Skip to main content

The Other Half of the Arc

 

🟩🟦🟩



Two years ago I canceled my subscription to the Baltimore Sun and used that money to make a regular donation to Baltimore Beat. A reminder: You don’t have to pay money to read Baltimore Beat because there’s no paywall. But, of course, they need money to make it all happen. 

Monday Night Monopoly Games, Village Green/Town², January 16, 2024

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

I went on to say:

Under the leadership of Editor in Chief Lisa Snowden, the Beat is already doing things no other Baltimore news organization is doing: amplifying independent voices and reaching Baltimoreans who have been traditionally ignored by local media outlets. That mission is even more crucial now with the Sun’s new ownership.

Go read the most recent issue of the Beat. It’s free. Then think about a Baltimore where those voices are drowned out or forgotten. 

Believing in a healthy democracy means supporting a free and independent press. If one player owns most of the marbles, how free can it be?


I re-read that this morning as I contemplated MLK Day and my deep discontent with our nation’s refusal to acknowledge the truth of our history and our responsibility to do better. And something struck me. 

All this time I have been committed to support Baltimore Beat in my own small way, and I have shared my enthusiasm for their mission. I write about it here. I share their posts on social media. I absolutely believe in independent Black journalism in Baltimore.

And - - much to my shame - - I often forget to read it. It comes right to my email inbox and I just…forget to read it. I could blame this on my adhd along with my hyper focus on local news but it’s more than that. I’ve slipped into thinking that Baltimore Beat is this cause I believe in, rather like sending money to people somewhere else because it’s a good thing to do. 

It’s something that’s happening “over there.” I give because Baltimore Beat is valuable to people “over there” and I want them to have that. 

Ouch. It embarrasses me to realize this. That’s way more like charity than community care.

I’m not saying it’s wrong to give money because you believe something should be able to exist, even flourish. And it’s not wrong to give money to causes that were not designed to directly benefit you. 

But I forgot the bit where reading the work provides me with an opportunity to change my brain.

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.

Our country is awash in journalism which is controlled by large corporations and news which is predigested by white people for consumption by white people. The last several years have been one disaster after another as those outlets have failed to uphold their responsibility to the public. It is no coincidence that these years have been marked by pushing more and more non-white voices out of “the news business.”

Reading the Baltimore Beat is a gift to me if I choose to engage. These are the voices I won’t hear anywhere else. These are perspectives informed by experiences I will never have. I could learn something. 

In 2017 when I wrote the County Council in support of CB-9 (Sanctuary County) I shared the following:

Dr. King assured us that the arc of moral universe bends toward justice, but only if we stand up and speak out for what is right.  (Rep. Mark Takano)

Someone added:

That arc doesn't bend itself. 

Hearing other voices and processing other points of view and making that just a normal part of what you do every month of the year is not magic nor will anyone give you a prize for it. But it does a lot more to bend that arc because we  I need to be willing to bend my brain: my thoughts, my assumptions, my perspectives on good and bad, right and wrong.

I can do better. Join me?


Village Green/Town² Comments



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

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...
1 comment
Read more

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

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...
1 comment
Read more