Jun 26 · 2 min read
Baltimore Corps is about connection, and the Baltimore Corps Fellowship is no different. As fellows, each of us works with a community or government organization… some are engaging in COVID-19 response work within and outside of our fellowship placements. As the sixth Baltimore Corps Fellowship Cohort, we’re working to do more to connect our communities to the support networks they need during, and beyond, COVID-19. We saw the opportunity to connect and collaborate amongst our own cohort, and convened via many video calls to create Stories to Support.
Our offering to the community, in support of the plethora of work already happening around Baltimore, is through sharing Stories to Support. Through Stories to Support we will amplify the voices of people already serving diverse communities throughout the city. We’re being intentional in taking a backseat here, and using this platform simply to drive engagement to their stories.
While this working group initially convened to respond to COVID-19, we’re in a rapidly evolving society. We’re now out protesting systemic violence against Black people, feeling the urgency to be out on the streets in crowds even during this pandemic. We see this same feeling of urgency and rising energy in our communities, and want to support and amplify that too. In Baltimore, it has always been imperative to center Black voices and leaders; our project strives to focus on Black-led organizations in the city. With that said, if you are interested in the work of Black Liberation in Baltimore, send your funds, labor, energy, and love to the organizations listed below that are frontline protectors on our streets:
Additionally, we encourage our readers to patronize the plethora of Black-owned businesses in Baltimore, many of which you can find on this map.
For the next few months, we hope to elevate Stories to Support and connect Baltimore’s Change-makers to additional resources that further their mission. In the following weeks, we’ll be publishing stories from organizations and individuals leading response initiatives. Our group is creative, imaginative, and generative, so these stories will be shared in the form of blog posts, Instagram campaigns, podcasts, and more.
If you are leading or know of an initiative responding to COVID-19 as a racial equity issue, fill out our Google Form to be featured on Stories to Support and we will get in touch with the leader of the initiative: https://forms.gle/y3DqMwqpzK97Ya7P8
Thank you to all the fellows who are going to be creating and sharing their content as a part of Stories to Support:
Maya Bond
Verlando Brown
Clarissa Chen
Hannah Correlli
Shawn Gunaratne
Kate Lynch
Jasir Qiydaar
Andrea Stennett
Jarren Williams
Colby Sangree
This piece was written by Clarissa Chen and the Collaborators of Stories to Support.