Social justice

Terri Lee Freeman, president of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture, says society is at a crossroads where the accurate telling of history is of the utmost importance.

Women’s sports must stand for equality and empowerment of their athletes, says Sam Fiedler, a player in the Athletes United women’s lacrosse league.

It feels as if we’ve all been living in Donald Trump’s head since the day he came down that golden escalator at Trump Tower to announce a run for the White House in 2015. If he sees it as a war, maybe it is one.

In Maryland, Black and Latino applicants were denied home loans at a rate 1.6 times higher than white applicants, according to data from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition from 2018 to 2020. In the city of Baltimore, Black applicants were rejected 2.1 times more than white applicants.

Nationally and in Baltimore, low-income areas have disproportionately less leafy tree canopy than wealthier ones.

Londyn Smith de Richelieu, the director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs in Baltimore, has filed a complaint alleging that she was discriminated against by the office of one of the city’s top gender reassignment surgeons.

Baltimore City Public Schools must counter misconceptions about how school funding is spent and provide schools and the teachers with what they need, says Joseph Mahach, who teaches Algebra I at Patterson High School.

Morgan State University’s new Center for Urban Violence and Crime Reduction will engage all segments of Baltimore as it seeks answers for addressing the “carnage” from gun violence in the city, says Anna McPhatter, dean of Morgan’s School of Social Work and director of the center.

A proposed federal ban on menthol cigarettes has raised concerns among some law enforcement officials and civil rights advocates that it could lead to problematic police encounters, particularly with Black smokers, says Diane Goldstein, a retired police lieutenant who is executive director of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership.

The Biden-Harris Administration is pledging $20 billion to fund clean energy programs across the country, including in underserved communities. The vice president described the funding as “the largest investment in financing for community-based climate projects in our nation.”

Gun violence such as the recent mass shooting in South Baltimore has a lasting effect on how many Baltimore young people view their lives and their community, says Adam Schwartz, an author who has taught high school in Baltimore for 25 years.

The pandemic and the national racial reckoning led to a surge in patients and clients for Black therapists. Some of those therapists are still processing the experiences themselves.

There’s never been a consensus in Maryland on the need for reparations, what they might look like or who should qualify for them. Legislation to create a commission on the concept — just study the idea — has died twice in the Maryland General Assembly in the last two years. Maybe, just maybe, we’re about to see the start of a campaign to approach this at the local level.

Those who agreed to speak to The Banner, some in Spanish, reported racist language and intimidation directed at Latino residents from Charles Smith and members of his family.

The role of community colleges in bringing equity to higher education is all the more crucial after the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling against affirmative action in college admission, Sandra L. Kurtinitis, president of the Community College of Baltimore County, says.

Political experts say voters will remember what could be the largest shooting in city history — and Mayor Scott’s leadership in the aftermath.

Those fighting for social and economic justice in America must redouble their efforts in response to setbacks such the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling against affirmative action, columnist E.R. Shipp says.

The June 28, 2018 mass shooting at The Capital and the staff’s dedication to publishing an edition the next day became a symbol of enduring press freedom.

West Baltimore's ill-fated stretch of roadway that has come to be known as the Highway to Nowhere was the product of bad decision making and disregard for the mostly Black neighborhoods it harmed, says E. Evans Paull, a retired city planner and the author of a book about the project's history and impact.

The Baltimore Banner has taken strides in its first year to bring a new and original voice to local journalism, but challenges remain to successfully depart from the approaches of old-school newsrooms, Banner Public Editor DeWayne Wickham says.