Archive

MICA’s Community Art and Service Program and the Philadelphia-based People’s Papers Co-OP initiative will co-present a community discussion “that brings together individuals from across the city who work to dismantle systems of oppression and narratives that feed into mass incarceration.” From the event page: “We’ll ask; How do artists, activists, and community members collaborate to identify […]

Last week, the Afro published a story about the Kirwan Commission’s decision to delay its much-anticipated report about equitable funding for Baltimore City schools, quoting Karen Webber, director of OSI-Baltimore’s Education and Youth Development program: “In Baltimore City particularly, we have a crisis in our murder rate right now. Students who live in neighborhoods where […]

Earlier this week, WBAL-TV reported on the work of 2017 OSI-Baltimore Community Fellow Matthew Burke and his work with Baltimore Free Farm Food Rescue. As part of his project, Burke will expand and refine Baltimore Free Farm by establishing a network of 12 food give-away sites at local businesses, churches and community centers throughout the city […]

On Tuesday, November 28th, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a rare field hearing at Johns Hopkins University to discuss the opioid epidemic. Maryland Representative Elijah Cummings, the committee’s ranking member, requested the meeting to examine the epidemic’s impact in Baltimore and the recommendations of President Trump’s Commission on Combating Drug […]

Last week, during its 20th anniversary celebration, OSI-Baltimore grantee Justice Policy Institute (JPI) honored Greg Carpenter, a 2015 OSI Community Fellow and, Walter Lomax, founder of the OSI-grantee Maryland Restorative Justice Initiative. Both Carpenter and Lomax received JPI’s Justice Champion Award for their work promoting the work of the Institute. Carpenter developed and operated his […]

Baltimore Youth Arts, the organization founded by 2016 OSI-Baltimore Community Fellow Gianna Rodriguez is the cover story of the second issue of Baltimore’s new alternative weekly, the Baltimore Beat. The story, written by former City Paper visual arts editor Rebekah Kirkman, talks about the work Rodriguez and others have done to foster an art community […]

BALTIMORE— As part of ongoing efforts to keep Baltimore safe and to protect the well-being and due process of all Baltimore residents, Mayor Pugh and Open Society Institute-Baltimore announced the grantees for the Safe City Baltimore initiative at a City Hall press conference this morning. OSI-Baltimore and the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant and Multicultural Affairs […]

CBS News recently ran a great piece on the “Ungers” a group of people convicted of crimes in Maryland who, because of incorrect – and unconstitutional – instructions judges gave juries, were denied due process. They were granted new trials and released, and as of this writing, none of the more than 159 released have […]

Today, Mayor Catherine Pugh announced that the city will provide financial support to provide legal representation for local immigrant facing deportation, as part of OSI-Baltimore’s Safe City Baltimore initiative. These funds will be matched by the Vera Institute of Justice, which today announced that it had partnered with Baltimore and 10 other cities to provide […]

Our goal for #GivingTuesday (Nov. 28th) is to raise $60,000, enough to support one new Fellow committed to making permanent, positive changes for the people of Baltimore. An OSI–Baltimore Advisory Board member has agreed to match all #GivingTuesday donations dollar-for-dollar. Every dollar raised through this campaign will be worth two dollars to OSI–Baltimore.   For the 20 days leading up to #Giving […]