On Friday, the OSI-Baltimore Community Fellows community gathered virtually to honor the 2019 cohort of Community Fellows, marking the official end of their 18-month Fellowships and the beginning of their membership in the 200-plus Community Fellowships Network.
“As you know, once you are an OSI Fellow, you are always welcomed as part of the OSI family,” OSI-Baltimore Director Danielle Torain said, noting that OSI Fellows’ work exemplifies OSI’s mission “to disrupt the long-standing legacy of structural racism in Baltimore by supporting powerful social change movements led by, and centering the needs, interests and voices of, historically marginalized communities and communities of color,” and adding, “As we work to advance this mission, we will continue to look to you all to lead the way.”
OSI Fellows Lanaea Featherstone (2013), Dwayne Hess (2009), and Patrice Hutton (2008) emceed the event, which included a keynote address by 2018 Fellow Fred Watkins. Khira Moore, a student in Writers in Baltimore Schools, the group founded by Hutton, performed her poem, “Being 17,” published in Blue Pen, during the event.