By Doni Glover, Publisher
(BALTIMORE – February 2, 2024) – Of all the people at the Best of Black Baltimore event last night by the Baltimore Times Newspaper at the Light Street Pavilion who stood out in my mind, Ursula Battle took the prize.
She’s been a journalist in Baltimore much longer than me. I sorta stand on her shoulders – and RB Jones’ shoulders, and Earl Byrd’s, too. While RB and Earl are gone, Ursula and Dena Wane are amongst the literary giants who consistently report the news in our community.
I know them because they raised me at the Baltimore Times, as did the folks at the Afro. And those quiet giants out in these streets, like “Downtown” Kevin Brown, opened doors I get to enter today, like the White House.
And for them I am grateful.
Having been a lifelong student of Black media, I’ve come to know that representation is everything. And when it comes to the beauty and the power of Black people and the strides we have made in these United States over the past 450 years, we need that voice to be strong, effective, and flawless even.
Big ups to the people like Charles Robinson, Wiley Hall, Jake Oliver, and Mario Armstrong who also understand the need for a Black voice, especially in a 63% Black city and 73% Black and brown city. We should be making greater strides than ever before. In Maryland, we have a Black governor, a Black Attorney General, a Black Treasurer, a Black Speaker, a Black Mayor of Baltimore, a Black State’s Attorney, and a Black City Comptroller.
When will this political might equal economic empowerment for our communities? On that note, kudos to Mayor Brandon Scott for helping empower P. David Bramble, a Black man from West Baltimore, to give Harborplace a re-do.
Shelonda Stokes, CEO of Downtown Partnership, said it well. She said that Baltimore is looking better than ever before and that Black people are in the mix. Congratulations, on that note, to the new owners of Prim & Proper. You rock!
I absolutely love, love, love, love seeing Black people realizing our potential right here in Baltimore. That’s what Black Wall Street is all about. Build where you are!
