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The depth of history and “housing covenants” that propelled segregation in Baltimore, a mere hundred years ago, is fascinating – great segment on how neighborhoods were shaped, particularly around Morgan State University, an HBCU.

Making Morgan Park and Wilson Park Household Names

Where did Cab Calloway and his sister grow up? Where did W.E.B. Du Bois raise his daughter? What was the only neighborhood in the early 20th century to put covenants in place that kept white residents from buying homes there? We talk to Professor Dale Glenwood Green, a Morgan State University professor who’s making sure that the history of the neighborhoods of Morgan Park and Wilson Park are well-known.

Source: wypr.org

100 Years: The Riots of 1968 (MLK Riots Baltimore)

The first plate-glass window was smashed around 5:30 p.m. at the Fashion Hat Shop in the 400 block of N. Gay Street. Half an hour later, roving bands of black teens, itching for more action, looted their first business, Sun Cleaners, at Gay and Monument streets, spiriting away clothes wrapped in plastic bags.

At 6:15 p.m., they set their first fire, torching the Ideal Furniture Company in the 700 block of Gay Street. Alerted to the growing unrest, city cops, on- and off-duty, surged into Baltimore’s modest East Side shopping district, setting up headquarters at the nearby Belair Market.

While one plainclothes officer characterized the scene as “pretty festive” at 7 p.m., the situation quickly turned malicious, as store after store in the vicinity—groceries, appliance shops, furniture outlets, dry cleaners, five-and-dimes, tailors, taverns, liquor stores, pawn brokers—was broken into and ransacked.

Continue reading…

Source: baltimoremagazine.net

REPORT: Koch Brothers Looking To Purchase Several Major American Newspapers

NOOOOO…. (excuse my lack of articulation at this point).

political-linguaphile:

Right-wing funders and business industrialists David and Charles Koch may purchase the Tribune Company newspapers, which include the Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun, and the Los Angeles Times. The brothers are “interested in the clout they could gain through the Times’ editorial pages,” the Hollywood Reporter notes. Responding to the report, a spokesperson for Koch told the website that the brothers are “constantly exploring profitable opportunities in many industries and sectors”

….

The Koch brothers own Koch Industries, the second-largest private company in America, and fund a network of right-wing think tanks and organizations. In 2012, the brothers had pledged $60 million to defeat President Obama and even sent mailers to employees urging them to support Mitt Romney and other conservative candidates.

You should be scared. And this is why:

In case that’s not enough:

 

(via hairtrending)

Source: political-linguaphile

U.S. baby's HIV infection cured through very early treatment

A baby girl in Mississippi who was born with HIV has been cured after very early treatment with standard HIV drugs, U.S. researchers reported on Sunday, in a potentially ground-breaking case that could offer insights on how to eradicate HIV infection in its youngest victims.

The child’s story is the first account of an infant achieving a so-called functional cure, a rare event in which a person achieves remission without the need for drugs and standard blood tests show no signs that the virus is making copies of itself.

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The Lines Between Us, Episode #20: The Middle-Class

If you haven’t checked out this series from Baltimore’s local NPR station, “The Lines Between Us,” you should take a minute and check it out.

This episode focuses on the staggering decline of the middle class in Baltimore. You can listen for free here.

In 1970, two-thirds of Americans lived in middle-income neighborhoods, according to the US2010 research project. Now it’s less than half, and the proportion of poor and rich neighborhoods has doubled. On the map to the right, you can watch middle-income neighborhoods (the lighter colors) be gobbled up by the red (affluent) and blue (poor) neighborhoods over time.

It’s not just that rising income inequality is depleting the middle class that would fill those middle class neighborhoods, according to Sean Reardon, one of the US2010 researchers who provided us the maps. Americans are sorting themselves by income more than ever.

Listen now…

Sorry, but God isn't a Ravens fan…

A great op-ed by my friend, Melissa - who wrote the op-ed I was planning to write, but better.

Sorry, but God isn’t a Ravens fan Prayers for a football team are fine, but what about praying for those who are most in need of blessings?

One of my favorite views of Charm City right now is entering into the downtown area from the 395 off-ramp. Our city is painted with Ravens spirit — purple lights dancing on skyscrapers, “Go Ravens!” posters taped to city windows, and my favorite: the billboard that simply said “WOW” after the Ravens’ win Sunday over the Patriots. In fact, as I sit down to write this at the Towson Public Library, a woman just pointed out that the bookshelf next to me contains an entire collection of books with purple covers, complete with a border of purple stars cut out of construction paper.

Purple has become a unifying topic, bringing complete strangers together in conversation. All week at work, I’ve asked patients, “Did you see the game?” or I’d see someone wearing a purple scarf and fist bump in the air an amiable, “Go Ravens!” I think this is one of the beautiful things about sports: its ability to bring people together irrespective of socioeconomic status, race or political beliefs.

But I can’t help but notice something else about all this celebration — something that disturbs me.

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Source: baltimoresun.com