One man is trying to help the city and residents of Baltimore to recover from last week’s horrific and destructive rioting the only way he knows how. Dimitri Reeves is a Michael Jackson impersonator and his hope is that Jackson’s timeless music will bring some comfort to the hard hit residents of the city.
The riots are in response to the accidental death of Freddie Gray, 25 years old. Gray died recently while in the custody of police, from complications caused by a spinal cord injury.
Residents and visitors alike enjoyed the spectacle of Reeves, a well known impersonator, not only singing some of Jackson’s most famous hits, but also performing some fancy footwork on trucks, and even moon-walking across busy streets. Not surprisingly, Reeves’ renditions of classics such as ‘Smooth Criminal’ and ‘Beat It’ had the effect of making many in the crowd want to join in and dance; others simply looked on in amusement. However, it is true to say that all those watching the Michael Jackson impersonator were brought together at that moment by the power of music, and of course by a shared sorrow and a shared sense of frustration and anger.
