In this issue, you’ll find a story from our friends at Memphis-Based MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. The outlet was founded and is run on Dr. Martin Luther King’s principles.
“Our vision echoes Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream: A nation where all residents — especially workers — have enough resources to thrive, and where public and private policy supports their success,” they say.
Although in some ways, Baltimore, Maryland, is very different from Memphis, Tennessee, the systemic issues that affect all Black Americans link these two cities. The story we are republishing focuses on the mental toll that police violence can take on a person.
“Studies have shown that stress caused by racial discrimination is associated with changes in the DNA of African Americans, which lead to premature aging on the cellular level, or ‘weathering,’” writes journalist Sono Motoyama.
“Social media and news coverage of police violence have created trauma that affects not only victims and their families but the wider community. A Harvard public health study suggested that the police killing of an unarmed Black person had a negative mental health effect on the African American community in the entire state.”
Also in this issue, Bry Reed writes about the community and camaraderie found at the Enoch Pratt Library’s annual Booklovers’ Breakfast. The event kicks off the library’s celebration of Black History Month. This year, it featured words from award-winning author Jesmyn Ward.
“Her refrain, given to her by her grandmother, is ‘tell it straight, tell it true.’ And she does. Ward does not shy away from telling the truth about her family’s experiences of infant mortality and the harsh conditions of domestic labor on Black women working in white, wealthy homes. She offers evocative, stirring examples that ‘love and loss are twins in life,’” Reed writes.
Film critic Dominic Griffin writes about the new Bob Marley biopic “‘Bob Marley: One Love.” Is it possible to produce a good film about a notable person’s life that has his family and friends at the helm?
Also in this issue, you’ll find images created by women who participated in the Prison Art Program. Casey McKeel helps run the art therapy project, which is held at the Maryland Correctional Institute for Women in Jessup. McKeel is currently raising money to keep the program going. We also have beautiful images from Baltimore photographer Shae McCoy. McCoy said her theme for these photos was “authenticity.”
Get ready for the month of March with tarotscopes from Iya Osundara. This issue’s poem is from Writers in Baltimore Schools participant Amari Stiles, and is titled “Thursday.”