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Social justice

    Baltimore City and civic leaders announced plans to renovate the former Parren Mitchell house into what they are calling the West Baltimore Civic and Entrepreneurship Center. The transformed building, which once hosted leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, will be used as a meeting space, offices, and a gallery that will showcase mementos of Mitchell’s life and career in Congress.
    Plans unveiled to restore historic former home of Parren Mitchell
    One of Baltimore’s greatest statemen lived at the corner of Carrollton and Lafayette in West Baltimore across the street from Lafayette Square, long ago nicknamed the square of the churches for all the splendid churches built around it.
    Pastor Robert Turner of Empowerment Temple begins his monthly walk from Baltimore to the White House to raise awareness for reparations on Oct. 9, 2023.
    Advocates mount push for reparations in Maryland amid national debate
    Reparations — and who ultimately will receive them — remains a contentious debate in this country and in Maryland.
    Rev. Elazar Atticus Schoch Zavaletta waves to those passing across the street after holding a meeting for those of North Ave Mission at St Mark's Lutheran Church, Tuesday, June 6, 2023.
    Sermon on the streets: A trans pastor helps those on the margins find grace
    Growing up, Elazar Zavaletta heard that trans people, like him, are an "abomination" in the eyes of God. Now a Lutheran pastor, Zavaletta has transformed his pain into solidarity with marginalized people.
    Maryland must uphold recently enacted legal protections for children who are subject to interrogation by police, say Emily Virgin (left), an attorney and director of advocacy and government affairs at Human Rights for Kids, and Jessica Feierman (right), an attorney and senior managing director at the Juvenile Law Center.
    Commentary: Attacks on interrogation law ignore everything we know about children
    Maryland must uphold recently enacted legal protections for children who are subject to interrogation by police, say Jessica Feierman, an attorney and senior managing director at the Juvenile Law Center, and Emily Virgin, an attorney and director of advocacy and government affairs at Human Rights for Kids.
    NEW YORK - 1971:  Actor Richard Roundtree performs in scene from "Shaft" directed by Gordon Parks.  Academy Award Winner for Best Song "Theme From Shaft" by Isaac Hayes. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
    Letters: Richard Roundtree earned icon status
    Richard Roundtree's portrayal of the title character in the 1971 film "Shaft" earned him icon status, Wayne E. Williams says.
    Shown is Shaaban Alsawada. His brother, Adnan, says he died from injuries he suffered after an Israeli missile struck a building near a family home. After Shaaban suffered shrapnel wounds, other brothers rushed him to the hospital. But the emergency room was understaffed and overwhelmed with the number of wounded, Adnan says.
    Commentary: Palestinians endure continuing loss of lives from Israeli attacks in Gaza
    With the death of his brother during Israel’s bombing of Gaza, a Palestinian American says he fears for the lives of other family members there.
    Richard Roundtree in the Gordon Parks movie “Shaft” (1971).
    Commentary: Baltimore saw “Shaft” before almost anyplace else
    Actor Richard Roundtree, who died Tuesday at age 81, created the iconic film character John Shaft, who redefined Black male characterization in movies and across popular culture.
    Flowers are placed next to the garage door in the driveway of the home of Maryland Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson, Friday, Oct. 20. 2023, in Hagerstown.
    Before judge’s assassination, lawmakers knew there was a problem
    It’s not clear how a gunman found Judge Andrew Wilkinson's Hagerstown home Friday night and shot him to death in his driveway. Maybe he followed him home, or maybe he stalked him on the Internet. But Maryland lawmakers knew this kind of violence was a threat.
    Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and mayoral candidate Sheila Dixon.
    Political notes: Fundraising season kicks off; state Supreme Court to right racist decision; Harborplace update
    Political notes: Fundraising season; state Supreme Court to right a racist decision; and updates on Harborplace.
    Meghan Marsh has been the executive director of Disability Rights Maryland since September.
    Fighting for the rights of people with disabilities
    Meghan Marsh has been the executive director since September at Disability Rights Maryland.
    Aref Ramadan looks at photos of his deceased relatives who were victims of attacks on Gaza last week. Ramadan says his family uses social media to communicate but service is sparse. He has not heard from his living relatives in over three days.
    Maryland Muslim leaders say ‘innocent lives deserve to be protected’ in Gaza
    “There is no safety in Gaza. I feel defenseless knowing something might happen and I have no power to stop it," a founder of the Palestinian Community of Metro DC said.
    American jazz singer Billie Holiday (1915-1959), also known as “Lady Day,” during a 1954 performance. Picture Post-7380-Billie Holiday-unpub.
    Commentary: When it comes to Billie Holiday, we still have a lot to learn
    Familiar portrayals of traumatic and tragic elements of Billie Holiday’s life can miss the point of her story: Eleanora Fagan from Baltimore had a singular voice and a lasting musical and cultural impact.
    Will Schwarz, president of the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project.
    Will Schwarz is on a mission to make sure we learn about lynchings in Maryland
    As president of the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project, Will Schwarz has the task of addressing the atrocities of racial terror murders of the past while helping to ensure that these crimes are not repeated in the future.
    Naval Academy midshipmen walk past a gate at Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Saturday during a football game.
    Sarah Huckabee Sanders emailed me. I bet we disagree over the Naval Academy admissions suit.
    Some backing a lawsuit in federal court seeking to stop the Naval Academy from using race as an admissions factor want to define who gets to be a midshipman based on their experience. They don’t want a fair system, they want the same one that favored them.
    Thomas Smallwood is considered the first person to use the phrase “underground railroad,” which he did when writing about how he led hundreds of enslaved people in Maryland and D.C. to freedom.
    Commentary: Thomas Smallwood’s ‘underground railroad’ freed hundreds in Maryland, D.C.
    Thomas Smallwood led hundreds of enslaved people in Maryland and D.C. to freedom and made a point of letting the public, including enslavers, know what his “underground railroad” had achieved.
    Baltimore Councilwoman Odette Ramos comforts people waiting outside the police perimeter after a shooting on the campus of Morgan State University on Oct. 3, 2023.
    The Morgan State attack and what an entire community needs to do about it
    A shooting that injured five young people during homecoming week at Morgan State University should serve as a call to action for an entire community, columnist E.R. Shipp says.
    Eviction notices taped onto doors and windows
    Letters: What happened to the money Mayor Scott promised to prevent evictions?
    Baltimore needs to prioritize emergency rental assistance to protect families from the physical and mental harm caused by evictions, representatives of two community advocacy groups say.
    The Maryland Department of Health offices in Baltimore.
    50 people file lawsuits alleging decades of abuse in Maryland’s juvenile detention centers
    The plaintiffs describe systemic physical, sexual and psychological abuse spanning decades within Maryland’s juvenile justice system.
    Veronica Cool is founder of Cool & Associates LLC, a marketing firm specializing in Hispanic engagement and community outreach.
    Commentary: Baltimore’s Latino community embraces diversity, meets challenges
    Institutions seeking to successfully engage with Baltimore’s Latino community need to appreciate its diversity and understand its challenges, community activists and leaders say.
    Sandra Mireles-Perez, the widow of Nick Mireles, shares stories about her husband after he was killed in a mass shooting in Annapolis on June 11, 2023. He left behind eight children.
    After the gunfire, it’s up to all of us to help the victims’ families
    Who helps when lives are shattered by everyday gun violence? When death arrives at your doorstep, who helps you make the next day seem possible? On Oct. 10, two small organizations will ask Annapolis that question again, this time after a mass shooting in June.
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