One of the vital roles that journalism plays in our world is in challenging power. Yes, a wealthy person or a powerful politician may make a claim about something, but is it true? When journalism works, it asks the tough questions. When it works, it elevates the voices that we all need to hear. In this issue, we deliver two stories that speak truth to power in just these ways.
Journalist MacKenzie River Foy highlights the continued battle being waged in Poppleton, as residents seek to hold a powerful developer accountable for his actions.
It’s happening at an apartment building owned by Dan Bythewood’s company La Cité. Residents say they are being unfairly treated and forced to reckon with broken appliances, unusable facilities, and exorbitant bills.
The battle over land — who gets to lay claim to it and who gets to call it home — isn’t a new one for these community members. And, unfortunately, it’s a fight being waged by the working poor all over this country.
The battle over land — who gets to lay claim to it and who gets to call it home — isn’t a new one for these community members. And, unfortunately, it’s a fight being waged by the working poor all over this country.
“You’re talking about a loss that cannot be quantified and that’s painful,” one organizer told River Foy. “We see this happening in Black and brown communities, Latino communities in NY, in DC and we just try to fight, we try to fight. It’s been happening all over the country and it’s not by chance.”
Baynard Woods is also in this issue, continuing his coverage of the death of Dontae Melton. At the end of June, Melton went to Baltimore City Police seeking help. He was experiencing a mental health crisis. Body camera footage of the incident was recently released, just one day before Melton’s death was ruled a homicide by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
“The night of Melton’s death revealed a chaotic scene at the intersection of Franklin Street and Franklintown Road on the night of June 24 full of failures at nearly every level,” Woods wrote.
“From Melton’s initial contact, when he gave his first, middle, and last name and asked for help from a dismissive officer, to a failure of the dispatch system, to a sergeant more concerned with ‘optics’ than aid and reluctant to take responsibility, to a hospital that failed to keep accurate records, the city’s emergency response systems failed the 31-year-old resident suffering a mental health crisis at every step.”
Also in this issue, we salute LaRian Finney, who has been instrumental in giving us 25 years of Jazzy Summer Nights. The event gives attendees a chance to hear music from artists like Leela James, Biz Markie, Tank and the Bangas, Chuck Brown, and Raheem DeVaughn while they relax under the stars.
This October, Jazzy Summer Nights will come to an end. Finney said it’s always been about a merging of his two loves: his love of music and his love of this city. “This is really my love letter to Baltimore,” Finney told journalist Grace Hebron.
Hebron also wrote about Beadly Speaking Kidz camp, a project from Baltimore Dyon Davidson. The program teaches girls ages eight and up about jewelry making and entrepreneurship.
“The camp runs for four weeks each summer for five days a week, giving students the tools to not only make jewelry but market it, sell it (the girls get to keep half their earnings), and use their skills later on,” Hebron writes.
Also in this issue, Bry Reed talks to Jalen Eutsey’s his chapbook, “Bubble Gum Stadium,” Dominic Griffin reviews Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest,” and we have a poem from Writers in Baltimore Schools participant Soliat Ojo.
Thank you for reading.
