By Megan Sayles AFRO Staff Writer The Baltimore Police Department (BPD) is investigating a potential hate crime that took place in Fells Point on July 17. According to BPD, investigators found a plastic bag containing rocks and a note from a white supremacist organization on the 1600 block of Thames Street. A photo of the […]
Author Archives: Megan Sayles AFRO Staff Writer
Megan Sayles is a business reporter for The Baltimore Afro-American paper. Before this, Sayles interned with Baltimore Magazine, where she wrote feature stories about the city’s residents, nonprofits and initiatives. Her love of music inspired her to be a writer. At a young age she realized it was not the melody that she was so infatuated with, but the lyrics that made up the song and connected with listeners. Sayles grew up in Pasadena, Maryland, and is a 2021 graduate of the University of Maryland, where for her senior capstone project she reported on how the coronavirus and inequality intersected in Baltimore. She also worked as a staff writer and copy editor for campus publications, including Stories Beneath the Shell and The Black Explosion. Sayles teamed up with a partner to report on how the pandemic had put many more responsibilities on the oldest child in families. The Associated Press and other news organizations picked up her story.
Posted in#FaithWorks
Where faith meets action: Pastor Donald Wright’s lifelong commitment to serving others
By Andrew Hall AFRO Intern ahall@afro.com To Pastor Donald Wright, community is everything. Even more than that, serving his community is a lifelong mission. This July, Wright celebrates 20 years of preaching, and in an interview with the AFRO, he detailed how his ministerial journey began. “I was 14 when I first felt like God […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Jamar R. Brown takes helm of Enoch Pratt Free Library boards
Baltimore attorney Jamar R. Brown has taken over as chair of the Enoch Pratt Free Library’s boards, where he will focus on partnerships, infrastructure needs and expanding access to library resources.
Posted inBaltimore News
Separate shootings rock Baltimore communities
Two fatal shootings in the Baltimore area over the past two weeks are under separate investigations, including the deaths of two children in Baltimore County and an officer-involved shooting in Baltimore City. Community leaders and advocates have responded as authorities continue investigating both cases.
Posted inBaltimore Community
National Great Blacks in Wax Museum celebrates more than four decades of culture and service
The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum marked its 43rd anniversary by honoring its decades-long mission of preserving African American history and unveiling new ways to engage visitors. The Baltimore institution, founded in 1983 as a grassroots effort, continues to expand its collection and reach as it undergoes a $76 million renovation project.
Posted inEducation
State audit finds $264K in financial aid awarded to suspected ‘ghost students’ at local community college
A state audit has found that Baltimore City Community College awarded about $264,000 in financial aid to suspected “ghost” students, highlight gaps in enrollment verification as colleges face increasingly sophisticated fraud schemes.
Posted inBaltimore News
West Baltimore law office of Juanita Jackson Mitchell reopened
The restored West Baltimore law office of Juanita Jackson Mitchell was rededicated June 26 during a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by Beloved Community Services Corporation. The building, once vacant for two decades, will soon house a University of Maryland, Baltimore center providing legal, case management and mental health services to survivors of crime.
Posted inBaltimore Community
HED: Maryland Public Defender briefing highlights new laws on housing, child support and jury service
The Maryland Office of the Public Defender brought community members together in West Baltimore on June 24 for a briefing on new state laws impacting housing, child support and jury service. Speakers highlighted legislation aimed at expanding housing stability, easing child support burdens for low-income parents and broadening access to jury service for people with prior convictions.
Posted inPolitics
Sen. Warnock’s ban on corporations buying single-family homes becomes federal law
A new federal law backed by Sen. Raphael Warnock aims to limit large corporate investors from purchasing additional single-family homes. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act also includes measures designed to expand affordable housing and support first-time homebuyers.
Posted inMaryland News
Coalition calls for clean energy expansion amid Maryland’s rising utility costs
Rising energy bills are putting pressure on Maryland households, with some residents struggling to keep up with growing costs and avoid service disruptions. A new coalition, Bright Future Maryland, is calling for policy changes it says will make energy more affordable and hold utilities and large energy users accountable.
Posted inBaltimore News
Alicia Brown arrested on warrants related to disappearance of daughter, Ailea Brown
Alicia Brown, a woman wanted by Baltimore County police in connection with the 2019 disappearance of her daughter Ailea Brown, was arrested in Georgia after a traffic stop. Ailea Brown remains missing, and her father, Durrell Williams, said he continues to believe his daughter is alive.
Posted inObituaries
George E. Johnson, founder of Johnson Products and creator of Afro Sheen, dies at 99
By Megan SaylesAFRO Staff Writermsayles@afro.com Visionary businessman and philanthropist George E. Johnson, who founded Johnson Products Co. (JPC), died peacefully at his Chicago home on July 6. He was 99. Johnson laid the foundation for a hair care empire when he founded JPC in 1954—creating some of the most prominent products in Black households, including […]
