A Dream in Cherry Hill

“Those who say it can’t be done are usually interrupted by others doing it.” -James Baldwin Imagine a Baltimore city where we care for our children as powerfully as we care about the winner of the big game or the latest gossip about neighbors or television personalities. Imagine a Baltimore city where we collectively work […]

What are we waiting for?

Black community, it’s time for some tough decision-making. It’s time to decide the best way to conceptualize, create and configure our communities for optimal socio-economic outcomes. Moreover, it’s time for us to promote and demonstrate by example that “more is not always better,” and that there comes a time when it is necessary to downsize […]

Creating a healthier Southwest Baltimore

In Southwest Baltimore—as well as in communities across the country—our behaviors have led us to unhealthy lives and lifestyles. The increase of chronic health conditions (e.g. high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and stroke) is affecting younger individuals and not enough people are concerned. In some neighborhoods in Southwest Baltimore, the life expectancy is 10-15 […]

In tough times, we need fewer nonprofits

Today there are 1,200 more nonprofits in Maryland than there were at the beginning of 2009. You might be thinking, “Great, in this tough economy, I’m glad that all these folks are starting charities to help people.” You may think it is super, but I think quite the opposite. There should be a moratorium on […]

Talking about race

Editor’s note: At Monday’s Talking About Race event “Can we talk about how race affects our classrooms?” with Beverly Daniel Tatum and David Hornbeck, we received an unprecedented number of questions from the audience. It was clear that audience members wanted to continue the conversation. Towards that end, we’re posting some of those questions here […]

The hook of a book

Imagine if everyone in Maryland read the same book at the same time… While reading is often a solitary pursuit, what kinds of conversations could we have if people were reading the same book—on the train to work, on the beach, in a classroom, during their lunch break, or for a book club—and with whom […]

Creating new forms of citizen participation

My audacious idea is that we initiate a process to develop more democratic structures for our city. When our country began, there were town meetings where citizens participated and actually made the decisions. Today, in most places the size of Baltimore, voting is the main way we are asked to practice our “citizenship.” After one […]

Talking about race

The inauguration of the first black president of the United States capped off a year of national attention to race. From the contentious South Carolina Primary to then–candidate Obama’s historic race speech at the National Constitution Center in March 2008, the year was filled with moments when were focused on the racial significance of the events […]

Moving from change to transformation

There are few times in life when a people can factually recall where they were and what they were doing when a significant event occurred. The election of Barack Obama to the office of President of the United States was such a seminal moment. His electrifying campaign resonated with voters seeking to cast a ballot […]

What’s up with the wall?

Why does it keep getting higher and higher? Why is it ever harder to see through? Why is it just so hard to penetrate?  I am speaking metaphorically about the divide that we find between Baltimore City and its surrounding suburbs. Two sets of people living very near each other but leading such different lives—there must […]