Janet Currie, president of Bank of America, Greater Maryland, highlights how Baltimore’s small and mid-sized businesses can capitalize on the CIAA Tournament’s economic impact by boosting community engagement, tightening cash flow management and planning for succession. She emphasizes that supporting local businesses during CIAA week helps build and sustain generational wealth in the community.
Category: Commentary
Posted inWord In Black
Commentary: When a Black newspaper goes quiet
The closure of the Richmond Free Press underscores the fragility of Black-owned newspapers, which provide culturally competent reporting, community accountability, and coverage that mainstream media often misses. The Black Press remains vital for civic engagement, equity, and sustaining local voices.
Posted inCommentary
Commentary: SNAP changes an opportunity to move from food assistance to food sovereignty
Bethany Johnson-Javois calls for communities and churches to respond to recent SNAP reductions by building local food systems rooted in ownership, collaboration and long-term stability.
Posted inCommentary
Commentary: Building shared infrastructure for Baltimore’s Black social economy
By Jamye Wooten For as long as I can remember, Black-led organizations in Baltimore have been doing extraordinary work with limited visibility, limited capital, and very little shared infrastructure to support them. From grassroots organizers and neighborhood nonprofits to mission-driven businesses and cultural workers, Black Baltimore has always generated solutions for itself. What we have […]
Posted inCommentary
Built by us: Why Black institutions need legal infrastructure
By Kisha A. Brown, Esq. As Black people, we cannot experience the joy and peace of justice without building our own systems and institutions—designed by us, with our liberation, our lifestyle and our real needs in mind. From churches doubling as schools to kitchens doubling as boardrooms, we have started from scratch and built up. […]
Posted inCommentary
Commentary: Court ruling forces No. 47’s administration to restore CFPB funding
Charlene Crowell, a senior fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending, highlights how the current administration’s efforts to defund or undermine the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) hurt working families while protecting Wall Street and corporate interests. Court rulings have now forced the administration to restore CFPB funding, reinstate employees, and resume its oversight work, which prevents billions in consumer losses from predatory financial practices.
Posted inCommentary
Subjective threats, fatal outcomes: The deadly gap in federal use-of-force policy
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. This week, he speaks on the recent deaths of American citizens at the hands of federal agents.
Posted inCommentary
Commentary: Revisiting the brutal history of Senegal’s Gorée Island and The House of Slaves
A father-and-son journey to Senegal becomes a powerful exploration of culture, hospitality, and historical memory, centering on a visit to Gorée Island and the House of Slaves. Through art, local encounters, and guided history, the writers reflect on the brutality of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the resilience of the Senegalese people, and the enduring importance of preserving Africa’s past while engaging its vibrant present.
Posted inCommentary
When equity is performed, not practiced
By Dr. Marcus Anthony Hunter As we still mourn the passing of the oldest known survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre, Mother Viola Fletcher, Washington state’s handling of its reparations study shows the fragile line between meaningful repair and performative equity. Mother Fletcher did not live to see meaningful redress for the horror she survived, […]
Posted inCommentary
One woman’s refusal and the future of the Fed
By Eric Morrissette Recently, the Supreme Court heard arguments that could reshape the global financial system. The case before the justices asks a deceptively simple question: Can the President of the United States fire Dr. Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, before the end of her statutory term? But everyone […]
Posted inCommentary
Beyond racism, materialism and militarismÂ
The State of the Dream 2026 report warns that current policies are reinforcing racial and economic inequalities, leading to a potential Black Recession, and urgent action is needed to address these regressive trends before generational losses occur.
Posted inCommentary
Commentary: Marylanders are leaving money on the table– here’s how to claim what’s yours
By Brooke E. Lierman If you worked last year, you might be walking past hundreds—even thousands—of dollars that already have your name on them. Nearly 20 percent of eligible Maryland residents didn’t claim the Earned Income Tax Credit in 2023. That’s roughly 100,000 people who left their money with our state rather than in their bank accounts. Most people lived in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Montgomery County and Prince George’s […]