrating, it is just downright outrageous. Almost all stations have superseded the coverage of police officers murdering black men with only the cases of rioting, not the thousands who continue to protest peacefully, or the despicable white privilege given to white protesters who are acting in the same peaceful manner.

A disgusting role reversal is occurring right before our eyes and many are too blind to uncover its duplicity. Plastered on the cover of every news site, social media outlet, periodical, and station are the visuals of belligerent black men and kids throwing bricks, looting buildings, setting fires, and challenging police while Baltimore officers are depicted as innocent victims.

Not only what is happening in the media is upsetting, the selfish, destructive acts performed by rioters that have averted attentions from Freddie Gray’s death are also disappointing. As people have burglarized and damaged property, they are under the wrong impression that these actions are justified through the overwhelming epidemic of disturbing police brutality. These people’s actions are not rationalized, as most of these rioters do not care about the progression or cause of these protests. All they hunger for is destruction as they have taken advantage of the vulnerable state in which Baltimore is currently in. Although this is nothing new for the city, where many protests occurred during the pivotal American civil rights movement.

Yet as to the many days of protests that may continue in Baltimore and across the world, we must all not forget the basis of these demonstrations. We must not allow our attention to be diverted by the distorted images and stories strewn across our newsstands. We must understand this pent-up anger within black public as they have endured unjustified violence and discrimination. We must understand the complete disregard of these black lives, the lives that all officers have sworn to protect.