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Obama aide, Baltimore native says worst may be over

FILE - In this March 6, 2015, file photo, Assistant to the President and chair of the My Brother’s Keeper task force Broderick Johnson listens as President Barack Obama participates in a town-hall meeting at Benedict College in Columbia, S.C., about the importance of community involvement. Johnson says it has been painful to watch violence and looting unfold in his Baltimore hometown, but he feels optimistic that the worst is over. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) FILE - In this March 6, 2015, file photo, Assistant to the President and chair of the My Brother’s Keeper task force Broderick Johnson listens as President Barack Obama participates in a town-hall meeting at Benedict College in Columbia, S.C., about the importance of community involvement. Johnson says it has been painful to watch violence and looting unfold in his Baltimore hometown, but he feels optimistic that the worst is over. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

By Associated Press April 30, 2015 1 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – The leader of President Barack Obama’s initiative for minority males says it has been painful to watch violence and looting in his native Baltimore.

But the assistant to the president, Broderick Johnson, says he’s optimistic that the worst is over.

Johnson commends efforts by those he says are rejecting violence and trying to help restore peace following the violent outbreak after Monday’s funeral for Freddie Gray.

The 25-year-old Gray died of mysterious circumstances while in police custody. Baltimore residents have been demanding answers.

Johnson says he was 12 when rioting engulfed Baltimore in 1968 and what happened this week reminds him of images he didn’t think he’d ever see again.