By Doni Glover, Publisher
(BALTIMORE – February 16, 2023) – Congratulations to Dr. Tyrone Taborn, Jean Hamilton (his phenomenal wife), and the entire Career Communications Group family for bringing BEYA.org back to Baltimore. A warm word of thanks also to Mayor Brandon Scott, Visit Baltimore’s Al Hutchinson, and the rest of the team who helped make this return a treasured success. As BEYA wins, the City of Baltimore wins – and in multiple ways.
When millions of tourist dollars come into our beloved city because of the work of those mentioned above as well as the sponsors, it is a great look! As a result, hotel rooms get filled. Jobs are created. And the primary beneficiary is the City of Baltimore. Not to mention, our youth have access to one of the most powerful demonstrations of STEM found anywhere in the world.
Even more, where else can one go and just bump into William E. “Kip” Ward, a retired United States Army four-star general who served as the inaugural Commander of United States Africa Command from October 1, 2007, to March 8, 2011, who has earned the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, and the Distinguished Service Medal?
Since then, Dr. Taborn has built a multimedia empire that is now located in the Metaverse, something about which he is so passionate. Do understand, for the past four decades, Dr. Taborn has been leading the way on closing the digital divide that too often keeps Black and brown peoples on the periphery of innovation as opposed to being fully engaged ‘from the rooter to the tooter.’
In terms of diversity, some progress is being made. However, we can be much farther down the line. The truth is that institutional racism is an insidious demon and won’t go away without a comprehensive herculean effort across the board. All hands are needed on deck – Black and white, Asian and Latino.
But, …. we, as a human race, are more than capable. It will simply take some time.
I think we should all be optimistic.
Yesterday, I was in a banquet room where Boeing was hosting a networking event for its employees from around the country. Do you know how it feels to be surrounded by hundreds of Black Boeing employees? To say the least, it is inspiring to see so many Black folks who work for a top American company all in the same room together.
We all should be encouraged. And we all should be doing our part to keep this legacy alive – person by person – student by student – and employee by employee.
We all must come to know the valuable wisdom inferred by award-winning artist Lauryn Hill: “In my travels all over the world, I have come to realize that what differentiates one child from another is not ability, but access. Access to education, access to opportunity, access to love.”
Before attending BEYA yesterday, I had to stop by Boys Latin’ for a matter. If you have never been there, it is a beautiful campus dedicated to training young men in Baltimore. It is a blink away from Gilman, Friends, and Roland Park Country School. I couldn’t help but reflect on my junior high school days at Lemmel where I came in second place to get a single scholarship to Gilman. Interestingly, the kid who won actually ended up at Poly with me. Who knows how my trajectory would have changed? What I do know is that the single most important difference between a kid at Boys’ Latin and a kid at Lemmel or Calverton or Booker T. today is access.
If the kids from East and West Baltimore had the same access as a kid from one of these aforementioned private schools, their trajectory would dramatically improve without question.
And this is why BEYA is so significant. Access is the great equalizer, and that is why a Dr. Tyrone Taborn is so necessary.