Wylie Funeral Homes founder and newly honored namesake of “Al Wylie Way” will be recognized August 5 at the Thurgood Marshall Amenity Center in West Baltimore.
(BALTIMORE – July 18, 2026) — BMORENews.com is proud to announce that Albert P. “Al” Wylie, founder of Wylie Funeral Homes, will receive the Joe Manns Black Wall Street Award during The Doni Glover Show LIVE on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Justice Thurgood Marshall Amenity Center, 1315 Division Street in Baltimore.
In full transparency, I am the son of a funeral director and mortician. Pops is long gone now, but having been raised in Baltimore’s Black funeral industry ecosystem, I have seen a lot.
I saw more dead bodies by the age of 5 than most people see in a lifetime. Hell, we lived above a funeral home. Twice. First at Patterson Park and Lanvale, and then at 712-712 E. North Avenue.
The education I received growing up in a Black family business is irreplaceable. I’m sure that is part of my affinity for other children of entrepreneurs. I know what it’s like—from a young age.
You hear different conversations, I imagine. I say “imagine” because what I have come to understand is that when one’s parents work a 9-to-5, that’s a different kind of language.
I recall my paternal grandmother, Flossie Rivers, telling me that I should get a good job with benefits. Three of her sons did exactly that. But not my father. No, sir.
That is the one thing Grandma and I disagreed on, but believe you me, I kept it to myself. Granny ain’t play. I learned early not to test her waters. It was not a game.
But I digress.
When we finally moved into a regular house—one with no funeral attachments—I was about 9 years old and in the fourth grade. I was still attending Matthew Alexander Henson Elementary School. We lived at Moreland and Baker. Across Easterwood Park was where the Wylie family resided.
So, I grew up after them in the same community.
Back then, the titan of Baltimore’s Black funeral industry was William C. March. To this day, that family has been an industrious multiplier of William and Roberta March’s empire. Anyone who knows the industry knows that the March family put in serious work and, in many ways, put Baltimore at the top of the national map.
Sure, there were giants before them.
Many old-timers reference Katie Williams. I remember Halstead Funeral Home and Ludlow Carroll, a dear friend of my dad’s. I never met Charlie Law, but my father got his third funeral home from him. Mr. Law reportedly bought me my first case of milk.
My godfather, Purnell B. Oden, had a funeral home. Vernon Bailey succeeded the legendary George G. Kelson. It remains a crying shame that the brilliant people at Baltimore City Public Schools conveniently removed Kelson’s name from what is now Sandtown-Winchester Achievement Academy. They effectively erased the name of one of Historic West Baltimore’s greatest sons.
Thank you very much.
Everybody remembers Morton & Dyett, Joseph Russ, Marshall Jones, Joseph C. Brown, and please do not leave out Carlton Douglass and Hari Close.
We don’t want that smoke.
We also cannot omit Mr. Joseph G. Locks. Established in 1835, Locks Funeral Home was one of the oldest Black-owned businesses in the US. The historic funeral home, previously located at 1302-1310 North Central Avenue, permanently closed, and its buildings were demolished in 2017.
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
But Mr. Wylie has his own magnificent story.
He went to school. He apprenticed. He learned the business of providing families with memorable experiences during their hour of bereavement.
One of the most special parts of Mr. Wylie’s story—and not every business owner gets to experience this joy—is that his family embraced the business. They worked beside him, supported his vision, and helped multiply what he started.
His son, Brandon Wylie, was reportedly the youngest person in Maryland to earn a mortician’s license at the time he became licensed. Today, Brandon serves as CEO of Wylie Funeral Homes, carrying his father’s vision into a new generation.
For a father and founder, there may be no greater source of pride than watching a son master the profession, accept the responsibility of leadership, and strengthen the family legacy.
God gives us all gifts and talents. What He gave you is not what He gave me. Therefore, I should focus on mine, nurture them, hone them, learn them, study them, and repeat the process until I have mastered what is before me.
That is Al Wylie.
He combined his mastery of people with his education in mortuary science to create, with the help of his team, a funeral-home empire straight out of West Baltimore.
It is a marvelous thing to see a family work together and build. While others are wasting their family legacies, the Wylie family has chosen to erect an empire.
Respected by His Peers
Wylie’s influence can also be measured by the respect he has earned from fellow Baltimore business owners, community leaders, and funeral directors.
Jimmy Britton remembers when he and Wylie were two West Baltimore entrepreneurs trying to establish themselves with limited resources but plenty of determination.
“West Baltimore, baby. West Baltimore,” Britton said. “Al and I started out with what we had. I told him, ‘I can’t help you, and you can’t help me.’ But I can remember the day both of us started.”
Britton said Wylie’s success cannot be measured by money alone.
“He’s a determined man who has done a lot of good for the community,” Britton said. “He’s a pioneer when it comes to giving. He has a good spirit and a good heart, and I’m proud of him—so proud of him.”
For Britton, the relationship is personal.
“Words can’t even describe the love I have for Al and what he’s doing in the community,” he said. “It has nothing to do with how much money you make. I don’t care about any of that.”
Kevin Scott, owner of Benedetto Haberdashery, said recognizing Wylie was important because of their shared experience as entrepreneurs who built their businesses from the ground up.
“Mr. Wylie is a pillar in the community and a philanthropist,” Scott said. “He bootstrapped his business, much like I did, so I’m always honored to be in his presence and to see how God has blessed him with his talents—especially his ability to care for people.”
Scott said that work extends beyond preparing a loved one for burial.
“When you’re caring for people, you’re caring for families,” he said. “You’re taking care of someone’s family member in a way that they cannot. You are preparing that person and helping the family send their loved one on to heaven. Mr. Wylie has been blessed with that gift.”
When asked about Wylie’s consistently impeccable wardrobe, Scott offered a simple explanation:
“He’s a mortician—and I’m going to leave it there.”
Derrick Jones, funeral director and owner of Derrick C. Jones Funeral Home on Park Heights Avenue, said Wylie helped rejuvenate Baltimore’s funeral industry while remaining generous toward his colleagues.
“I think he’s a hell of a mortician,” Jones said. “He helped rejuvenate the industry, and he did what he was supposed to do. I have much respect for him. He has helped me and never asked for anything. If I needed him, he was always there for me.”
Jones said that spirit reflects the camaraderie that has historically existed among Baltimore’s Black funeral directors.
“I don’t think we look at ourselves as competitors,” he said. “If anything, we look at ourselves as colleagues.”
According to Jones, the industry’s old-school tradition was built upon mutual respect and a willingness to assist one another.
“What I saw in the old school is what I try to carry forward today, and I see Al doing the same,” Jones said. “You respect each other. If you can help somebody, you do it. Thank God Mr. Al Wylie is not selfish that way.”
Taken together, their testimonies reveal the measure of the man. In an industry where reputations are earned family by family, service by service, and generation by generation, Al Wylie has earned the respect and love of the people who understand his journey best.
A Legacy Recognized in His Lifetime
On April 10, 2026, community members, elected officials, fraternity brothers, employees, church leaders, friends, and relatives gathered in West Baltimore to celebrate Wylie’s 80th birthday and the ceremonial naming of “Al Wylie Way.”
The honor recognized more than three decades of business ownership, community investment, and compassionate service.
Wylie entered the funeral-home business in 1993 and expanded Wylie Funeral Homes to three locations serving West Baltimore, East Baltimore, and Baltimore County. Under the leadership of the next generation, the family enterprise continues to serve communities across the Baltimore region.
During the street-naming ceremony, Wylie characteristically directed the attention toward those who supported his journey.
“None of this would be possible without all of you,” Wylie said. “Thank you to all of the people who support me. I wouldn’t be who I am without all of you. God is so good.”
His legacy extends beyond funeral services.
Wylie invested in the Harlem Park community, helped improve the area surrounding his business, supported community initiatives, mentored leaders, and remained connected to the people of Baltimore.
His work demonstrates what can happen when a Black-owned business does more than operate in a neighborhood—it becomes part of that neighborhood’s foundation.
That is what Black business is supposed to look like.
Al Wylie built a business. He established a family legacy. He served his community. And now, the City of Baltimore has placed his name on a street so that future generations will know he was here—and that his life’s work mattered.
This is Black Wall Street.
And Albert P. “Al” Wylie is most deserving of the Joe Manns Black Wall Street Award.
The Doni Glover Show LIVE and Joe Manns Black Wall Street Awards will be held Wednesday, August 5, 2026, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Justice Thurgood Marshall Amenity Center, 1315 Division Street in Baltimore.
The event is executive produced by STEM CITY USA and G. Grant Griffin Media in partnership with Dr. Alvin C. Hathaway Sr. and Beloved Community Services Corporation.
To RSVP, visit blackwallstreetsummit26.eventbrite.com.
