By Alexis Taylor
AFRO Managing Editor
It’s been nearly a week since Baltimore community activist and entrepreneur “Shorty” Davis received a call at 6 a.m. asking if he had lent his grill out to anyone.
Taking the call from Atlanta, Davis informed the concerned caller, his landlord, that no one had permission at the time to use his grill, which is the key to both his volunteer work and his business,“Shorty’s Bootlegg BBQ.”
“That grill feeds Baltimore,” Davis told the AFRO. “It’s my only way of making a living. I’ve been blackballed. I can’t get no job here in Baltimore because of my activism and my politics. If you know me, you know what it is.”
Davis said when he returned to Baltimore on Monday, April 14, he made a police report, something local authorities told him he could not do while he was out of town. According to information released by the Baltimore Police Department (BPD), the items stolen included a “mobile outdoor grill station (Metal/Black/with Wheels and Iron Hook-up (attachment for vehicle).”
Police were told that the missing grill was “valued at approximately $4000.00,” according to part of the report shared with the AFRO. When asked if there were any leads, a public information officer said on April 18, “Not as of yet.”
Davis said a neighbor in his Northeast Baltimore community who has a surveillance system reviewed their camera footage, but any hints at who stole the prized property were “blocked by a telephone pole.” Still, he says he appreciates the help. “It’s a nice neighborhood. People look out for each other,” he said.
Davis first moved to Baltimore in 1991. He had just been released from the Illinois Department of Corrections and was determined to change his life. Over the years he has made a name for himself as a man with strong opinions and a deep dedication to the people who are often overlooked in Charm City.
In the past he has been honored by the City of Baltimore, Out for Justice, Verizon and more. He was in the first class of Weaver Award winners in 2021, for the work done by his “Good in the Hood” initiative, known for pulling community members together over good BBQ with a purpose. Now, with the theft of his grill, he’s racing to fully recover so he can keep promises and commitments made to those who rely on his services.
Davis regularly feeds the homeless of Baltimore on his own and with other organizations and he plans to be back at it this Saturday.
“I just got to go buy some more grills, so I can do what I got to do. I still got a lot of events coming up this summer,” he said.
Aside from “Books and BBQ” he also feeds those in need on the last Sunday of every month.
Davis is trying to find or replace the grill as soon as possible. He’s trying to minimize the impact to the community and his personal business.
“Financially, it cuts my income down because I got parties booked,” he said. “I’ve been Black- owned and operated since 1997, and I don’t do advertising. I get to choose who I work for– that’s Black power right there.”
Gretchen Tome, an organizer with Runners for Justice, set up a fundraiser to help Davis recoup his losses in the wake of the theft.
“I’ve just seen everything that he does for the community. I know the big impact losing the grill has for him,” she said, after setting up a page on the fundraising platform, Give Butter. As of April 18, the fundraiser had raised more than $3,000.
Donations are coming in with an outpour of support for Davis.
“Let’s get Shorty back on the grill and in the community!” wrote Natalia Bacchus.
“So sorry this happened. Hope you get a new grill soon,” wrote Ashley Esposito.
Tome said the grill enables Davis to be “the activist that he is.”
“It lets him do the community events –either for free to feed the homeless or greatly discounted events for community and neighborhoods. Without that grill, he can’t do that,” she said. “I feel like he’s always showing up for the community, and we can show up for him, too.”
