(BALTIMORE – September 26, 2025) – This morning, I awoke to a text that reminded me of something my father used to say:
“Doni, get out there and try. Somebody might see you, and they might even help you.”
The text was a picture of Mr. Edwin Avent, fearless leader of the Baltimore Collegiate School for Boys, holding my new book, Black Blueprint: Baltimore to Burkina Faso (2025).
I first met Edwin back in the 90s at a Black Professional Men’s meeting. He was a businessman then, and he is a businessman today. If anyone understands the essentials of business management—even through the educational prism—it is Edwin. Over the years, men like Edwin, Delegate N. Scott Phillips, Dr. Tyrone Taborn, Ricky Smith (now CEO of the busiest airport in the world), Rod Carter, and our late brother Bob Ingram have patiently helped me along the road. Their character has never changed.
So today, I say thank you, Edwin. Not just for buying my book, but for helping me be a better me for the past 30 years.
In a city like Baltimore, where so many melanated men face countless social, economic, educational, employment, and judicial challenges, the “OGs” of Black Professional Men have provided us with an option. Men like Edwin, Rod Womack, Teddy Coates, and Omar Muhammad have consistently poured into others, creating opportunity where outsiders only see obstacles.
And they are not alone. We Our Us, led by Dr. Andrey Bundley, Minister Andrew Knox Muhammad, Bishop Kevia Elliott, Bishop Kevin Daniels, Rev. Corey Barnes, and others, walk our streets daily, sharing resources with countless young men. We see the same commitment in Marvin McDowell at UMAR Boxing, Coach Calvin Ford at Upton, the men of Mack Lewis’ Gym, and the countless coaches who volunteer their time to shape young lives through sports.
To the outside world, Baltimore is often misunderstood. But those of us who know its people understand that this city is filled with the true salt of the earth.
So thank you, Edwin — and thank you to everyone who keeps BMORENews.com alive. Your support makes our work viable and gives meaning to everything I write.
I invite you to join us on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, from 6 to 8 pm at The Mill on North (2636 W. North Avenue) for the next Black Wall Street BALTIMORE. Black Blueprint: Baltimore to Burkina Faso will be available there.
Together, we keep building.
