(BALTIMORE – July 18, 2026) – This is a message to everyone working to make Baltimore City better—beginning with Mayor Brandon M. Scott and extending to all those entrusted with the enormous responsibility of rebuilding and reimagining our city. They are being asked to rebuild a plane that is already in the air. Today’s leaders, many of whom are Black—including our beloved Mayor Brandon Scott—inherited a Baltimore that struggled to pivot following the decline of the industrial era. Thankfully, Baltimore’s world-class colleges, universities, hospitals, and research institutions helped keep the city academically, medically, and intellectually grounded throughout that transition. But the transition is not over. Like Detroit, which experienced tremendous decay after losing much of its automotive strength, Baltimore remains in the middle of a historic pivot. My message to the people leading that transformation is simple: Go forward. There will always be critics. David Bramble and his partners at MCB Real Estate have faced significant criticism over their purchase of Harborplace. Yet Harborplace sat largely dormant and deteriorating for roughly 20 years, and many of today’s loudest critics had little to say. MCB made a purchase that anyone with the necessary vision and resources could have made. Now that someone is attempting to do something, the criticism is everywhere. This is not simply a Black-versus-white matter. MCB Real Estate is a business enterprise led by Black and white partners. These are businesspeople who saw an opportunity and acted upon it. The proposed transformation deserves legitimate public scrutiny, but criticism should be constructive, honest, and grounded in the realities confronting Baltimore. Not far from my home is Baltimore’s infamous Highway to Nowhere. Thousands of residents were displaced and entire communities were disrupted for a highway project that was never completed as promised. In the end, its greatest accomplishment was displacing Black families and destroying generational community wealth. Baltimore knows what destructive development looks like. That history is precisely why residents should ask questions and demand accountability. But accountability is different from rooting for Baltimore to fail. Many of the harshest critiques I see come from people who never supported Brandon Scott, people living along the city’s periphery, and people who do not live in Baltimore at all. Some appear to consume a steady diet of media that rarely has anything positive to say about our city. Their comments are frequently dismissive, disparaging, and completely detached from the lives of the people who actually live here. We must consider the context. This is the Trump era. We must also consider Baltimore’s unique racial history. Before the Civil War, Baltimore was home to the nation’s largest population of free Black people. Black life has always been central to the city’s identity. Yet Baltimore has also wrestled with what some of my elders called “the Negro dilemma”—the question of what America intends to do with all these Black people. Here we are in 2026, still confronting versions of that same question. Some say crime is down. Others continue to raise questions about public…
(BALTIMORE, MD – July 16, 2026) — Some leaders build organizations from the outside. Others strengthen them from within. For…
(HARLEM, NY – July 16, 2026) – Harlem Inc. and BMORENews.com are proud to announce that Casper R. Lassiter, M.S.W.,…
(BALTIMORE – July 16, 2026) — The Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) has opened a 30-day public comment period on a…
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Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott on MCB Real Estate and P. David Bramble, a Black developer from Baltimore, whose firm has … Watch full video on YouTube
BMORENews Investigates: The AI Infrastructure Files (BALTIMORE – July 14, 2026) – Before BMORENews goes any further into the data center conversation, we need to slow…
Baltimore Built America, Part III: How Segregation Produced Extraordinary Black Teachers (BALTIMORE – July 11, 2026) – Every now and then, history surprises you. Not…
(BALTIMORE – June 29, 2026) — Yesterday, I attended the James Mosher Baseball Crab Feast. I left full. Not because…
The Architect’s Great-Niece (BALTIMORE – July 2026) — Where I come from, we didn’t make excuses. We took the hand…
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(WOODLAWN, MD – July 8, 2026) — Every summer, the 1 Baltimore Cookout brings together generations of Baltimoreans to celebrate community, reconnect with old friends, and preserve one of the city’s…
Veteran retirement advisor says educators—not insurance companies—are paying the price as BCPS moves to a single provider. By Doni Glover For nearly half a century, Milton A. Dugger Jr. has helped Baltimore City Public Schools employees prepare for retirement. Today, after 53 years with New York Life and 47 years as one of the school system’s approved 403(b) retirement providers, Dugger says the issue is no longer about insurance companies. It’s about employee choice. “How can you force an employee to drop a carrier with whom he or she has an established relationship?” Dugger asked. That question sits at the…
Harlem Inc. and BMORENews.com to Present the Joe Manns Black Wall Street Award (HARLEM, N.Y. – July 8, 2026) — Every conversation has the power to deepen understanding. A lengthy conversation this week with Harlem’s community leader Vito Jones did exactly that. What began as a discussion about the upcoming Black Wall Street Harlem celebration quickly became a master class on the people whose lives have helped define modern Harlem. It also reinforced why Black Wall Street Harlem, scheduled for Saturday, July 25, is much more than another community event. It is a celebration of legacy, leadership, entrepreneurship, and the people…
(BALTIMORE – July 5, 2026) — Great communities aren’t built by chance. They’re built by leaders who know how to bring people together, secure resources, and transform vision into reality. Jennifer Wicks is one of those leaders. Wicks, Executive Director of the Presidents’ RoundTable (PRT) and the PRT Reach Foundation, will be honored with the Joe Manns Black Wall Street Award during the Black Wall Street Summit: National Black Business Month Edition, Wednesday, August 5, 2026, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the PS 103 Thurgood Marshall Amenity Center, 1315 Division Street, Baltimore. Presented by BMORENews and BlackUSA.News, the…
The Doni Glover Show takes you inside the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Annual Meeting for an in-depth conversation … Watch full video on YouTube
(PHILADELPHIA – July 4, 2026) — The 4th Annual HBCU Swingman Classic returns to Citizens Bank Park on Friday, July 10, bringing together many of the nation’s top Historically Black College and University baseball players for a celebration of Black excellence, culture, and the game’s future. Presented by Major League Baseball and USA Baseball, the nationally televised showcase will begin at 7 p.m. on MLB Network as part of MLB All-Star Week. But the event is about far more than baseball. This year’s Classic honors the late legendary Southern University baseball coach Roger Cador, who died June 30 after dedicating…
Event Information Black Wall Street Summit: National Black Business Month Edition Wednesday, August 5, 2026 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 … Watch full video on YouTube
(BALTIMORE – July 2, 2026) — Some people work in economic development. Charlyn Nater lives it. A tireless advocate for entrepreneurs, neighborhood revitalization, and community empowerment, Nater will be honored with the Joe Manns Black Wall Street Award during the Black Wall Street Summit: National Black Business Month Edition, Wednesday, August 5, 2026, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the PS 103 Thurgood Marshall Amenity Center in Baltimore. Presented by BMORENews and BlackUSA.News, the Summit brings together leaders from government, business, media, education, real estate, and the nonprofit community to answer one important question: How do we create and…
BALTIMORE — Economic development isn’t always about skyscrapers, billion-dollar projects, or ribbon cuttings. Sometimes it’s about preparing people for careers, connecting neighborhoods to opportunity, and ensuring that the economic benefits of a growing city reach everyone. That is the work of Mia Blom. The Senior Director of Government and Community Affairs for Visit Baltimore and Executive Director of the Visit Baltimore Education and Training Foundation will be honored with the Joe Manns Black Wall Street Award during the Black Wall Street Summit: National Black Business Month Edition, Wednesday, August 5, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the PS 103…
(BALTIMORE – July 1, 2026) — Curtis Dunham is a man who has earned his stripes — and then some. A Baltimore native who grew up in the rough streets of the city, Dunham refused to let his environment define his destiny. He survived a neighborhood that claimed many, navigated the prison system, lost a son, and still came out standing — and smiling. “I just don’t break,” he says simply. “I just started working. I started looking out for myself.” Now in his 60s, Dunham works at the Port of Baltimore, driving trucks off the ships — a CDL-certified…
Derrick Whiting to Receive Joe Manns Black Wall Street Award at Black Wall Street Summit (BALTIMORE – July 1, 2026) — When people talk about second chances, Derrick Whiting talks about first responsibilities. For years, the Baltimore civic leader has quietly become one of the city’s most respected voices on reentry, trauma-informed care, criminal justice reform, and community empowerment. On Wednesday, August 5, Whiting will be recognized with the Joe Manns Black Wall Street Award during the Black Wall Street Summit: National Black Business Month Edition, hosted by BMORENews and BlackUSA.News at the PS 103 Thurgood Marshall Amenity Center. The…
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