We reflect the energy and excitement of the city, its legacy as a cultural hub of Black American life, and the joy of being a Baltimorean.
Folks from Columbia/HoCo venture to Baltimore for sports events and concerts and come back home none the wiser about so much of what Baltimore is truly made of. And then, regrettably, some write letters to the editor about how Baltimore should be fixed or how it doesn’t meet their suburban standards.
Baltimore Beat is Baltimore news in a way that you haven’t seen before.
Baltimore Beat is a Black-led, Black-controlled nonprofit newspaper and media outlet. Our mission is to honor the tradition of the Black press and the spirit of alt-weekly journalism with reporting that focuses on community, questions power structures, and prioritizes thoughtful engagement with our readers.
We aim to serve all of Baltimore City, including those with limited internet access and those who are a part of underrepresented communities.
Our organization aspires toward a more equitable, accountable, and rigorous future for journalism that fully represents the stories of all our neighbors.
Baltimore Beat is where you will see the Baltimore stories that won’t get covered anywhere else: stories, thoughts, and images from the Black Butterfly and not just the White L that dominates most television and print media. It is where you will learn things you didn’t know. And it will give you perspective about Baltimore that no one else will.
It is a free paper. Subscribe and it will come to your inbox. At the same time, it is distributed in print from specially made Beat Boxes within Baltimore.
Reimagining Newspaper Boxes with Baltimore Beat, Open Works Baltimore
There’s a special space on top for community wellness items. It’s an example of Community Care, but with a new twist. You can find it where you pick up your newspaper.
Photos from Baltimore Beat website
Today is Editor and co-founder Lisa McCray’s birthday. I went to the Baltimore Beat website and made a small donation in honor of her work. Since it is a free publication, they rely on donations. The seed money - - a $1 million gift from Baltimore-based Lillian Holofcener Charitable Foundation - - got them started. Continued financial support, both big and small, will keep them going.
In a story that couldn’t be farther than 2023 Baltimore, Mrs. Welland of Old New York makes this statement about European visitors.
“That is why it seems to me so foolish to entertain them when they come to New York. They accept our hospitality, and then they go home and repeat the same stupid stories." - - Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence
How often do we go to Baltimore, accept its hospitality, and then come home and repeat the same stupid stories? We don’t venture beyond the surface, superficial treatment of what is a deeply layered and complicated place.
But we could, if we tried. Baltimore Beat is a good place to start.
Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents. When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday. Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018. 2018 . But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest. In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
Last night, as my husband and I were about to sit down to dinner, our front door swung open and a cheery voice announced, “I’m ba—ack!” We weren’t expecting anyone. Clearly the only people who’d walk right in to our house would be one of our offspring. I had my reading glasses on so I wasn’t seeing too clearly. It seemed too tall for our youngest, but we knew our eldest was at work. I took off my glasses to see a friendly but confused face scanning our living room. When her gaze landed on us we all had a sudden realization. We didn’t know eachother. “Oh I’m so sorry! I’m in the wrong house! My daughter just moved in and she needed hooks for the kitchen so I ran out to get them.” She waved the package. “All these houses look the same and I don’t know the neighborhood yet. I thought this was my daughter’s house.” We were all getting a bit giggly. “That’s okay. For a quick second we thought you were our daughter,” said my husband. I told her our names and said she should defin...
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