Imamu Baraka

Therapist captured video of Baltimore hospital putting patient outside wearing only a hospital gown

Imamu Baraka, a therapist who sparked a nationwide conversation about patient dumping after capturing video of a distraught woman who was put out of a Baltimore hospital in just a hospital gown, died July 12 after a long bout with cancer. He was 47.

The Baltimore psychotherapist caused an internet flurry when he found the woman outside the University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown campus in January. He recorded her in a video posted to Facebook, bringing attention to what he called the mistreatment of the mentally ill.

The woman, whose family later identified her only as Rebecca, had a history of mental illness.

Mr. Baraka’s mother, Glenda Smith of Annapolis, said her son was compassionate and liked to help people. He wanted to dispel the stigma that surrounds mental illness and get more African-Americans to seek treatment, she said.

“He cared about people,” Ms. Smith said. “That’s just who he was from the heart.”

Mr. Baraka was born in Baltimore and raised in Annapolis.

He was a graduate of Annapolis High School, and received a bachelor’s degree at Morehouse College in Atlanta. He had also attended New York and Lincoln universities.

He received a master’s degree from George Washington University’s School of Business and Public Management.

As a youngster he was unlike the other children — more serious and always reading a book, his mother said. The other children in their neighborhood wore backpacks and jeans, she said, while her son carried a briefcase and wore Italian-style sweaters.

“I always felt he was going to be somebody one day,” she said.

Family members said that as a young man, he was a fashion model and worked through the Barbizon agency.

A nephew, Cortez Washington, said Mr. Baraka took him under his wing and taught him life skills, including how to manage his money.

“He really taught me how to be a man,” said the 24-year-old Glen Burnie resident.

He was a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors, and had taught classes at the Anne Arundel satellite campus of the former SojournerDouglass College. He was a resident of Reservoir Hill. Mr. Baraka became well known after posting the University of Maryland Medical Center video, but his mother said he didn’t do it for attention for himself.

“He said, ‘Mommy. I just couldn’t walk away. They treated her as if she wasn’t human,’ ” Smith said.

In a Facebook post regarding the incident, Mr. Baraka said: "I just witnessed this with my own eyes. I had no choice but to give this young lady a voice in this moment."

The woman was taken back to the hospital that night after Mr. Baraka called 911. Because of the incident, the hospital, whose leadership apologized for what happened, was cited by federal regulators. The hospital replaced its CEO and other leadership and made changes to discharge protocols after the incident.

The woman’s mother has expressed gratitude for the video — saying it likely saved her daughter’s life — but has also expressed some criticism, saying Mr. Baraka later used the incident to promote fundraising efforts to open a mental health center.

On Tuesday, Ms. Smith dug through a stack of framed certificates that her son had earned over the years. There were certificates for HIV counseling and event planning. She said her son was a private person; she hadn’t realized all that he had mastered over the years.

Before his death, she said, he had planned to start a magazine and hoped to expand his counseling practice.

“I just hope people continue what he started in bringing attention to mental illness,” she said.

Amemorial service for Mr. Baraka will be held at 6 p.m. Friday at First Christian Community Church, 1800 Apostle Johnson Way, Annapolis.

Survivors include his mother; brothers DeMarcus Green and Robert Green, both of Annapolis, Keron Cooles of Washington, and Eric Cooles of Glen Burnie; two sisters, Sharise Green and Keona Ireland, both of Annapolis; and many nieces and nephews. Mr. Baraka wanted to dispel the stigma of mental illness, his mother said.