(BALTIMORE – June 23, 2025) – If the government can help rich white guys, then it should help everybody else, too.
Let’s be clear: Governor Wes Moore’s $400 million investment in Maryland’s Just Communities is not radical, socialist, or unjust. It’s long overdue. And frankly, it’s common sense.
These funds are aimed at reversing the long, ugly legacy of redlining, displacement, and disinvestment in Black, brown, and underserved communities across the state. We’re talking about neighborhoods that for decades were intentionally held back by public policy—where highways were dropped into the middle of Black neighborhoods, where banks refused loans, and where factories closed with no replacement in sight. Generational poverty didn’t just “happen.” It was designed. And we are living with the consequences.
Some Republican lawmakers now cry “socialism” as soon as historically harmed communities begin receiving what they’ve never had: real opportunity. But where was this outrage when Wall Street CEOs—men who oversaw mass layoffs while crashing the economy—walked away with golden parachutes during the 2008 financial crisis?
Let’s remember: The federal government bailed out banks to the tune of $700 billion under President George W. Bush. Even as President Obama tried to tighten executive pay rules, CEOs still pocketed millions while regular Americans lost their homes, pensions, and jobs. No one screamed about “handouts” back then—not like they are now, when poor people are finally getting a sliver of the pie.
If you’re wealthy and live in a nice neighborhood, it should matter to you that others have something, too. Stable, thriving communities benefit everyone. Safer neighborhoods, better infrastructure, more small businesses, and higher property values don’t just help the residents—they help the city, the state, and even those who don’t live in those areas. Investment breeds growth. That’s not socialism. That’s sound economics.
And let’s not act like Republicans haven’t supported this kind of investment in the past.
I remember when Gov. Robert Ehrlich and Lt. Gov. Michael Steele made unprecedented investments in Coppin State University, a move that gave long-overdue attention to West Baltimore. Later, Gov. Larry Hogan continued that legacy, investing in the infrastructure around Coppin. As a result, we’ve seen the rise of the EMAGE Center, a new eatery, and small signs of life returning to a corridor too long ignored.
Gov. Moore has built on this foundation with a $50 million investment in WNADA—the West North Avenue Development Authority. It’s a bipartisan continuum, not a partisan stunt.
State Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey may say that this kind of funding won’t increase homeownership or property values. But I respectfully disagree. I live in one of those so-called “Just Communities.” I’ve seen what a little bit of investment can do. I’ve seen boarded-up blocks begin to come alive. I’ve seen hope return where it had been suffocated.
It’s not “wealth redistribution.” It’s repair.
And if Ocean City—a 90% white, resort-based town—can receive designation as a Just Community (as the Sun reported), then we shouldn’t blink at Baltimore getting its due. The question isn’t why now, but what took so long?
Let’s stop pretending that investing in people who’ve been left behind is controversial. What’s controversial is pretending we can ignore the past and still expect a better future.
If you’re rich, your neighborhood is already safe, funded, and functional. Don’t begrudge the effort to make others’ neighborhoods the same. If anything, you should want everyone to have a fighting chance.
Because that’s not socialism. That’s justice.
—
Doni Glover is the publisher of BMORENews.com and host of the Emmy-nominated Doni Glover Show. A veteran journalist and community advocate, he has covered Black business, policy, and empowerment for over two decades.
