Letter from the editor-in-chief
Letter from the editor – Issue 20
In this issue, journalist and author Baynard Woods writes about the life of Donnell Rochester. Rochester was 18 when he was fatally shot by a Baltimore City police officer as he attempted to flee in February 2022. Although the Maryland Attorney General’s Office has said that there was probable cause to charge the officer with…
In this issue
The Brief, Beautiful Life of Donnell Rochester
This story was produced in partnership with Type Investigations with support from the Wayne Barrett Project. Donnell Rochester knew he was a star by the time he turned 18. He thought of himself as an influencer, boasting 10,000 followers on one of his many Instagram accounts. In one short video, Rochester is standing in front of a…
Juneteenth Celebrations
On June 19, 1865, two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, alerting enslaved African Americans that they were free. Since then, Black people in the South have celebrated June 19 and the freedom it represents. In recent years, the celebration…
‘The Watermelon Woman’ presented a special brand of representation.
Released in 1996, during a boom for independent film, Cheryl Dunye’s “The Watermelon Woman” was the first feature film directed by a publicly lesbian Black woman. In the present, a desire for on screen representation has devolved into marginalized communities yearning to be seen in the multiplex…
N. E. Davenport’s debut sci-fi fantasy, The Blood Trials.
In April 2022, N. E. Davenport’s debut sci-fi fantasy, The Blood Trials, was released and became one of the newest additions to the realm of novels depicting Black characters in fantasy worlds. The novel follows the (bloody) trials and tribulations that Davenport’s main character, Ikenna Amari, faces following the death of her beloved grandfather, Verne.…
Filmmakers highlight the life of Maria Broom.
Maria Broom, a former WJZ-TV news anchor and actress in prestige television shows “The Corner,” “The Wire,” and “The West Wing,” has been a steward of the arts in Baltimore for a long time. Two filmmakers are highlighting her efforts in a five-part documentary about her life. “Maria Broom: A Documentary,” was directed by two…
Me
Baltimore Beat is running poems from participants in the group Writers in Baltimore Schools, which offers programming that builds skills in literacy and communication while creating a community of support for young writers.
