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I am all of these things 💯: “thotscholar: a working theory of proheaux (woman)ism [1] [revised 2019] proheauxism 1. Proheaux womanism. Derived from the more colloquial “pro-hoe.” (Spelling altered to reflect difference & refinement[2].) A sex worker womanist, feminist, or hustler-heaux committed to collective and personal justice, not just sexually, but through recognition of labor and physical security. Radically thotty[3], and proud of it. Curious about their sexuality, about birth and rebirth, about challenge and change, about redemption and reparations, about the physical and the emotional. Loves the river in all its incarnations. A pro-sex, pro-pleasure politic that is specifically centered on the multiply marginalized. Might be: marvelous. One who owns oneself and one's own sexuality or gender expression, regardless of whether or not they are attached to a man or masculine person. 2. A womanist who rejects antiheaux sentiments as well as respectability, racial capitalism, and whore hierarchies. Rejects misogynoir and transmisogynoir--all forms of misogyny, period. Does not accept nor engage in active or passive transphobia, homophobia, colorism, xenophobia, classism, or anti Blackness. Doesn’t juxtapose the erotic and pornography, and recognizes that non-exploitative pleasure comes in varied forms, is not always sex-centered, and is paramount to the human experience. Against all forms of erasure and systemic oppression. Recognizes that solidarity is impossible without acknowledging difference and rejects the urge to homogenize experiences under the guise of inclusivity. 3. Rejection of the idea of one standard of femininity as determined by genitalia (transphobia/intersex erasure and denial). Ecowomanist-minded, in the sense that they are against the environmental racism that plagues black, and brown, and indigenous peoples across the globe due to industrialization, pollution, and redlining which locates hazardous materials in poor, Black, and brown neighborhoods. Committed to the safety of all marginalized peoples. A rejection of phallocentrism (dick-centrism), gender and biological essentialism, racism, cissexism, heterosexism, fatphobia, ageism, ableism, and speciesism --not only in the realm of sexual and pleasure politics, but in all realms. Cares for the environment as a whole, desires to correct the exploitation of all animals, and rejects the notion of human-animal superiority in favor of preserving the ecosystem as a whole. Committed to self, to community, to justice. 4. Commitment to decriminalization and destigmatization of erotic, “vice,” and informal labor. Not just pro-casual sex and pro-promiscuity, but pro-sex work(er). Not simply sex (choice) positive, but pragmatic and communal. Understands the complexities between empowerment and exploitation when residing in an oppressive or imperialist colonized state. Against all forms of racial and genital fetishism. Opposed to the co-option of prison abolitionist language by colonizers and anti-sex work activists. Eschews transgression for the sake of transgression--being “subversive” and securing the ability to “choose under the system” is not inherently revolutionary. Against sexual or body shaming of any kind. Commitment, autonomy, and agency, in particular regard to reproductive/sexual, mental and physical health, including but not limited to access to abortion, antiretroviral drugs, adequate child care, health insurance, and affordable housing. Always centers the multiply marginalized. Isn’t here for supporting multiculturalist white supremacy. Devoted to economic freedom, and critiquing and dismantling capitalism. 5. A hustler, a professional hoe, prostitute, erotic or informal laborer who is producing, living, and surviving sometimes via sexual, sexual-affective, or erotic means. A poor/working class innovator.” Link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/thotscholar-of-1-29836133?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=postshare 

From the West Side to the East Side, the city has had numerous Baltimore kingpins and street legends, some would later become fictional characters for the hit television show “The Wire”, to go along with some of the once notorious housing projects that were the center of many operations.

Watching “The Wire” gives an example of the streets of the Baltimore ghetto and the once Baltimore kingpins of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, but only in a modern-day perspective. The use of heroin during the 1970s transformed into the use crack cocaine in the 1980s and 1990s, and once again resorting back to heroin and opioids as of the 2000s. Each era was different, the 1970s was more a chain of command and only chosen few were involved, to the 1990s was the rise of violence, people standing on the corner and when many were involved. While there were times when Jamaicans and people from New York profited in the streets of Baltimore, the main Baltimore kingpins were with the likes of the old school legends of Peanut King, Little Melvin, followed by the 1980s with T. Stanfield, M. Bates, N. Barksdale (Bodie), the 1990s with Rudy, A. Jones, T.L. Canty, and 2000s with G. Smith (Mr. Big), the Rice Brothers, and others, all allegedly made millions of dollars during their day.

While every city had kingpins and people who controlled the trade, every city also had notorious neighborhoods that gained reputations in their city for the wrong reasons. Housing projects of the old Lexington Terrace and Murphy Homes on the city’s West Side, or East Baltimore’s Lafayette Courts and Flag House, all torn down during the 1990s, became legendary communities before their demolishing, filled with plenty of memories.

While the Baltimore ghetto, along with the metropolitan area as a whole, has always had one of the country’s worst drug problems, which was often displayed on The Wire, the HBO series also showed corruption and poor police tactics that took the reign as the city’s biggest problem.

Before the Freddie Gray riots, the locals of Baltimore had legitimate claims of excessive police presence in the community, enforcing petty no loitering laws or city ordinances, affecting the everyday Baltimore citizen. To combat crime, the city also placed stricter guidelines towards sentencing convicted felons or rules for citizens on probation and parole, which have made times for the people of Baltimore more difficult. Many of the laws that have been implemented over the years were by politicians or public officials that have either committed crimes or have broken multiple ethnic rules themselves.

The other side of “The Wire” was the streets as characters Marlo Stanfield and Avon Barksdale, Baltimore kingpins, displayed the terror and reign of the drug trade in the streets of the West Baltimore ghetto. In reality, as mentioned earlier in the article, the 1970s was the beginning era of the streets in the many neighborhoods of East Baltimore and West Baltimore and what was depicted in The Wire has not occurred in the streets of modern-day Baltimore."