(BALTIMORE – October 1, 2026) — I cannot speak for anyone else, but for me, Wednesday night, September 30, at Colin’s Seafood & Grill was a very special occasion.
My accountant, Joan Pratt, was there. Best accountant in town, if you ask me. Her CPA firm is right there in Northeast Baltimore, not far from Colin’s.
My seventh- and eighth-grade English teacher, Catherine B. Orange, was there, too. We knew her from Lemmel. Others in the room, including Jet Miller, knew her from City College.
People I went to school with nearly 50 years ago came out. We broke bread. We talked. We took pictures. And together, we celebrated our latest Joe Manns Black Wall Street Award honorees.
The honorees were Catherine B. Orange, Timmeeka Pettus, Joan Pratt, Nicole Earle, Simon Edwards, E.R. Shipp, Tarase Whetstone, Kenny Carroll, State Senator Carl Jackson, Shayla Stephens, and Shems Haru.
Professor Shipp is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and a founding faculty member of Morgan State University’s School of Global Journalism & Communication. Stephens and Haru, both Morgan students in her class, represented the next generation of journalists in the room.
For Haru, the evening offered a chance to join that continuing legacy.
“Fifteen years of excellence in the making in one room. September 30th, 2026, at Colin’s Seafood & Grill. I was honored to be a part of a legacy for the Joe Manns Black Wall Street Award, and it definitely was a night to remember,” Haru said.
That meant something to me. An educator who helped shape my life, a distinguished journalism professor, and young people preparing to tell the stories ahead were all receiving their flowers in the same room.
And did I tell you that State Senator Carl Jackson was there?
We acknowledged him for his work supporting Pleasant Yacht Club and its members. The club’s history speaks directly to the Black Wall Street message.
Founding member Johnny Mathis told BMORENews that Bethlehem Steel provided a yacht club for its white employees but refused to do the same for its Black workers. Those workers built their own facilities by hand, including a floating pier and boat ramp, and moved a small house to establish their clubhouse.
BMORENews documented their story in “Historic Black-owned Pleasant Yacht Club Threatened by Tradepoint Atlantic in Sparrows Point.”
Welcome to America. And welcome to Black Wall Street, where we encourage self-empowerment.
“Do for self,” as my good friend Dr. David Miller always reminds us.
Self-improvement. Building institutions. Creating opportunities. Those principles run through the teachings of Malcolm X and Marcus Garvey, and they remain relevant today.
But how much do we know about the people who put those principles into practice?
Throughout the evening, I asked questions about our history.
Do you know the name of the first Black woman to charter a bank in America?
Maggie Lena Walker. In 1903, she established the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in Richmond, Virginia, and served as its president. That is economic self-determination.
Do you know who employed Madam C.J. Walker before she established her own company?
Annie Turnbo Malone. Before Walker built her empire, she sold Malone’s hair-care products. We ought to know both women’s stories and the opportunities they created for other Black women.
Now, let’s bring it home.
Did you know that Reginald F. Lewis, a graduate of Baltimore’s Dunbar High School, led the historic $985 million acquisition of Beatrice Foods’ international division in 1987? The acquisition created TLC Beatrice International, a Black-owned business with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion and major operations in France and elsewhere. A young man from Baltimore went on to do business on a world stage.
Did you know that the national Black labor movement had roots right here on the waterfront in Fell’s Point?
Isaac Myers helped organize Black ship caulkers and helped establish the Colored National Labor Union in 1869. Frederick Douglass, who had worked as a ship caulker while enslaved in Baltimore, also became a leader in that movement.
Do you know what William “Little Willie” Adams did for Black Baltimore?
He helped finance Black-owned businesses, including Parks Sausage and Super Pride supermarkets, when discriminatory barriers restricted access to capital. Adams, whose investment capital grew from his numbers operation, became a key source of financing for Black entrepreneurs.
And before Little Willie, there was Thomas R. “Tom” Smith.
Smith owned Smith’s Hotel on Druid Hill Avenue, described in a 1916–17 directory preserved by Maryland State Archives as the largest Black hotel in the United States. Before the hotel, he operated a saloon at New and Jasper streets. This history happened on streets right here in our city.
Did you know that Dorothy Brunson made broadcasting history right here in Baltimore?
In 1979, she purchased WEBB radio from James Brown, becoming the first Black woman in America to own a radio station. Ownership gave her the power to shape what our community heard and whose voices reached the airwaves.
And then there is the AFRO, publishing since 1892—the oldest continuously published, family-owned Black newspaper in the United States. For generations, that Baltimore institution has documented our lives, challenged injustice, and preserved stories that might otherwise have been lost.
We have a history of ownership. We have a history of building.
Knowing that history matters because it helps us recognize our own capacity. Our predecessors built banks, businesses, unions, radio stations, and newspapers under circumstances that were often openly hostile to their success.
What will we build with the resources we have today?
One point I wanted everyone to take home Wednesday night was the power of our dollar.
Nielsen projects Black consumer buying power at approximately $2.1 trillion in 2026. That is an enormous economic presence, and we ought to think carefully about where those dollars go.
Whether we are talking about Target, Nordstrom, or any other corporation, my position is simple: If a business disrespects our community, we can take our dollars elsewhere.
We can deliberately spend with businesses that respect us, serve us, employ us, and invest in our neighborhoods. Supporting Black business means buying, recommending services, and giving our entrepreneurs the chance to earn our business.
Afterward, I asked Joan whether we had brought the Black Wall Street message home.
“You did,” she said.
But she also pointed out that people did not know the answers to some of the history questions I had asked.
“You did enlighten all of us on that,” she added.
That stayed with me. People came to celebrate, and they also got to learn about the people and institutions that helped make our community what it is.
Joan said the evening was wonderful. She appreciated the beautiful flowers and the recognition. She had also been reading our new BMORENews newspaper and complimented the story about David Bramble.
Then, before our conversation ended, my accountant brought me right back to business.
“Now, you know your tax return is due.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
That was Wednesday night at Colin’s: fellowship, history, laughter, accountability, and people getting their flowers.
To every honoree, classmate, educator, friend, and supporter who came out: Thank you. You helped make this a night I will remember.
And as we celebrate what our people have accomplished, let us keep building—and remember the power of our dollar.
Many thanks to Dante Daniels and the Family at Colin’s for another wonderful affair.
