Category: Essays on Race

A series of essays highlighting the ongoing issue of race in the culture, politics, and psyche of America.

Black History Month 2024 Feature: “Black and White in Baltimore” – Essay and Short Story by Guest Author, Eric Grandy

February 19, 2024

I am proud to present a new Baltimore author to the world – Eric Grandy, whose essay, They cut down the hoop [https://baltimoreblackwoman.com/2024/02/19/they-cut-down-the-hoop/] and short story, Black and White [https://baltimoreblackwoman.wordpress.com/2024/02/19/black-and-white/] are his first published works. Two weeks ago, I was introduced to Eric by our mutual friend (and primary co-founder of braciolejournal.com), Rafael Alvarez. After … More Black History Month 2024 Feature: “Black and White in Baltimore” – Essay and Short Story by Guest Author, Eric Grandy

Black and White

February 19, 2024

Short Story By Eric Grandy The fourth of April 1968 didn’t dawn as a particularly ominous day. It was ordinary in every respect. My sister and I still had to go to school. My father still had to catch the bus to work. My mother was still asleep after working the 3pm to 11pm shift … More Black and White

Black History Month 2022

February 5, 2022

This year marks the 8th year of Black History Month posts on this site. When I first began this annual feature, I introduced it with a post about the origins of this special month [https://baltimoreblackwoman.com/2015/02/02/the-origins-of-black-history-month/], as much for my edification as for you, the readers, who may question why this celebration even exists. But the … More Black History Month 2022

Independence Day 2020: Reflections on Monuments, History, and Now

July 5, 2020

On this 244th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, wherein the seeds of the United States of America were planted, I am struck by how much and how little ,we have achieved. If nothing else, we have fought continuously to define what “independence,” “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” “freedom,” “rights,” and “responsibility” mean. … More Independence Day 2020: Reflections on Monuments, History, and Now

Morgan State University Oral History Project: My Story – A Black Woman Raised in Lauraville

October 30, 2019

On Wednesday October 9, 2019, at 1pm, I made my way by car from my home in “The Bottoms” of Lauraville, in Northeast Baltimore, to the campus of Morgan State University, Maryland’s illustrious HBCU. The drive took all of 5 minutes, including the time it took me to park on the lot of the former … More Morgan State University Oral History Project: My Story – A Black Woman Raised in Lauraville

Love Must Conquer Hate: Lessons from a Theatre Play Exploring Past Hatred and A Hate Crime in Today’s News

April 27, 2019

Anne & Emmett, a Play Last night (Friday, April 26), I attended a play presented by the Theatre Department of Baltimore’s Morgan State University called Anne & Emmett, written by Janet Langhart Cohen, which imagines a conversation between two young, historic victims of hate crimes: Anne Frank (1929-1945), the well-known German Jewish Holocaust victim, and … More Love Must Conquer Hate: Lessons from a Theatre Play Exploring Past Hatred and A Hate Crime in Today’s News

The Real Story of the 900 Block of Payson Street

November 10, 2018

The front-page story in the Sunday, July 15,2018 digital edition of The Baltimore Sun(“Collapse,” by Tim Prudente, http://digitaledition.baltimoresun.com/html5/desktop/production/default.aspx?pubid=99644e1a-52da-4fe3-8f78-a84e4fe4d386&edid=2192616c-ec73-42b8-a798-f58dedfe23f0&pnum=87),describing the demise of the 900 block of Payson Street, is a decent investigative piece about the real-estate woes of a single block of West Baltimore rowhouses and the recent loss of one human life because of those … More The Real Story of the 900 Block of Payson Street

Against the Backdrop of 21st Century Racial Turmoil, The Afro-American Newspaper Celebrates Its 125th Anniversary

August 16, 2017

Prologue On Tuesday, in Baltimore, rain poured from the sky, as if God, Himself, was mourning the aftermath of the Charlottesville protests over Confederate monuments—even before Donald Trump unmasked himself to the world as a defender of bigotry and hatred. Yesterday morning, local television station WBAL reported that in the early morning hours, Baltimore Mayor … More Against the Backdrop of 21st Century Racial Turmoil, The Afro-American Newspaper Celebrates Its 125th Anniversary