Investing in Baltimore’s African American doers, entrepreneurs, and innovators

The events of the past few weeks have been both troubling and traumatic. For some, witnessing the racial divide and the anguish that surrounds it has been eye-opening; for others, it’s confirmed long-held beliefs that some lives — especially black lives — are valued far less than others.

Publicly and behind closed doors, many African American Baltimoreans express anger, disappointment, and righteous indignation at the slow pace of change — or what’s perceived as no change at all — in Baltimore in the aftermath of Freddie Gray’s death and the everyday violence in our streets. Many of us resign ourselves to the truth that there really are two Baltimores, no matter our aspirations for greater unity and deeper connectedness. We see Baltimore, a city on the rise, rife with investment and renewed by a sense of energy and opportunity, spurred by an emerging Millennial class; and a resilient Baltimore, disproportionately made up of poor and working class African Americans, that continues to endure, subsisting on decades-long disinvestment and economic dislocation.

But I hold hope. I’m hopeful because Baltimore’s greatest assets are its people.

Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to help build next generation leadership and investment networks, such as BMe, Emerging Leaders, Impact Hub, and Ours To Own. I’ve discovered first-hand that Baltimore has among the most brilliant, creative, and exemplary changemakers, leaders, and social entrepreneurs in the country. I can personally attest to this, having worked with social impact communities in Boston, Cincinnati, Detroit, Oakland, and Philadelphia, among other cities.

But I’ve also learned the hard way that Baltimore’s innovation, investment, and philanthropic ecosystems disadvantage African American creatives, entrepreneurs, and innovators. As a city, we’ve yet to embrace African Americans as essential to Baltimore’s future prosperity. Baltimore has uniquely disconnected, fragmented, and racially and socioeconomically segregated economic and philanthropic ecosystems relative to our post-industrial counterparts (e.g. Cleveland, Detroit, and Pittsburgh). And not only do we disinvest in Baltimore’s African American human capital, we actively deploy an array of policies and practices that stymie the inherent potential of Baltimore’s African American community.

For this reason, I believe we must take a racial justice approach to economic development, philanthropy, and social entrepreneurship in Baltimore. I challenge all of us to develop and find ways to directly invest in Baltimore’s brilliant African American artists, doers, entrepreneurs, and innovators.

Baltimore’s future depends on it.