(BALTIMORE – July 31, 2026) – I took a photograph today with Maryland House Speaker Joseline A. Peña-Melnyk and discovered that we share a birthday: June 27. I was born in 1965; she arrived one year later, in 1966, in the Dominican Republic. That personal coincidence gave me another reason to examine the journey and leadership of the woman who became Maryland’s first Afro-Latina and first immigrant House speaker. Seven months after receiving the gavel, Peña-Melnyk has already reshaped the chamber she leads. She reorganized its leadership, elevated dozens of women, restructured its committees and presided over a consequential—and sometimes…

(BALTIMORE – July 30, 2026) – I did not know I was economically challenged until I got to Morehouse College. I simply had a dream. My counselor at Dunbar High School, Lillian Gundy, looked at me one day and said, “You look like a Morehouse man.” Then I saw the brochure. It was a wrap after that. There was nothing else to talk about. I was going to Morehouse. Just being accepted was rewarding to me. Actually setting foot on that campus became one of the greatest experiences of my life. I completed three semesters at Morehouse. My mother begged,…

(BALTIMORE – July 30, 2026) – I ask this question with love—and it hurts me to ask it. I am an alumnus of three historically Black colleges and universities: Morehouse College, Morgan State University, and Coppin State University. These institutions helped shape the man I became. They strengthened my mind, deepened my understanding of Black history and surrounded me with people who expected me to succeed. I would not be the journalist, businessman, author, or scholar I am today without the HBCU experience. That is precisely why I must ask: Have HBCUs become too expensive for the Black families they…

(RANDALLSTOWN – July 29, 2026) – Concerned community members turned out in torrential rain last night to hear directly from their elected officials about decisions being made on their behalf. Most of those officials didn’t show. The 10th District Unity Team — State Senator Ben Brooks, Delegate N. Scott Phillips (chair of the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus, the largest Black caucus in the country), Delegate Robin Harvey, and Delegate Jennifer White Holland — was invited. None of them came. Who did show up: Democratic County Executive nominee Julian Jones, councilwoman nominee Makeda Scott, and several state central committee members from Districts…

“My head is bloody, but unbowed.”— William Ernest Henley, “Invictus” (WOODLAWN – July 29, 2026) – Timmy Greene doesn’t want the spotlight. He never has. Ask around Baltimore basketball circles, and you’ll hear the same thing over and over: he’s the guy who does the foundational work, the gritty work, the work nobody else wants to do — and he shows up, year after year, without fail. “Timmy Greene is the salt of the earth,” said Al Robinson, a City College basketball alum who has attended the last two 1 Baltimore Cookouts. “Timmy and Donnie Joy, as human beings, have…

A faithful servant, a keeper of Sandtown’s history and one of Baltimore’s most dynamic community leaders (BALTIMORE – July 27, 2026) – I had become a bit worn, to say the least, in the aftermath of Freddie Gray. I called for a meeting in Sandtown. That meeting led to another meeting, and then another. Before long, we had held roughly 30 meetings. It was tiring. It was frustrating. And in retrospect, many of the same people who caused disruption then are still causing disruption today. But through it all, I met Tracey Malone. And that made the struggle worthwhile. Sandtown-Winchester…

I went to Harlem to honor others. Harlem turned around and honored me. (HARLEM, N.Y. — July 25, 2026) — The good people of Harlem set me up. But I do not mean that in a bad way. I went to New York City, as I have many times before, to present the Joe Manns Black Wall Street Awards. This ceremony was held near St. Nicholas Avenue and West 111th Street in Harlem. I arrived with a list of people to honor. I expected to present the awards, celebrate the honorees, and return home to Baltimore. I had no idea…

One unforgettable coat traveled across four social-media platforms—and revealed the value of an audience BMORENews has spent decades building. (BALTIMORE – July 21, 2026) – The coat was gray mink. It required approximately 40 skins, was designed by Kevin Scott and carried a price tag of $10,500. Mean. Savage. Vicious. Relentlessly immaculate and made for distinction. When Mike Brown put it on inside Benedetto Haberdashery at 119 W. Mulberry Street in downtown Baltimore, I knew we had captured something special. Brown, a member of Dunbar High School’s legendary 1983 basketball team, brought another unmistakable layer of Baltimore history into the…

The Mayor for Life used government contracts, development opportunities and political power to build Washington, D.C.’s Black business class. (BALTIMORE – July 20, 2026) – Invariably, when I meet people from Washington, D.C., and the conversation turns to Marion Barry, I hear some version of the same statement: “Marion Barry gave me my first job.” I have heard it repeatedly from Washingtonians of different ages and backgrounds. To me, that is one of the most revealing measures of the man’s legacy. Long before “workforce development” became fashionable political language, Marion Barry understood that a young person’s first job could change…

If you can’t bring love, don’t bring hate (BALTIMORE — July 20, 2026) — Early Monday morning, I received a phone call. It turned out that the caller wanted to know why I had said positive things about Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott in a recent clip posted online. It’s simple: He is our leader. People can choose whether to support him. That is an individual decision. As the publisher of BMORENews.com, which has continually served this city for the past 24 years, I choose to speak life over Mayor Scott, Baltimore, and its people. Supporting Baltimore does not mean surrendering…