(RANDALLSTOWN – May 20, 2026) – Born in the 1960s — in the era when both Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated — I remember a very different Black America.
There was fire in the belly of Black people.
Afro picks. Bell bottoms. Curtis Mayfield playing through neighborhood windows. We stayed outside all day long with little more than a seesaw, a swing set, and imagination. There were no bike lanes. Nobody had ever heard the phrase “traffic calming.” And if you were not home by the time the streetlights came on, you already knew you were in trouble.
But beyond the culture was something deeper: Black people were politically awake.
America was nervous.
Newark. Watts. Baltimore. Harlem. Chicago. Black uprisings were erupting across the country because people were tired of injustice, police brutality, economic exclusion, and the assassinations of our leaders. Malcolm was gone. Dr. King was gone. Even President Kennedy had been killed. The country understood that the pressure building in Black America was real.
And so concessions came.
Doors slowly opened.
Black families began pushing beyond the traditional boundaries of East and West Baltimore into Baltimore County — into places like Woodlawn, Randallstown, Milford Mill, and Owings Mills — seeking homeownership, safety, opportunity, and dignity.
And we built those communities.
For more than 50 years, Black people have contributed heavily to the tax base of Baltimore County. We bought homes. Paid property taxes. Supported schools. Built churches. Opened businesses. Raised families. We helped transform the northwest corridor into one of the most economically and politically important Black regions in the state of Maryland.
Yet political representation has never truly matched our contribution.
Which brings me to this moment.
This June 23 primary election is about far more than one candidate.
It is about political maturity.
It is about whether Black people in Baltimore County fully understand the power we already possess.
To be clear, Ken Oliver made history as the first Black person elected to the Baltimore County Council. That breakthrough mattered enormously. Ken Oliver broke the barrier.
But Julian Jones expanded the power.
Julian became only the second Black councilman in Baltimore County history. Yet what he accomplished afterward was extraordinary: he became Chairman of the Baltimore County Council four separate times.
Four.
That is not ceremonial.
That is not accidental.
That level of repeated leadership means his colleagues trusted his judgment, his relationships, his political skill, and his ability to lead the governing body itself. Not even Ken Oliver reached that level of institutional influence.
That matters because leadership is not simply about occupying a seat at the table. Leadership is about influence inside the room where decisions are actually made.
And now Julian Jones has the opportunity to become the first Black County Executive in Baltimore County history.
But history does not happen simply because it should.
History happens because people organize.
Because people vote.
Because communities stay engaged long after the election signs disappear.
That means attending community association meetings. Political forums. School board meetings. Budget hearings. Networking events. It means actually knowing your elected officials before there is a crisis. If a councilperson represents more than 100,000 residents, then it is probably wise to know what is happening in your own neighborhood.
And if there is no community association where you live, perhaps it is time to start one.
Because the truth is painfully simple: no one is coming to save us.
Not Democrats.
Not Republicans.
Not developers.
Not corporations.
Us.
We are responsible for our own collective advancement and survival.
Dr. King warned decades ago that we must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. Those words remain painfully relevant today.
Black people out Liberty Road, Randallstown, Woodlawn, Milford Mill, and Owings Mills: wake up.
This election matters.
And Julian Jones may very well represent the best opportunity our community has had in generations to secure the level of political representation that has long been overdue.
