2026 Joe Manns Black Wall Street Award Honoree (BALTIMORE – July 31, 2026) – Every city has its detractors. Every city has people who come into distressed communities looking for profit, attention, notoriety or fame. But every city also has its heroes and sheroes. Donna Brown is one of Baltimore’s. I have known Donna for more than a decade. I remember her during the aftermath of Freddie Gray’s death in 2015, when Sandtown-Winchester became the center of national attention. That was when you saw the real heart of Baltimore—the heart of Sandtown, the heart of Upton, the heart of Penn North, the heart of West Baltimore and, ultimately, the heart of the entire city. You saw the people who genuinely cared. Helping to restore a fractured, torn and traumatized community takes people who are real. There are people who fake it. There are people who enter struggling communities for personal gain. They hold press conferences, take pictures and disappear when the cameras leave. Donna Brown is different. Donna is from this community. She loves the people here, and the people know it. When Donna walks down Pennsylvania Avenue, she does not need a bodyguard. From Pennsylvania and Laurens Street to the heart of the Avenue, the young people look out for her because they know how deeply she cares about them. That is how big her heart is. Organizing for Change Donna is a community strategist, youth advocate and founder of Making Changes, a grassroots organization that uses community organizing to confront social injustice and pursue systemic change. For more than a decade, she has worked at the intersection of youth empowerment, substance-use prevention and community transformation. Her work is grounded in undoing racism, advancing equity and building collective liberation. Following Freddie Gray’s death, Donna became a founding member of the Campaign for Justice, Safety and Jobs. The coalition emerged during one of the most painful periods in Baltimore’s modern history, advocating for police accountability, public safety and systemic reform. Her commitment did not end when the national cameras left Baltimore. Donna has continued challenging systems that disproportionately harm young people, incarcerated citizens, returning citizens, women and families. As an organizational partner with the Citizens Policing Project, she helps train young organizers to understand those systems, find their voices and advocate for change. Gov. Wes Moore appointed Donna to Maryland’s Administrative Charging Committee, giving her an opportunity to help advance accountability within the state’s police disciplinary process. Going Where the Work Is Needed Donna has also volunteered inside Maryland prisons for 12 years, working with both young people and adults. Through ministry, mentoring and transformational programming, she has invested her time in people whom society too often overlooks. That kind of service requires more than words. It requires courage, consistency and compassion. Donna’s advocacy is also deeply personal. As a survivor of sexual assault and domestic violence, she draws from her lived experience to help other survivors find support, healing and a path forward. She understands that transformation cannot be…
(BALTIMORE – July 30, 2026) – I ask this question with love—and it hurts me to ask it. I am…
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Harlem recognition celebrates more than 30 years of media, advocacy and community leadership (HARLEM, N.Y. — July 27, 2026) — New York State Senator Cordell…
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Senator Cleare, Vito Jones, Virginia Douglas, and Harlem, Inc. celebrated some of Harlem’s heroes at Black Wall Street HARLEM. Watch full video on YouTube
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(BALTIMORE – July 16, 2026) — The Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) has opened a 30-day public comment period on a proposed drone initiative designed to…
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(BALTIMORE, MD – July 12, 2026) — Communities become stronger when residents decide that they will not simply accept the status quo. They become stronger when people organize. When neighbors unite. When ordinary citizens become extraordinary advocates. That is why BMORENews and BlackUSA.News are proud to honor Carson Juliette Ward with the Joe Manns Black Wall Street Award during the Black Wall Street Summit: National Black Business Month Edition, Wednesday, August 5, 2026, in West Baltimore. Ward represents a new generation of leaders who understand that meaningful change happens when people are informed, engaged, and empowered to shape the future…
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How Black Baltimore Helped Shape a Nation (BALTIMORE – July 11, 2026) – Few American cities have contributed more to the nation’s development while receiving less recognition for doing so than Baltimore. Mention the city today, and many people immediately think of crime, vacant houses, political dysfunction, or television dramas like The Wire. Those images have become so deeply embedded in the national consciousness that they often obscure a far more important truth. Long before Baltimore became the subject of troubling headlines, it was helping build the United States. This city pioneered transportation, transformed higher education, revolutionized medicine, advanced communications,…
(BALTIMORE – July 10, 2026) – We’ve all heard the stories about Baltimore’s vacant houses. We’ve seen the blight. We’ve watched it become the backdrop of television shows, Hollywood movies, and HBO series. For many of us, it isn’t entertainment—it’s home. We know firsthand what abandoned properties, environmental neglect, and decades of disinvestment have done to our neighborhoods. We also know the history. We know about Baltimore’s infamous 1910 residential segregation ordinance, championed by Mayor J. Barry Mahool, a policy that became the blueprint for legalized housing segregation across America. We know about the courageous Black attorneys George McMechen and…
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(BALTIMORE, MD – July 9, 2026) — Baltimore County Executive Democratic nominee Julian Jones has confirmed his participation in the Leadership Forum at the Black Wall Street Summit: National Black Business Month Edition, joining three other Democratic nominees for an evening of discussion focused on leadership, public policy, and community progress. Presented by BMORENews and BlackUSA.News, the Summit will take place on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Justice Thurgood Marshall Amenity Center, 1315 Division Street in West Baltimore. Hosted by veteran journalist Doni Glover, the Leadership Forum will bring together four Democratic nominees…
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