(PIKESVILLE – June 21, 2026) – I’ve known both Izzy Patoka and Julian Jones going back to the early days of BMORENews.com. I’ve shot hoops with Izzy. I’ve worked on just about every campaign Julian has ever run, including his very first. I know these men—not just their slogans. And I’ll be honest: there is no way I can trust Izzy Patoka to treat my community in northwest Baltimore County fairly. I see it already. Under his leadership, we will get what he deems “adequate.” Sure, a handful of Black folks will get favor, titles, contracts, photo ops. But if…

(BALTIMORE – June 18, 2026) – Every election is ultimately a test of accountability. For Maryland’s 41st Legislative District, that test arrives on June 23. On one side of the Democratic primary ballot is incumbent State Senator Dalya Attar, currently under federal indictment on charges including extortion, illegal interception of communications, and conspiracy. On the other is civil rights attorney and Delegate Malcolm Ruff, who has spent his time in Annapolis focused on legislation, budgets, and bringing resources home to the people he serves. For BMORENews, the choice is clear. We endorse Malcolm Ruff for State Senate. What the Court…

(BALTIMORE – June 18, 2026) – Freddie Gray happened 11 years ago. It was the worst Baltimore experienced since 1968, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Baltimore, Newark, Philadelphia, New York, Watts – cities with strong numbers of melanated people let the world feel their pain. When Freddie Gray’s untimely death happened, Baltimore was a powder keg just waiting to explode. Penn-North became the epicenter of international media attention. CNN. Al Jazeera. ABC. Even Geraldo found his way to an intersection we know all too well. In the middle of all that attention and hype, Baltimore City State’s Attorney…

(MILFORD MILL, MD – June 15, 2026) – Before there was a Kenneth Oliver. Before there was an Adrienne Jones. Before there was a Julian Jones. Before there was a N. Scott Phillips. Before there was a Black Speaker of the House. Before there was a Black Chairman of the Baltimore County Council. Before there was a Chair of the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus. There was Dr. Ella White Campbell. If Baltimore County has a Harriet Tubman of modern Black political power, her name is Dr. Ella White Campbell. Long before many of today’s elected officials held office, Dr. Campbell…

(BALTIMORE – June 14, 2026) – The 41st District is about 63% Black. Keep that number in mind. Because this election is about more than who wins a Senate seat. It is about who gets to decide the future of a majority-Black district — and whether the people who live there get to make that decision for themselves. The Map Tells a Story The Baltimore Banner recently highlighted something many people would rather ignore. Several precincts within the 41st District gave Donald Trump majority support in 2024. Chestwold — 55% Trump. Cross Country — 57% Trump. The Glenn — 57% Trump.…

(BALTIMORE – June 14, 2026) – Stop the presses. I need to put down every political story, every Black business feature, every Black Wall Street update — and talk to you directly about something that has been gnawing at me for a long time. The Math Doesn’t Lie. Did you know that people pay $20 every four weeks to access the Baltimore Banner? Twenty dollars. Every four weeks. That comes out to roughly $240 a year — flowing to a news outlet that, in too many cases, paints a distorted, incomplete, and sometimes disrespectful picture of Black Baltimore. And I’m…

(SOUTHEAST DC – June 13, 2026) – When we launched the first event in Washington, D.C., back in 2011, it wasn’t called the Black Wall Street Awards. It was called the Black Capital Awards. At the time, I was still learning the full story of Tulsa’s Greenwood District and the massacre of May 31–June 1, 1921. I had heard pieces of the story, but I had not yet connected all the dots between that history and the work I was trying to do. What I didn’t fully appreciate then was that I had spent my entire life walking through Baltimore’s own…

(OWINGS MILLS – June 12, 2026) – Juneteenth is a week away. Think about that. One hundred sixty-one years after Black people learned that freedom delayed is freedom denied, we find ourselves facing another test—not of chains and plantations, but of political power, unity, and self-determination. And once again, nobody is coming to save us. We are the cavalry. We always have been. Nobody gave us freedom. Black people fought for freedom. Nobody gave us voting rights. Black people fought for voting rights. Nobody integrated schools because America suddenly developed a conscience. Black people fought for that, too. Every inch…

A Simple Question About Dalya Attar’s Campaign (BALTIMORE – June 12, 2026) – There is something about politics that never ceases to amaze me. The more power some people acquire, the more they seem to believe that the rest of us are not paying attention. Driving through the 41st District recently, I noticed several campaign signs bearing the message: RE-ELECT DALYA ATTAR FOR STATE SENATE. Now, maybe it’s just me. But how exactly do you re-elect someone who was never elected to the office in the first place? Dalya Attar was elected as a delegate. She was not elected by…

(BALTIMORE – June 10, 2026) – Boy, this has been one heck of an election season in Baltimore. The level of political activity is something to marvel at as it all comes to a head in a few hours. The election is finally here, and I’m sure candidates have a whole lot on their minds as reality settles in. This year is a statewide election. All 24 Maryland jurisdictions are choosing their state senators and delegates, along with county executives, state’s attorneys, and sheriffs. While everybody is locked in on the June 23rd primary, there’s also a general election in…