.......Ill be back with the story!

pics courtesy le camera phone
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source
Below is a time line of Baltimore events in which African Americans played an integral part!


About 1785 Bethel A.M.E. the oldest independent black institution in Baltimore was founded.
1793 First black Catholic Eucharistic community, eventually becoming in 1863 the first black Catholic parish of the United States - St. Francis Xavier Church
1802 Sharp Street United Methodist Church was founded.. The congregation decends from the first African-American congregation in Baltimore.
1810 The first Pastor of Bethel A.M.E., Reverend Daniel Coker, was the author of the first book published by a black Marylander.
1816 The first Pastor of Bethel A.M.E., Reverend Daniel Coker, was elected the first Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
1818 Centennial United Methodist Church -Caroline St. was built
1825 Orchard Street United Methodist Church was founded .Truman Le Pratt, a former slave of Governor John Eager Howard.
1825 Frances Ellen Harper was born in Baltimore
1828 First Catholic school for black children in the United States - St. Frances Academy (Go PANTHERS!)
1829 First black Catholic religious order of nuns ever founded Oblate Sisters of Providence
1837 Orchard Street United Methodist Church or Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal as the church was called then, was built.According to local legend, the church served as a stop on the Underground Railroad, and is now the oldest standing structure built by African-Americans in the city of Baltimore.
1852 Union Baptist Church Organized by John Carey, the church became a center for the civil rights struggle.
1865 The Douglass Institute, dedicated on September 29, 1865, was the creation of prominent African Americans from Baltimore who wanted to provide a meeting place to stage cultural, political and educational events for the community.
1866 Chesapeake Marine Railway and Dry Dock Company founded. The black-owned enterprise was started after the Civil War when a group of black businessmen, organized by Isaac Myers, assembled to form the shipyard company. The company operated a successful business until 1883.
1867 The City of Baltimore began providing public education for black students.
1873 Leadenhall Baptist Church founded, the church stands as the second oldest black church edifice in Baltimore . Located 1021 Leadenhall St.
1874 Joe Gans a well-known pugilist and first black to become a world boxing champion born in Baltimore.
1885 The Colored High School of Baltimore, established in 1885, was housed in the old City Hall on Holiday Street.
1888 St. Peter Claver Roman Catholic Church was established. It was the first parish in the world dedeicated to Saint Peter Claver, the "Apostle for Slaves." The church-run school, which is the oldest private African-American school in the state is still in existance today.
1888 Founding of St. Joseph Seminary on Pennsylanvia Ave and St. Mary St. The Josephite Priests were designated to serve the black community
1889 Frances Ellen Harper School # 111 built as Colored School No. 9, The school was named for Harper (1825-1911), a Baltimore-born black poet, lecturer and reformer.
1889 Dr. Lillie Carroll Jackson born in Baltimore
1891 First black Catholic priest ordained in the United States Charles R. Uncles of Baltimore
1892 The "Afro" is the first and oldest black-owned and operated newspaper continuously published in Maryland.
1892 The Colored Polytechnic Institute was established by the City of Baltimore.
1894 The original Provident Hospital was founded in 1894.
1896 Baltimore's first Colored YWCA founded by Sarah A Murphy, Mary E. Bright, Martha Murphy, Frances Murphy, Mary E Cooper, Novella Rayne and Maggie Ridley.
1896 Lexington Savings Bank was formed . Built by and for the African American Communities of Baltimore, Maryland.
1900 The Colored Polytechnic Institute & The Colored High School of Baltimore merged.
1902 Joe Gans well-known pugilist became the first black to become a world boxing champion by winning the lightweight crown .
1908 The first African American Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall was born in Baltimore
1909 Baltimore native Matthew Henson first to reach the North Pole
1917 Birth of Elizabeth Murphy Moss was a war correspondent for the Afro-American in World War II, which made her the first African-American woman war-correspondent in the European Theatre of the war.
1922 In February 1922, the Douglass Theater opened on this site as the "finest colored theater in America owned and controlled by colored people." The theater was eventually sold to white ownership and its name was changed to the Royal.
1924 The Baltimore Urban League was formed
1930 Baltimore's own Blanche Calloway (Cab Calloway's older sister) is the first female to head a successful all-male band.
1934 Jazz drummer Ike Dixon, founder of a traveling jazz band opened at 1440 Pennsylvania Avenue a Comedy Club.
1937 Baltimore hires it's first African American Police Officer Mrs. Violet Hill Whyte
1948 Baltimore Tennis Club Marker Location of the 1st public protest against Baltimore's segregated tennis court located at Druid Hill Park adjacent to the Conservatory.
1950 Baltimores own Juanita Jackson Mitchell is the first African-American graduate of the University of Maryland Law School.
1958 Irma Dixon and Verda Welcome Freeman the first African-American women to be elected to the Maryland House of delegates.
1959 Noticing that many Black children seemed to lack inspiration and motivation, Earl K. Koger Sr. developed and published a history card game for children called "Negro Heroes".
1961 First black diplomat to become ambassador for a European country - Baltimore-born Clifton Reginald Wharton, Sr. was named ambassador to Norway
1962 Baltimore Cities own Verda Freeman Welcome becomes the first African-American woman to be elected to the state Senate.
1962 Earl K. Koger Sr. published the first Black history coloring book.
1963 Earl K. Koger Sr. researched and published the "Legend of Jocko", a true story of a young Black boy who inspired George Washington. A statue of Jocko and a copy of the book are currently on display at the Great Blacks in Wax Museum.
1967 First black to serve on the United States Supreme Court Baltimore native Thurgood Marshall
1970 Milton B. Allen is the first African-American elected states attorney for the city of Baltimore City.
1970 Earl K. Koger Sr. wrote and published the first "Black Mother Goose Jingles and Rhymes."
1971 Roland Nathaniel Patterson is the first African-American appointed superintendent of schools in Baltimore City.
1972 Earl K. Koger Sr. rewrote "Jocko" adding music to be performed as a children's opera.
1976 Oprah Winfrey becomes co-anchor and reporter for WJZ-TV in Baltimore, becoming the first African-American woman in the country to hold that position.
1978 Black Classic Press is founded
1979 First black woman in the United States to own a radio station Ms. Dorothy Brunson owner of WEBB-AM in Baltimore
1983 The First African American Wax Museum Opens in Baltimore City Great Blacks In Wax
1984 Bishop Robinson becomes the first African-American commissioner of the Baltimore City police department.
1987 Baltimore votes into office it's first African American Mayor Kurt Lidell Schmoke
1997 Michael Johnson opened this 350 seat cinema which specializes in classic films featuring African Americans
BLACK BALTIMORE FIRST's
Many first have occured in Baltimore over the years. Here are some of the highlights of First's in the African American Community.
Earl Koger Sr., the first Black insurance broker in the state of Maryland.

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We have a history in this fine city!
check me out on MYSPACE @ www.myspace.com/clove or www.myspace.com/itsbaltimorebaby

The revolution of consciousness


I've made a VOW (so much more than an resolution) to work on creating and being part of good teams.


As just about everyone that has been following me for that last year or so know.....I have made some costly mistakes in the past with regard to choosing team members and partners.

It feels so good to be able to admit that and let it go.

I used to beat myself up....feeling like I was stupid for trusting.....feeling like I should have known.....feeling like people are right when they say things like "black people can't be trusted" (& I'm black and have always been told this by other, most times older, black people).....all feelings that go against my personal constitution and my belief in the good of MY people.


.......but rather than carrying it like the average and go out and rent a hall for my grand pity party and/or verbal lynching.....I have become even more committed to reaching out more and inviting people into my world. Be the change you want to see in the world - I want to prove that black people can work together. In trying....I realize that its often not an issue of desire...I think most of us want to work together and have some understanding of the notion of working together to accomplish more.........


[or SYNERGY even........ Examples provided by Wiki:
Human synergy relates to interacting humans. For example, if person A alone is too short to reach an apple on a tree and person B is too short as well. Once person B sits on the shoulders of person A, they are more than tall enough to reach the apple. In this example, the product of their synergy would be one apple. Another case would be two politicians. If each is able to gather one million votes on their own, but together they were able to appeal to 2.5 million voters, their synergy would have produced 500,000 more votes than had they each worked independently.

Synergy usually arises when two persons with different complementary skills cooperate. The fundamental example is cooperation of men and women in a couple. In business, cooperation of people with organizational and technical skills happens very often. In general, the most common reason why people cooperate is that it brings a synergy. On the other hand, people tend to specialize just to be able to form groups with high synergy (see also division of labor and teamwork).]

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IMO.......its often the lack of practice that makes people stray away from the original goal or be so quick to believe naysayers, rebel rousers or the other devil agents we have amongst them. This again points to the prevailing issue within black society or how blacks present themselves (and are there for perceived by others) LACK OF EDUCATION. So much of who we are and how we interact with our world is shaped in school. College in particular (especially grad school - most projects outlined in the syllabi are GROUP projects). There is no way that any of us can progress if we do not work with other people (this is true regardless of the setting).


God has blessed me exponentially with the ability to excuse people's violation of the rules that govern all humans "do onto to others as you would have them do onto you".....I have to chalk my missteps and errors in judgment up to people's lack of understanding of the cycle of life. It is most always a maturity issue. Give them a lil time and they most always realize that at the end of the day........thinking you can do it alone only hurts you in the long run.

I have resources and still face obstacles ...particularly when it comes to activities that will allow me to build wealth. There is so much that I was never taught....so much advice that I was offered from elders that I never took advantage of..... again....maturity and general short sidedness.



We all go through it.....


Unfortunately for some.....they come out on the other side in prison or in their room alone because their manz and dem stop coming around after they are paralyzed during a shoot out in the club parking lot or after they've given birth to the developmentally disabled child and their baby father disappears.


What we are talking about here is evolution.

Up til now.....I was afraid to buy a house because I didn't understand the process. (Very few people I know own homes - sad, but true ....some of theses people have damn good jobs) Today..... I am on a mission to buy whole blocks....I want to help revitalize Baltimore - especially in the areas that people foolishly characterize as the "hood". (Black ppl are the most guilty of this).


I don't know how, but I know I can do it......Want to know why?

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The Hip Hop generation ....those of us that grew up with this dynamic force of nature ....one that has allowed ppl to make something out of nothing.....are so damn fortunate. We can do, become, travel and live anywhere we want (what I should say: or where our money will take us). But we've also grown up as a generation that had everything given to us....because of this we are innately LAZY. We don't even see that our voice is so much louder ....so much more powerful than any generation that came before us.....its so sad that many do not give themselves credit. The Baltimore Hip Hop community has shown me that if you have something even remotely profound to say speak up....people will listen. Folk are so used to hearing nonsense .....that when someone speaks a lil truth it kinda fascinating to them....mmmmmmg go figure. In many ways....the stupidity of most of today's commercial rap music can actually help people that want to talk about something uplifting. It contrasts so much - its like a yellow dress at a black tie affair that it will almost sound refreshing if packaged correctly. I think that conscious ppl need to speak up more (in mew places) and they may find that there are some out here that are receptive to it. I think a lot more ppl are ready for a change in 07.

Malcolm X may have said it best:

"White people believe the sky is the limit and black people believe the limit is the sky"
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We come in the world feeling as if only so much is even possible. <----- when did this start? I say when because if this is how it has always been....we would have never had a civil rights movement.

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Black men...yall better wake up soon. Aside from the fact that you are dying in record numbers everyday (Baltimore is just one small city) ......you will eventually cease to matter at all.


#1 Reason: You don't vote. Those of you that haven't lost the right...think that it don't matter.

Even if you think politicians are gonna do what they want to do anyway...when ppl vote in large numbers in a given area they become constituents....constituents are the life blood of a politician. He/she is only as powerful as the force that put him in office over his/her opponent. When you vote, it shows that you will not lay down and take what is given to you. Because folk don't vote in the city and because elected officials have no constituents to hold them accountable, most are free to make decisions that benefit them or the forces that put them in office. City Schools are terrible because there aren't enough ppl mad yet. The few parents and organizations that put up a fight on behalf of the children do this on top of work (that thing that most of us say prevents us from doing more for our community)......within out respite....they will never make any hedge way. Until parents realize that if they would stress the importance of education...MAYBE just MAYBE their children won't have to work as hard as you or even fight for a better education for your grand and great grand children.


How is it that in the areas of the city where there has been a huge housing boom they have new schools (in many instances, charter schools)? <-----Think about that?

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I wonder what kind of school do the kids that live in Canton attend?

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When you are paying $300000 + (and paying close to 4,000 in property taxes) to live in a city row house.....you are gonna make sure the school in your area is good (u can't even afford private school) and if the city doesn't step it up....the city knows the ppl will move....and you know they don't want to do that - the city needs the money.

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I am not saying this so that you will get angry and for real for real....this particular injustice has little to do with race in the conventional sense at all (I know - BIG ADMISSION FROM ME). Its purely economics. If you are not helping the city to make or keep money (paying taxes)....but always costing them money (policing, crime, abuse of subsidies, white flight, etc)....what do you think they will do? what would you do if you were the mayor?

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I feel so sorry for the ppl that can't dissect all of the information before them (unfortunately.....most of this info is found in books or the internet.....DAYUUUUM) and see that we are truly headed for disaster. ....forget hip hop is dying...the notion of being black and proud is dying....(maybe it died with James Brown)....this fact is much more unsettling than seeing an end to the current incarnation of rap.

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This is not to beat up on my brothas (I love yall) ......but in my experience.....a lot of men from impoverished backgrounds make excuses about everything:

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I can't get a job because I got a record......I'm out on these streets cause I have to eat - f*ck the neighbors, the kids, the elders, the property value ....I don't live round here any way. Whether you believe me or not......there are only certain areas that the majority of black ppl can live in Baltimore (its a matter of economics and the city's segregationist past). That being said......if the men (who pride themselves on being the strongest and bravest) don't care about the condition, appearance and future/legacy of the only communities we are being allowed to call home and won't speak up when wrongs are committed (i.e. making drug dealers comfortable in the neighborhood where you pay taxes is in a sense approving their behavior. It is your property value that won't increase. It is your children's financial future at stake) ....you are a punk! but us, women, are the bitches.....LOL! I wish a drug dealer would.

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Is it HATE? They know that they will never own a house or tend a garden....or wash their car in their drive way so.....who gives a f*ck.

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This one blew me away:

I can't get a job because my baby mothers want to take all my money.

...Ya baby mothers wants to take all your money, hunh?....LOL!


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I can't get ahead only making $7 an hour.....

Broda man, who's fault is it that you only make $7 an hour. You want me to think you are so damn smart, but the only way you can think to make more than $7 an hour is distructive and illegal???

or what about the ones that at 15 decided
....I don't won't to go to no stupid school......but can't even spell school (skool)

.......This is the same dude who at 30 puts me down because act like I am better than him

- YES boo! I am better than you. I am not saying you are a "bad person" or that I am a better one, but you simply have not made the decisions in life that would make you compatible to someone that laid a path for a comfortable future.

This is IMO what is a major contributing factor to the break down of the black family (father and mother under one roof who share in the responsibility of raising children) - folk aren't equally yoked (this is a religious or spiritual word, but I am just using it to say on the same footing or both contribute equally to the union).


I've had my share of boyfriends that did dirt and up til 03 you could have called me a true rider. I've done all the things that describe the quintessential "wifey" to a hood star and you know what.....I NOW know it makes no difference. Its not like a job or old land lord...I can't use him for a reference...LOL!

......I grew ( I finished college, got my own place, went on a few exciting vacations and met new people from different cultures and world views)...he didn't (my last is currently in prison with a hella lot of years to think about where he went wrong) ....so what pray tell was I building...what was I so good for? What did it get me that is tangible and sustaining....NOTHING. ALL of it means nothing when you finally grow up...when you finally start to think about your future and how comfortable you want to be.


All my male friends who indulged....are in jail or dead* .....they either have criminal records or are permanently paralyzed.... and these guys were players when the game was kinda fair. Now all gloves are off...that is why as of 1.11.07 we've already lost 15 ppl in this city. I bet more than half (if not all) of that number are black.

*: 1 exception - while his paranoia and extra precautionary way of being seemed a bit melodramatic at the time .....he was the truly smart one. He is truly an enigma .


These men will prolly never be able to achieve anything that will give the next generation (their legacy) a head start....this is the injustice that we do to our children.



Black history is going to end up:

Chapter 1: Slavery (we had no history before that)
Chapter 2: civil rights movement
Chapter 3: The Nigga Age - Hip Hop generation
Chapter 4: Rebirth of a Nation

^^^^Fill in the blanks

Unfortunately.....I don't think my generation will see the rebirth. That's the part that is giving me an ulcer.


I see so many who have limited their opportunities before they reach the age where you realize that you needed to have already established real roots (a foundation). This is happening to me again as I approach 30 and trying to buy a house. Work and credit history matters. Don't make the mistake of realizing this too late. 18: I want some beef and broccoli timbs. 30: Want to impress....buy me a house.

Today:
I am proud to say....I (a single black woman) can go to a bank and get a home loan for way more money than I ever imagined possible. Spending "OPM" is how you get ahead.

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Can all of you say the same? This is not to brag. The fact that it may come across as braggin is indicative of our problem. At 30....I should be able to do these things. EVERYONE SHOULD!!!!

we all start with a blank slate in life....if a man from a small village in {insert some third world country} who didn't own shoes until he was 15 and came him with nothing more than the clothes on his back can make it to America and amass a fortune.....we truly have no excuse.

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Plus.....if I have children one day....I know a lil something about life that I can share......I am much more patient now so I listen a whole lot more nowadays....and I know that buying things only makes me feel good for a min...LOL! But you only become this way as you get older, more mature and finally realize that your precious time on this Earth is so so so very short.



Revolutionary thinking is what I am talking about, people............are you waiting for an invitation?


check me out on MYSPACE @ www.myspace.com/clove or www.myspace.com/itsbaltimorebaby

I still have very little to say (publicly). I am just not feeling happy about hip hop right now...... so it will be a lil bit longer before I resume my regular posting. Mama always said "if you have nothing good to say - don't say nothing at all"

Lately, I've been doing a lot of soul searching (personal, professional and spiritual) and when I emerge from this moment of silence, I will be armed with a new game plan and looking for people who share a similar passion for life and love. I am so happy to be alive - are you?

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In the absense of anything more profound to say....I want to share something with all of you. While I wholeheartedly beg to differ, the comments to follow make it hard to for me to speak up with any real conviction <----- so much of what is said is sad and true.

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I want to believe that a black person wrote this in an effort to make people get angry enough to want to make a personal change, but 9 times out of 10 it was not. It was prolly written by an anonymous Baltimorean Craigslist poster. All the racist Marylanders seem to congregate there. Don't believe me? Check this out for yourself (most days the threads are down right shocking. Look for titles like "You wanna know what's wrong with Baltimore" or "Baltimore Blacks" or "Baltimore Crime")......but before you do that - first read the following:

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Peep Game:

A Friend of mine just sent this to me.

BLACK PEOPLE, PLEASE, READ & HEED.

POIGNANT. The sad thing about this article is that the essence of it is true. The truth hurts. I just hope this sets more Black people in motion towards making real progress. Chris Rock, a Black comedian, even joked that Blacks don't read.

For those of you who did not hear it on the radio, this is the article Dee Lee was reading this morning on a New York radio station. This is a heavy piece and and Caucasian wrote it.

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THEY ARE STILL OUR SLAVES We can continue to reap profits from the Blacks without the effort of physical slavery. Look at the current methods of containment that they use on themselves: IGNORANCE, GREED, and SELFISHNESS.

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Their IGNORANCE is the primary weapon of containment. A great man once said, "The best way to hide something from Black people is to put it in a book." We now live in the Information Age. They have gained the opportunity to read any book on any subject through the efforts of their fight for freedom, yet they refuse to read. There are numerous books readily available at Borders, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.com, not to mention their own Black Bookstores that provide solid blueprints to reach economic equality (which should have been their fight all along), but few read consistently, if at all.

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GREED is another powerful weapon of containment. Blacks, since the abolition of slavery, have had large amounts of money at their disposal. Last year they spent 10 billion dollars during Christmas, out of their 450 billion dollars in total yearly income (2.22%). Any of us can use them as our target market, for any business venture we care to dream up, no matter how outlandish, they will buy into it. Being primarily a consumer people, they function totally by greed. They continually want more, with little thought for saving or investing. They would rather buy some new sneaker than invest in starting a business. Some even neglect their children to have the latest Tommy or FUBU, And they still think that having a Mercedes, and a big house gives them "Status" or that they have achieved their Dream. They are fools! The vast majority of their people are still in poverty because their greed holds them back from collectively making better communities.With the help of BET, and the rest of their black media that often broadcasts destructive images into their own homes, we will continue to see huge profits like those of Tommy and Nike. (Tommy Hilfiger has even jeered them, saying he doesn't want their money, and look at how the fools spend more with him than ever before!). They'll continue to show off to each other while we build solid communities with the profits from our businesses we market to them.

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SELFISHNESS, ingrained in their minds through slavery, is one of the major ways we can continue to contain them. One of their own, Dubois said that there was an innate division in their culture. A "Talented Tenth" he called it. He was correct in his deduction that there are segments of their culture that has achieved some "form" of success. However, that segment missed the fullness of his work. They didn't read that the "Talented Tenth" was then responsible to aid The Non-Talented Ninety Percent in achieving a better life. Instead, that segment has created another class, a Buppie class that looks down on their people or aids them in a condescending manner. They will never achieve what we have. Their selfishness does not allow them to be able to work together on any project or endeavor of substance. When they do get together, their selfishness lets their egos get in the way of their goal. Their so-called help organizations seem to only want to promote their name without making any real change in their community.They are content to sit in conferences and conventions in our hotels, and talk about what they will do, while they award plaques to the best speakers, not to the best doers. Is there no end to their selfishness? They steadfastly refuse to see that TOGETHER EACH ACHIEVES MORE (TEAM) They do not understand that they are no better than each other because of what they own, as a matter of fact, most of those Buppies are but one or two pay checks away from poverty. All of which is under the control of our pens in our offices and our rooms. Yes, we will continue to contain them as long as they refuse to read, continue to buy anything they want, and keep thinking they are "helping" their communities by paying dues to organizations which do little other than hold lavish conventions in our hotels. By the way, don't worry about any of them reading this letter, remember, THEY DON'T READ!!!! (Prove them wrong. Please pass this on! After Reading it..)

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Wake up: How we conduct ourselves within the Hip Hop community just shines a light on the issues that assult our community as a whole. Until we make the world around us a more inspiring place, hip hop will continue to die a painfully slow and agonizing death.

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check me out on MYSPACE @ www.myspace.com/clove or www.myspace.com/itsbaltimorebaby