• Building a New Movement: Audacious Ideas, Fall 2015

    In the latest edition of our newsletter, we talk about the Baltimore Justice Fund and the first round of grantees, Diana Morris writes about listening to the voices of the uprising, and we declare victory with the enactment of new legislation that will prevent most minors from being sent to adult jails. We also talk about the […]

  • OSI-Baltimore to announce grants to 10 Community Fellows at Monday press conference

    Media Advisory Contact: Evan Serpick 410.234.1091 Social entrepreneurs working locally to address problems in Baltimore’s underserved communities will receive $60,000 each over 18 months BALTIMORE – In a press conference on Monday, November 1, Open Society Institute-Baltimore will announce a new cohort of 10 Community Fellows who will use $60,000 grants to launch or expand projects […]

  • Listen to Elizabeth Nix’s talk about the history of segregation

    Last night University of Baltimore professor Elizabeth Nix talked to a packed house at the Enoch Pratt Free Library about the history of segregation in Baltimore as part of OSI-Baltimore’s Talking About Race series. She touched on the early 1800s, when Baltimore had the largest free African-American population in the U.S. and was not yet […]

  • Can Baltimore police put change into practice?

    By Diana Morris With the number of Baltimore City homicides spiking to 274 so far this year, it is not a second too soon to change our approach to public safety in Baltimore. That’s why it was great news that newly appointed police commissioner Kevin Davis was among 130 national law enforcement leaders who made […]

  • Baltimore Urban Debate League grooms new generation of activists

    There’s a great story in this week’s City Paper about how the debate renaissance among Baltimore city students has helped prepare a new generation of activist leaders at a time when Baltimore needs them most. One of the key groups described in the story is the Baltimore Urban Debate League (BUDL), which, as BUDL’s website […]

  • SAFE Center opens its doors in West Baltimore

    Yesterday, SAFE Center, a rec center devoted to out of school time learning for young people in Franklin Square, officially opened its doors. Van Brooks, a current OSI-Baltimore Community Fellow, founded SAFE—Safe Alternative Foundation for Education—to use programmatic community outreach to convey the importance of an education to young people in West Baltimore. The center, created […]

  • Listen to our Talking About Race panel on Rights for Domestic Workers

    Last week, OSI-Baltimore and the Enoch Pratt Free Library hosted the latest in our Talking About Race series, this one about the rights of domestic workers and day laborers. It was a great conversation, including Ai-jen Poo, director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Gustavo Torres, executive director of CASA, and moderator Rachel Micah-Jones, director […]

  • OSI-Baltimore supports City Bloc’s efforts

    Today at 4pm, City Bloc—a group of students from Baltimore City College and other schools that is affiliated with Baltimore Bloc and Baltimore United for Change—will hold a press conference at City Hall in advance of a scheduled city council hearing to confirm the nomination of Interim Police Commissioner Kevin Davis as permanent commissioner. According to […]

  • Sun highlights growth of community schools

    Last week, the Baltimore Sun wrote about the growing network of Baltimore City Community Schools. OSI-Baltimore grantee The Family League, acts as the operating manager for the City’s core of 52 Community Schools, who partner with dozens of organizations to provide enhanced and extended education opportunities, health and social services, extracurricular activities, nightly supper and food pantries, as […]

  • Why are kids missing so much school?

    Karen Webber, director of OSI-Baltimore’s education and youth development program, appeared Monday on WYPR’s Midday with Sheilah Kast to talk about chronic absenteeism in city schools. Webber, a former teacher and school principal, recently wrote  an essay called “The Importance of Student Attendance” on OSI-Baltimore’s website. Webber emphasized the importance of a positive school climate in encouraging […]