In this issue, journalist Kyle J. Andrews leads us on a trip through the history of Black baseball in Baltimore. James Mosher Baseball has been in operation since 1960 and is the oldest operating African American youth baseball team in the United States — and it’s only the tip of the iceberg if you want to talk about how Black Baltimoreans have left their mark on this country’s favorite pastime.
As with all crafts, the magic and skill of baseball is passed from generation to generation. It doesn’t exist without careful teaching from elders and enthusiastic vigor from new generations.
“One of the quotes I kept going to this year is ‘keep the spirit of baseball alive,’” Derwin Whitehead, who is responsible for youth sports and operations of the Hubert V. Simmons Museum of Negro Leagues Baseball Inc. in Owings Mills told Andrews. “If I had 50 kids playing and I have five kids to become baseball players at any level, it would be beneficial to us. If I had two of those kids to become a board member to help sustain the information that we put forth to other individuals, it would be a good thing.”
Also in this issue, Baltimore Beat Arts and Culture Editor Teri Henderson asks the question, “Who gets to make music?” She writes about the work Baltimore creatives Kade Young and Barae Hirsch are doing to make a career in music more accessible for trans, queer, and femme artists.
“Behind the turntables and software, many barriers still prevent marginalized creatives from fully participating in the craft of music production,” she writes. “In response, Young has joined community organizer Barae Hirsch to launch the Trans, Queer & Femme Intro to Music Production Workshop Series, an innovative and urgently-needed program that addresses those gaps by providing access, mentorship, and community to aspiring producers.”
Elsewhere in this issue, film critic Dominic Griffin writes about documentarian Mahdi Fleifel’s first narrative feature, “To a Land Unknown,” and Iya Osundara is back with your August tarotscopes.
Finally, you’ll find photos from our third annual Summer Jam fundraiser. It’s a really tough time to be a journalist and events like our Summer Jam not only help ensure we have the funds we need to keep making the news free and accessible for all of Baltimore, but it also feeds the spirits of those on our team. We love it when we get to see so many of our readers and supporters in real life. If I didn’t know the value of community before, I certainly know it after all the twists and turns 2025 has taken so far.
Thank you for reading.
