(BALTIMORE – November 9, 2025) – When you hear “Penn-North,” what comes to mind? Be honest. There’s a pause. A look. That intersection at North Avenue—just south of Mondawmin Station, where the Freddie Gray uprising began—carries a stigma that most of Maryland would rather ignore. But here’s what the rest of the state doesn’t want to admit: Penn-North is where their kids go to die. BMORENews spoke with addictions counselor Steve Dixon, who revealed something that should alarm every family from Towson to Annapolis, from Montgomery County to the Eastern Shore. The drug unleashing havoc at Penn-North isn’t just fentanyl…

(BALTIMORE – October 30, 2025) – I guess Malcolm was right. No, not Malcolm X — the other Malcolm. The one from Park Heights. When he told me he was running for State Senator of the 41st, I was skeptical. “Nah, you should run for Delegate,” I said. But he stood firm on his decision. Now, barely three months into the campaign, the sitting State Senator faces a federal indictment. The timing couldn’t be more consequential. Suddenly, Delegate Malcolm Ruff’s Senate bid looks less like a long shot and more like vindication — a mental victory at minimum, but possibly…

(BALTIMORE – October 29, 2025) – Unbeknownst to many, a cultural revolution is quietly underway in America. It’s been simmering for generations — and now, it’s starting to boil. From Hawaii to California, from Georgia to Detroit, more and more melanated people are tracing their indigeneity, their true lineage. This isn’t just about ancestry websites. People are digging into family records, calling courthouses in other states, and connecting dots that were deliberately erased. What they’re finding is mind-blowing — history we were never taught. I saw this shift years ago when I posted a video on “Black Indians.” It got…

(BALTIMORE – October 27, 2025) – In the early 1970s, West North Avenue was alive with Black enterprise. I remember Ike Dixon Insurance, the beauty salons, the barbershops, the eateries — the heartbeat of our neighborhood. Fast-forward to more recent times, and only a few Black-owned businesses remain. My cousin Jamal ran Jamal’s Hauling in the 1800 block between Monroe and McKean. He loved his community deeply, and his business was one of the last to go after his passing. Everyone’s Place stands tall as a true staple. I remember when Nati started — from a street vendor to a…

(BALTIMORE – October 27, 2025) – Years ago, while in Jamaica, I found myself in conversation with a Rasta. I asked him what wisdom he’d have me carry back home. He paused, smiled, and said two simple words — words I will never forget: “Love life.” Then he repeated them, slower this time. “Love life.” Today, the world feels upside down. What was left is now right. What was right is now passé. It’s as if common decency has become retro — a relic from another time. People’s mental health is stretched thin as we try to make sense of…

(BALTIMORE – October 25, 2025) – Everybody knows Frank Johnson — at least, if you’ve been anywhere near the entertainment world. Gold records on the wall. Years with Kevin Liles at Def Jam. Collaborations with some of the biggest names in music. The man can write, play, sing, and — back in the day — he could dance, too. (He just turned 59, so we’ll let him decide about that part!) Last night, friends and family came out to celebrate him — an unforgettable evening filled with laughter, good food, and love. Konan had the music flowing. Then Mike Thomas took…

(BALTIMORE – October 24, 2025) – Black Wall Street is coming home — to Coppin State University, the beating heart of West Baltimore’s renaissance. BMORENews.com, publisher of the Joe Manns Black Wall Street Awards, is proud to announce the next edition of this celebrated recognition series: “Black Wall Street: NEW BALTIMORE,” set for Wednesday, November 6, 2025, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Coppin State University’s College of Business, located at North Avenue and Warwick. Since launching in Washington, D.C. in 2011 — with the support of Sisters4Sisters Network, Inc. — the Black Wall Street Awards have honored over 3,000…

(BALTIMORE – October 20, 2025) – Smoke was clearing away as neighbors came out early, picking up trash and debris. The morning after Baltimore’s first riots in 47 years, people began gathering at the battered intersection. Cameramen and reporters swarmed what had become the epicenter of global attention, while politicians scrambled to find out if the 1600 block of West North Avenue was in their district. It’s a shame how politicians regard Penn-North. The people here know local politics better than many could imagine. They know who’s delivered and who hasn’t. They attend Penn-North Community Association meetings, Druid Heights CDC…

America Just Took the Ball and Went Home  (BALTIMORE – October 14, 2025) – As I read numerous articles on the recent Trump Administration ruling to remove Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) opportunities from the books, my thoughts go far beyond the obvious women-owned and minority-owned businesses that are most affected. My thoughts are on the Black women who nursed white babies with their own breast milk. I think of Chevy pickup trucks with Confederate flags in the rear window. I’m thinking about the kid who brought his basketball to the court, but he took his ball and went home when…

Are We Moors, Hebrews, or Indigenous? (BALTIMORE – October 12, 2025) – Call it cognitive dissonance—the tension we feel when new information collides with what we’ve always believed. Many of us grew up with two big narratives: that humanity’s oldest roots trace to southern Africa, and that people we call “Black” in the Americas arrived solely via the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. But what if the fuller story is more complicated? What if some of our families have been here far longer than our textbooks suggest—and what if many we call “descendants of slaves” are, in fact, descendants of prisoners of…