Green technology as the next great innovation

As communities continue to endure the effects of a slumping national economy, it is imperative we utilize this opportunity to reassess the systems and programs of government.  These times require us being innovative in our approach to transform government to be smarter and more efficient.  Shifting the way we operate now will leave us in […]

Rebuild schools, create (green) jobs for local communities

Imagine walking into a Baltimore City public school, noticing immediately the light streaming in through the windows, the attractive rooms where children are excitedly discussing their latest project, the sound of a flute coming from the music room.  Could this be a Baltimore City school? YES, IT COULD be, if Baltimore citizens and leaders team […]

History is in our hands

We are living in an extraordinary time. The country has elected its first ever African-American President who is also our first community-organizer-in-chief. The country is experiencing an economic meltdown as serious as any since the Great Depression. States and cities are experiencing budget shortfalls, while families, workers and communities are hurting. We know that the […]

Charles North Vision Plan

at the center. in the mix. Can Baltimore create a regional destination that is not on the waterside? In the last 10 days, there has been widespread media coverage of the release of the Charles North Vision Plan by Mayor Dixon, the Central Baltimore Partnership and the Baltimore Development Corporation. Surely a country that can […]

So…where’s the bailout for Baltimore?

It must be lost in the jumbled priorities of Washington.  And it’s a real shame. Because with a little help, cities like Baltimore could bail out the entire country. Everyone seems to agree that America needs to become energy independent.  And that we need to find a way to lower energy prices.  And that we […]

The audacity of simplicity: Baltimore needs higher wages

For many decades, Baltimore was a great engine of the American Dream – a blue-collar city, where residents without a college degree could find a good, family-supporting job. But over the past generation, most of those mostly manufacturing jobs were replaced by lower-paying service sector jobs – with disastrous results for many Baltimoreans. But why […]

Eliminate the concept of fatherless in our communities

Just the other day I received an email from a young man whom I worked closely with while I was directing a Beacon School in the heart of Harlem during the early 1990’s. Victor was writing to invite me to a book signing for Bandana Republic, an anthology of poetry and prose by gang members […]

What do Baltimore’s children & youth need to succeed? Let’s ask them

I have practiced civil rights law for twelve years and have had the pleasure of traveling to cities across this country to work with youth, particularly African-American and Latino youth, who wanted to improve services provided by public schools and juvenile justice systems.   When I think about some of the youth I have met, I […]

Keeping people out of prison and embracing them in our communities

One in nine black men between the ages of 20 and 34 incarcerated in the United States?1 “Yet you have turned into venom the process of law and justice itself into poison.”2 As the Pew Center for the States released its report at the end of February, the numbers sent me reeling.  Again.  The astounding […]

Make things work NOW

We have to rethink the entire way to we fight crime and deal with our criminal justice system in our city.  We can’t do anything locally about stopping the war on drugs or ending poverty in America.  But we can reform local systems in our control to change people’s lives, build safe communities and make […]