Baltimore City Community and Civic Leaders Discuss Racial Equity and Kirwan

Baltimore, MD: Thursday, September 26th Baltimore Corps convened a conversation with community, civic and student leaders on the Kirwan Commission. Baltimore Corps C.E.O Fagan Harris welcomed the group and stated the goals of the conversation were to explicitly talk about racial equity and Baltimore city’s strategy in Annapolis.

The conversation was facilitated by John B. King Jr, C.E.O of The Education Trust and former Secretary of Education under President Obama. Stakeholders were provided the opportunity and space to talk honestly and openly about their commitments to Baltimore City youth, their wins and roadblocks advocating for Kirwan and the children of Baltimore city.

Student leaders at the table also voiced their concerns about the current conditions of the school system. The students also highlighted they are ready to be in charge of crafting their own solutions and have their voices be heard. The group of leaders also spoke about racial equity and education in an honest and direct manner. Stakeholders were able to admit exactly where they and their organizations were on the understanding and implementing true racial equity framework.

Visual Notes taken by Baltimore Corps Fellow, Kate Lynch (Arts Education in Maryland Schools Alliance)

At the end of the evening, all of the stakeholders agreed that the conversation needed to continue. Baltimore Corps will work to hold another conversation that will dive deeper into adding a racial equity lens and Baltimore’s strategy in the upcoming legislative session.

John B. King Speaking to Alphonso Mayo’s Mentoring Mentors students at Windsor Hill Elementary

Prior to the evening’s roundtable, Baltimore Corps partnered with Mentoring Mentors, Inc and Safe Alternative Foundation for Education and hosted Mr. John B King as a special guest speaker to kick-off after school programming and youth development for both organizations. Mr King spoke with students about his passion for education and the importance of Kirwan. Mr. King also led the students in a feedback session to find out what they think about education and Baltimore City schools and how they can improve the school system.

Read more about John B. King’s on gun reform and funding for education.

Baltimore Corps would like to thank our Touchpoint Baltimore partner, Center For Urban Families for allowing us to host the event in their conference room. We would also like to thank the stakeholders who not only attended but added their valuable expertise and insights to the conversation. We thank you for being committed to this work and serving the city of Baltimore:

John B. King Jr.- C.E.O The Education Trust

Fagan Harris- C.E.O Baltimore Corps

Dominic McAlily- Baltimore City Council President’s Office, Legislative Assistant

Zeke Cohen- Baltimore City, Councilmember

Diamonte Brown- Baltimore Teachers Union, President

Kim Trueheart- Baltimore City, Community Activist

Bonnie Legro- The Abell Foundation, Senior Program Officer

Alphonso Mayo- Mentoring Mentors, Inc, Founder Executive Director

Tisha Edwards MSW, JD- Mayor’s Office of Children & Family Success, Executive Director

Kimberly R. Humphrey, Esq.- ACLU of Maryland, Public Policy Counsel

Dr. Tracey L. Durant- Baltimore City Public Schools, Director of Equity

Roger Schulman- The Fund for Educational Excellence, President, and C.E.O