Dante Barksdale, who worked to keep Baltimore’s streets safe from gun violence, fatally shot

Dante Barksdale spent more than a decade helping to keep Baltimore neighborhoods safe from gun violence.

Despite his efforts, he would unfortunately fall victim to the very problem he worked to prevent.

Community advocate becomes a victim of gun violence

Barksdale, 46, was found with a gunshot wound to his head on Sunday, Jan. 17, morning near Douglass Homes, a public housing development in southeast Baltimore, according to Baltimore police. He was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital and was later pronounced deceased.

Officials did not provide any further details surrounding the circumstances of his death.

Dante Barksdale saved lives

Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott mourned the loss, saying Barksdale’s work “saved lives.”

“My heart is broken with the loss of my friend Dante Barksdale, a beloved leader in our community who committed his life to saving lives in Baltimore,” he said in a news release. “His death is a major loss to Safe Streets, the communities they serve, and the entire City of Baltimore.”

Since 2008, Barksdale, who was described as the “heart and soul” of the city, was an outreach coordinator for the Safe Streets initiative in Baltimore.

Safe Streets

Safe Streets central idea is that communities are best equipped to police their own neighborhoods. Staffed by people who know and understand the street culture that often perpetuates violence, the program works to build relationships with young people in at-risk communities and teach them valuable skills to de-escalate conflicts.

Growing Up Barksdale: A True Baltimore Story

Barksdale’s work there was through his own experiences of growing up in a housing project in East Baltimore, which he chronicled in a 2019 memoir titled “Growing Up Barksdale: A True Baltimore Story.”

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“I was tired of getting locked up, of getting robbed by police, of having to keep an eye out at all times,” he wrote in the book. “I wanted a regular job. And it seemed the universe had one in mind for me.”

Through his own experiences, Barksdale worked tirelessly to quell the gun violence in Baltimore. His work did not go unnoticed as he earned a Community Hero Award from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Barksdale was also the nephew of Nathan Barksdale, a Baltimore drug dealer who was purportedly one of the inspirations behind the character Avon Barksdale in HBO’s hit series “The Wire“.

At a virtual vigil, mourners remembered a leader with a big heart who simply wanted to make Baltimore a safer and better place.

“He wanted better for other people than he wanted for himself,” said his brother Alvin Barksdale. “I love my brother. I miss him. I don’t want his legacy to fail. We have to do something about those bullets.”

Information on Barksdale’s murder

Metro Crime Stoppers is offering a $7,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Anyone with information to help with the investigation can call 1-866-7LOCKUP.