(BALTIMORE – April 24, 2026) – Historic Pennsylvania Avenue is just three blocks from my home.
This key thoroughfare runs from Franklin Street and stretches northwest into Reisterstown Road. Follow it far enough and you’ll find yourself in Owings Mills, Reisterstown, even Franklin. But “down the bottom” — as we call it — the Avenue carries a history as layered as America itself: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Yes, there have been hard times. The Avenue has known the grip of illegal drugs. But it has also known greatness.
Legends like Redd Foxx, Moms Mabley, Slappy White, and Billie Holiday once drew crowds from near and far. Back then, homes like mine doubled as informal lodging because Black entertainers — no matter how famous — were barred from staying in downtown hotels.
Racial discrimination was real then. And it still echoes now.
We also cannot ignore Baltimore’s legacy of segregation, dating back to J. Barry Mahool and the ordinance that enforced racial separation block by block. That history wasn’t accidental — it was intentional. Racism is not only immoral, it is irrational. Too often, people have chosen division over opportunity, even at their own expense.
One fact often overlooked is that Baltimore had the largest population of free Black people in America prior to the Civil War. This city has long been a Black stronghold — a place that has consistently produced giants.
From the Goon Squad to leaders like Reginald F. Lewis, Henry Parks, Dorothy Brunson, and Bea Gaddy — alongside freedom fighters like Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and Isaac Myers — as well as Tom Smith, Willie Adams, Raymond V. Haysbert, Sr., Robert Lee Clay, and John Murphy, Baltimore’s legacy is rooted in excellence, resilience, and ownership.
And yet, through it all — the struggle, the music, the Historic Pennsylvania Avenue Easter Parades, the heartbreak and the triumph — something powerful continues to rise from this corridor.
Today, that spirit lives in the ring.
Unless you’ve been under a rock, you know Gervonta Davis — “Tank” — the world champion who put Upton Boxing on the international stage. Tank represents something bigger than boxing. He is one of us — counted out early, underestimated often, but never defined by those limits. He walked these same streets, ate the same food, breathed the same air — and rose to the very top of his field.
But what makes Tank special isn’t just what he’s done for himself — it’s what he’s done for others.
He saw something in someone else.
While out in California, Tank noticed a young fighter with something different. Her name is Chrisean “Holy Hands” Malone. He didn’t keep that to himself. He connected her to Coach Calvin Ford at Upton Boxing.
That’s the plug. That’s love. That’s looking out for your brother, your sister — making sure the door stays open for somebody else.
And now, that decision is already shaping her future.
“Holy Hands” has brought a fresh energy to Upton Boxing and to the sport itself. Grounded in faith, disciplined in her craft, and wise beyond her years, she carries a presence that feels both rare and familiar — like purpose.
I’ve asked Coach Calvin Ford more than once: Why are you still here?
He could have left Baltimore. He could have taken his talents anywhere in the country — maybe even the world. But he chooses to stay right here, on Pennsylvania Avenue.
His answer is always the same.
He could never turn his back on the Avenue.
That tells you everything you need to know.
This morning, her team loaded up a Sprinter van and headed to Philadelphia. BMORENews was there for the send-off.
For those following her journey, Chrisean “Holy Hands” Malone is scheduled to fight Zenith Zion on April 25, 2026 at Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino & Racetrack in Chester, Pennsylvania, in a bout promoted through XRUMBLE and celebrity boxing channels.
But just as powerful as the moment itself was who stood beside her.
Her mother was there. Her father was there. Family members of all ages showed up — present, proud, and fully invested in her journey. You could see it in their faces. You could feel it in their energy.
Chrisean hasn’t just committed herself to boxing — she has inspired her entire family.
In a world that too often tells a different story about us, this was a reminder that still matters: Black families do stick together. Through challenges. Through growth. Through it all. Unconditionally.
And that’s the part of Pennsylvania Avenue the news cameras rarely capture — the caring, the sharing, the love that binds people together when no one else is watching.
As the Sprinter pulled away, I couldn’t help but think about all the people who walked this Avenue before us — the entertainers who lit up stages but couldn’t get a room downtown, the entrepreneurs who built something from nothing, the everyday people who kept going in a city that didn’t always see them.
Pennsylvania Avenue has always been a proving ground.
It is where the overlooked become unforgettable.
Chrisean “Holy Hands” Malone is the latest chapter in that story.
Her faith is real. Her fight is undeniable. Her gifts are clear.
Tank saw it. Coach Calvin Ford saw it. And now the world is starting to see it too.
Upton Boxing continues to produce champions — not just in the ring, but in character, discipline, and spirit.
All of Baltimore is riding with her.
The Avenue is watching.
The ancestors are watching.
Go get it, Chrisean. Bring it back home.
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Doni Glover is the founder and publisher of BMORENews.com, now in its 24th year of covering Black Baltimore, and the founder of the Joe Manns Black Wall Street Awards, now in its 15th year. He is also the host of the Emmy-nominated Doni Glover Podcast and The Doni Glover Show on WMAR-TV 2.
