I doubt not God is good, well-meaning, kind,
And did He stoop to quibble could tell why
The little buried mole continues blind …
– Yet Do I Marvel, Countee Cullen
By Doni Glover, Publisher
(RANDALLSTOWN – July 11, 2024) – There was a time in Baltimore City when Blacks could not live north of North Avenue and west of Fulton Avenue. This goes back to a 1910 ordinance proposed by then-Mayor J. Barry Mahool on behalf of Roland Park, Baltimore’s new suburban garden community. In short, the proposed legislation suggested Blacks could not move into white neighborhoods, and diabolically – whites could not move into Black neighborhoods.
This put Baltimore’s racial trajectory on a course to set the city back 150 years. The Civil Rights era fought against such heinous political thought. Desegregation became the law of the land, and Blacks soon left the city for greener pastures (or so they thought). It was almost as if Blacks had felt a sense of accomplishment and victory and that the fight for eternal justice was finally over.
Northwest Baltimore County – home to Woodlawn, Randallstown, Owings Mills, and Pikesville – is a significant part of this burgeoning municipality. The general thought of this heavily African American part of the world is that without the tax base there, Baltimore County’s affluence would be much less than it is. After all, over the past six decades, African Americans have left West Baltimore for this more suburban neck of the woods in search of better housing, schools, and amenities like a better selection of shopping than one might find in the city.
Ken Oliver would become the first Black Baltimore County Councilman in 2002. His tenure would last until 2014. Oliver helped bring a Home Depot, a Walmart, and a sit-down restaurant to Liberty Road. He’d have to battle tough opponents during his time on the council. And he did.
He was followed by Julian Jones, the second Black on the council. Jones would rise to become the first Black Baltimore County Council Chair.
Both men made historic strides.
Today, an important issue is before the community and deserves the attention of any Blacks in this otherwise glorious part of the world marked by bunny rabbits, deer, and foxes.
Unfortunately, Blacks’ fight for justice in northwest Baltimore is far from over.
Linda Walker-Dorsey has been fighting for Black people in the county for a long time. She and others stand on the shoulders of legends like Ella White Campbell. Although she is no longer with us, Campbell did not play regarding Black progress. She was a bold leader with testicular fortitude and was of the ilk of a Harriet Tubman – without question.
Dorsey has been leading an effort to increase the number of County Council seats from 7 to 11. This is what her website says:
4MORE4BALTIMORE COUNTY, also known as VOTE4MORE!, is a public petition effort–led by ordinary County residents, not incumbent Council members–to place a question on the 2024 General Election ballot in Baltimore County. This ballot question will allow citizens to vote to amend the County Charter by enlarging the size of the County Council from 7 to 11 districts, reducing district sizes from around 125,000 to 78,000.
By creating more districts, VOTE4MORE! will dramatically expand opportunities to diversify the Baltimore County Council, improving its accessibility and productivity and opening doors for new, diverse, young, and other candidates.
The following groups are part of this historic effort: the New Horizons Group, Baltimore County League of Women Voters, Baltimore County West Democratic Club, Randallstown NAACP, Allies for Democracy, Indivisible Towson, Greater Baltimore Muslim Council, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority of Turner Station, Baltimore County Young Democrats, Amigos Baltimore County, Turner Station Conservation Teams, Southwest Baltimore County Democratic Club, Baltimore County Progressive Democrats Club, Hunt Valley Indian Association, Hawthorne Civic Association, Northeast Towson Improvement Association and the Combined Communities Advisory Council of Greater Randallstown.
Our movement is growing fast! Within hours of launching our campaign on March 3, 2022, Black Women for Positive Change, the Tenth Democratic Club, and the North Baltimore County Democratic Club pledged to support our effort. Would your group like to endorse it? Contact us!
Why VOTE4MORE?
The current Baltimore County Charter was written in 1955 when the County’s population was 350,000 and each council member represented only 50,000 residents. Today, our County’s population is 856,000, and each council member represents around 125,000 residents! And even though our population is now half non-white, six of seven of the county’s current districts are majority-white. In other words, our 67-year-old seven-district structure does not reflect the County’s growth or our diversity! We need more districts because our minorities, women, and young adults deserve a voice in local government and a seat at the decision-making table.
Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties have already amended their Charters to enlarge their council size by four. They will elect additional council members this November. It’s time for Baltimore County to do the same!
READ: Baltimore County coalition wants referendum adding four seats to growing county’s council, Baltimore Sun, March 3, 2022
Our strategy
Our strategy is to collect signatures at local events and leverage our partners to collect signatures from their networks. Our goal is to collect 10,000 signatures to put the VOTE4MORE! Referendum on the November 2024 General Election ballot. WE NEED YOU to sign the VOTE4MORE! official petition and volunteer to collect signatures. If successful in securing passage of the referendum question on the 2024 General Election ballot, the new Charter amendment, which requires 11 council districts, expands the size of boards and commissions and requires new rules around the redistricting process, will go into effect beginning with the 2026 Baltimore County Council election.
