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(BALTIMORE – August 9, 2025) – Today we light the candles for BMORENews — 23 years young. Some people might call it an anniversary, but I think of it as a birthday. After all, on this day in 2002, BMORENews came into the world with a lot of heart, a tiny budget, and a dream to tell our own stories.
My journey started before BMORENews, with the Sandtown-Winchester ViewPoint and the Coppin Courier under Donna Clayton. My very first assignment was to cover a neighborhood legend named “Fatback,” who ran a hauling business. He told me to meet him on Howard Street — far from Sandtown. I hopped on my bike without hesitation. It didn’t matter where the story was — Alaska or around the corner — I was going. That day taught me something that has stayed with me: if you’re going to do a job, be all in.
At Coppin State College, media professor Ronn Nichols had already sparked our imaginations. My classmate James Coxson went on to WJZ-TV 13, where Marcellus Alexander was once General Manager. Marcellus became my first “big time” interview — and to this day, I remember his graciousness. No ego. No walls. Just a man at the top who welcomed a young brother into his world.
We’ve lost people along the way. My father — my biggest supporter — would be first on that list. I still remember the AOL days (“You’ve got mail”), when Myspace was Facebook, and folks were figuring out email. We’ve gone from print to pixels, telling stories that have touched people across the world. We’ve even been on the ground in places like Jordan, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Canada, Jamaica, and states from Florida to Oregon.
Julian B. Moore, God rest his soul, was my tech guide back then. He taught me the Macromedia tools of the day — Dreamweaver and Fireworks. My first version of BMORENews.com? It was made with a basic Microsoft program. It was ugly, the colors were all wrong, but it was mine.
At first, I’d hired a designer — but they wanted a monthly fee just to update the site. That didn’t work for me. I had too many ideas to wait on someone else. So I learned to build it myself. That’s when my father’s words clicked — the same wisdom behind the Joe Manns Black Wall Street Awards:
“Doni, if you get out there and try, somebody might see you and even help you. But you’ll never know if you never try.”
The Awards exist to inspire people to keep going. Whatever your dream, whatever your goal — the only obstacle is you. Nothing can stop a determined person.
And so here we are, 23 candles later. To me, BMORENews is still that kid with a bike, chasing the story, fueled by curiosity, stubbornness, and love for the community. I thank God, the BMORENews family, and all our supporters — past and present, here and in heaven. The mission continues: to inform, inspire, and empower.
Here’s to another year — and many more birthdays — of telling our stories and lifting our people.
