Archive

Giant portraits of community-based advocates for peace have started popping up on bus shelters around Baltimore (and Instagram), each with a QR code that links to a video of the advocates sharing messages of peace. These are part of Baltimore Youth Film Arts’ “Speak for Peace” campaign. Among the advocates featured are 2015 OSI Community […]

Yesterday, Baltimore City Council’s Education and Youth Committee, chaired by Councilman Zeke Cohen, hosted a virtual hearing to discuss the impact of restorative practices in Baltimore City Schools. Karen Webber, director of OSI’s Education and Youth Development Program, discussed OSI’s investments in bringing restorative practices to Baltimore City Schools and the recent report that OSI […]

Today, Tara Huffman, director of OSI’s Criminal and Juvenile Justice Program, testified before the Maryland General Assembly’s Task Force to Study Crime Classification and Penalties, chaired by Baltimore City Senator Mary Washington. Huffman spoke on behalf of the People’s Commission to Decriminalize Maryland, which OSI helped to establish in 2019. Huffman said the purpose of […]

This morning, Baltimore Mayor-elect Brandon Scott announced ten priorities for his transition and co-chairs for each priority, including several with OSI affiliations.  Scott previously announced nine co-chairs for the transition team, including OSI Director Danielle Torain, Advisory Board Member Alicia Wilson, and 2018 Community Fellow Brittany Young, founder of B-360. Among the just announced committee […]

This morning, City Council President and Democratic Mayoral Nominee Brandon Scott announced nine co-chairs of his Transition Team, including OSI Director Danielle Torain, Advisory Board member Alicia Wilson, and 2018 Community Fellow Brittany Young. Read the full list of co-chairs. “I am deeply honored to serve as a part of this incredibly talented and dedicated […]

By Scott Nolen OSI mourns the loss of William Miller, Sr., a founding member of longtime OSI partner Bmore POWER and a champion of Baltimore’s peer-led harm reduction movement. I attended last week’s vigil to be in community with those who have also been profoundly impacted by Mr. Miller, Sr.’s voice, his presence, and his […]

By Dr. Lawrence Brown Betty’s Sacrifices Upon learning of her passing early this week, Baltimoreans flooded their social media timelines with remembrances, tributes, and expressions of Betty Garman Robinson. One such remembrance was a photo shared by Charlie Cooper. The photo, above, shows Betty Garman in her twenties sitting in a Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee […]

Last night, Station North’s Motor House debuted a new exhibit featuring Kianna Wilson’s photographs of Baltimore-area activists as a way to mark the fifth anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising earlier this year. The exhibit, which was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, was one of 10 community-based projects that OSI supported to mark the anniversary. […]