9/23/19 “I wouldn't raise cockroaches in that place. I preferred working at the animal and medical waste facility. I recall everything being grimy, it was all under-lit… can a building be malevolent? Like, can a building hate you? Just being in it made me tired in my soul. The inmates are hostile, and the guards … Continue reading One Baltimore #19, The Accused
Category: BPD
One Baltimore #17, Voices
9/9/19 Everyone needs access to both their own voice and the voices of others. I think a lot about how the City Paper (RIP) used to provide me with invaluable perspectives on what was going on in my town. While worthy outlets like The Real News Network, Baltimore Brew, Baltimore Fishbowl, and Baltimore Beat have … Continue reading One Baltimore #17, Voices
One Baltimore #14, The Arrest
8/13/19 So, Opal, how was getting arrested? Pretty cool overall, or dehumanizing and in flagrant violation of BPD’s policy which the The Baltimore Transgender Alliance and other advocates worked tirelessly to put into place (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EZ9L5zm90a3vU2CI7dL7w66rKtChOu77/view?usp=drivesdk)? This week, the fourth and final part of my interview series with Opal Phoenix on her experiences at the JHU … Continue reading One Baltimore #14, The Arrest
One Baltimore #13, The Barricade
8/9/19 Come with me once more, friends, to the JHU Sit-in. It’s 4am on Wednesday, May 8th, 2019. The sounds are those of spirited singing, hushed talk, passionate chanting, and breaking glass. A refresher: Johns Hopkins University succeeded this year in its bid to pass legislation empowering it to form its own … Continue reading One Baltimore #13, The Barricade
One Baltimore #11, A Single Life
7/22/19 What happens next week in the Clarence Mitchell courthouse at Fayette & St. Paul could save or end the world. It makes sense to believe that if you’re Kelly Davis, and your husband’s future hangs in the balance. It’s a weirder thing for some random person like me to believe, but I do, with … Continue reading One Baltimore #11, A Single Life
One Baltimore #8, Freedom
6/24/19 I promise we’ll get to Baltimore before the column ends, but I want to start this week with an announcement, one that made me delay posting this by a day (nooo, my on-time streak ;_;) so that I could check in about some time off work first. Now that that’s a go... My friend … Continue reading One Baltimore #8, Freedom
One Baltimore #7, Keith Davis, Jr.
6/16/19 Note: Contains a description of a man being shot in the face by the police. Read at your own discretion. When I mention One Baltimore to people, I always try to drop in that it’s a weekly column. It can be hard for me to motivate without a boss or an external deadline. At … Continue reading One Baltimore #7, Keith Davis, Jr.
One Baltimore #3, Love
5/19/19How many people say the words “I love Baltimore” every day? The city and the county combined have a population of 1.4 million. Even if only a tenth of 1% of the population were to say the phrase on any given day, that's 1,400 people right there, and of course countless others who don’t live … Continue reading One Baltimore #3, Love
One Baltimore #2, Waves
5/11/19 I had a wonderful conversation last week with my friend Jason Weixelbaum. He’s got a doctorate in history, with a focus on when and how big changes happen. We talked about how economies experience regular waves over time, up and down. The history-watchers track those waves, calculate the average time between the crests, and … Continue reading One Baltimore #2, Waves