2020 Relief & Restoration Work

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted all sectors of societies across the globe and has disproportionately impacted communities of color. After the cancellation of our “5 Years After the Baltimore Uprising” Religion|City and Philosophy and HBCUs April 2020 conference, we shifted funds to help support relief and restoration work by our community partners. In June of 2020, we were awarded an additional $150,000 by the Henry Luce Foundation as part of their COVID-19 Emergency Grants to further support these efforts by our community partners and to document and reflect on the work. We acknowledge that so much more work and support is needed and we are also inspired by those in our communities who are already working to bring about racial equity during the pandemic.

Browse through the following materials to learn more:

“A local church’s food security program was launched after Freddie Gray’s death. Now it’s aiming to solve food insecurities caused by the pandemic.” by Brianna Taylor at The MSU Spokesman

“Connecting Religion, Race, and Community Empowerment” by Angela Alexander

“Morgan Awarded $150K Luce Foundation Grant for Community-Based COVID-19 Relief” by the AFRO

“Postapocalyptic Communities: Tribal and Religious Organizations Respond to COVID-19” by Abel R. Gomez

Classical Ideas Podcast Interview with Harold Morales by Greg Soden

Classical Ideas Podcast Interview with Karim Amin by Greg Soden

Asylee Women Enterprise, also known as "AWE," journeys with asylum seekers and other forced migrants as they navigate the immigration legal process, begin to heal from past trauma and rebuild their lives in Baltimore. While each asylum seeker has a unique personal situation, the general profile includes having fled their country of origin, often on very short notice including overnight, due to their lives being at risk. This is usually because of persecution for political, religious or ethnic reasons. Many have been the victims of torture, rape or other forms of extreme violence. Most arrive alone, without family, friends or local community ties; many have been lost or separated from a spouse or child. They arrive in need of safe housing, language skills, counseling for PTSD and depression, support navigating other resources (medical, legal, mental health) and material needs (food, shelter). Individuals served range in age from 0 - 75 and are primarily from Africa, the Middle East and Central America. Since asylum seekers are not eligible to work in the initial stages of their legal process and are ineligible for means tested benefits, nearly 100% of our clients are living below the federal poverty line with no access to traditional safety nets, unemployment insurance or the federal stimulus that others impacted by COVID-19 have been able to access.

The CSRC grant will be used to scale pantry operations, client advocacy and other supports to community members (primarily asylum seekers and immigrants with uncertain legal status) that are largely neglected in broader initiatives due to their language, immigration status, lack of familiarity with resources and limited transportation.

The Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland (PBRC) is Maryland’s statewide clearinghouse for legal professionals dedicated to offering free civil legal help to the most vulnerable and disenfranchised members of the community. This grant will help provide equal access to justice for tenants through PBRC’s Tenant Volunteer Lawyer of the Day (TVLD) program in Baltimore City Rent Court, including community outreach to educate tenants on their rights and defenses in a Failure to Pay Rent action, and information regarding programs that can help them to remain in their homes. This enhanced information for tenants is greatly needed in a COVID-19 environment.

CLLCTIVLY is a place-based social change organization using an asset-based framework to focus on racial equity, narrative change, social connectedness and resource mobilization. CLLCTIVLY and our partners recognize that COVID-19 and the necessary public health measures to address it will affect our community in many ways – in the weeks ahead and the months to come. Along with the life-threatening implications, it will disrupt the normal operations of everyone in our community. Black-led organizations on the frontline are essential to the wellbeing of our community. As these organizations respond, they may become financially vulnerable themselves as they scramble to cover the cost of expanding their services or suspend programs and events that generate revenue. In the spirit of Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) now is the time for all of us to come together to support those in need and to contribute to the vitality and health of our community. The CSRC grant will be used to support black led-organizations for relief and for capacity building through micro-grants to Black-led organizations in Baltimore.

Somebody Cares Baltimore (SCB) is a religious organization that is deeply involved in community development through grass roots service. Matt and his wife Katy founded Somebody Cares Baltimore in the Spring of 2009. The focus is on connecting agencies, churches, and organizations together to collaborate and revitalize communities. We connect people to opportunities to serve their community, and connect organizations to work together, because what we do together far outweighs what we can do on our own. Throughout the year, SCB provides Bags of Hope with hygiene products, Boxes of Hope with blankets, a Day of Hope with school supplies. The CSRC grant will help provide 1,750 Meals of Hope, which are 40lb boxes filled with assorted fresh produce and other food for families in Baltimore.

Plantation Park Heights (PPH) Urban Farm grows food, flowers, and herbs of various varieties for the community and local pantry. PPH workforce now includes 250 elementary school children, 33 teachers, 39 parents and is on a mission to grow 200,000 pounds of food to address the community’s “food desert” designation. PPH organizers will be able to address community need during the pandemic by distributing cooked food and need the construction of a demonstration kitchen to engage residents in the process. The CSRC grant will be used to design and build a demonstration kitchen on site with the dual goal of providing community with prepared food and advance Food Supplement Nutrition Education within the community. The proposed Food Distribution and Outdoor Kitchen project will engage and impact communities associated with 5 schools in the neighborhoods (MLK Elementary, Edgecombe Circle Elementary, Pimlico Elementary/Middle, Creative City Public Charter , Arlington Elementary). All programming will be coordinated with support Park Heights Renaissance Community Education Outreach Team and the school Principals. Dr. Shauna Henley of University of Maryland Extension, Baltimore County, will join as consumer food safety specialist.

The Asian Mosaic Fund (AMF) is a diverse group of multi-generational supporters committed to advancing the well-being of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in Greater Philadelphia. The AMF Giving Circle launched the AAPI Communities Relief & Recovery Fund in partnership with Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy, Philadelphia Chapter (AAPIP Philadelphia). The fund aims to create a multi-faceted and easily accessible responsive fund for the AAPI community impacted by COVID-19. Our focus is to provide emergency assistance and support for Asian-led-and-serving organizations seeking to access public and private rapid response funding; and providing mini-grants to those same organizations who are supporting the people in community who are most at-risk. Most recently, we prepared a needs assessment survey and shared it with all of our community partners to better understand the challenges each organization and the broader communities they serve are facing. We received an overwhelming response, which will help us in making data-driven decisions. Specifically, assistance from CSRC will help AMF distribute small grants to organizations that are working tirelessly to provide food assistance through food pantries and food delivery for families in desperate need, support immigrant and refugee families experiencing job loss without access to federal support, and other similar endeavors. We will prioritize funding to AAPI organizations providing essential provisions and direct services to AAPI immigrants and refugees, many of whom fall within the low and moderate-income populations. Our needs assessment survey revealed that most low-income individuals that we regularly support have lost their main sources of funding completely, while others have furloughed employees, and many have inadequate access to medical care and protective health equipment needed to continue their services. This stress is aggravated by lack of mental health services and increased racism and discrimination amid the outbreak.

The Sogorea Te’ Land Trust is an urban Indigenous women-led land trust based in the San Francisco Bay Area that returns Indigenous land to Indigenous people. It was founded in 2012 with the goals of returning traditionally Chochenyo and Karkin lands in the San Francisco Bay Area to Indigenous stewardship and cultivating more active, reciprocal relationships with the land. Through the practices of rematriation, cultural revitalization, and land restoration, Sogorea Te’ calls on native and non-native peoples to heal and transform the legacies of colonization, genocide, and patriarchy and to do the work our ancestors and future generations are calling us to do. The CSRC grant will be used to expand food production and distribution for members of urban Indigenous communities who have been affected by COVID-19.

The Humunya Foundation of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band is a 501 (c) (3) Private Foundation. The Humunya Foundation was created to fund raise, facilitate Tribal cultural activities and conduct outreach to the public. The Humunya Foundation supports the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band Wellness program that includes monthly membership meetings focused on our communities mental and physical health in dealing with the historical traumas of our ancestors and how that affects our people today. Along with cultural and language activities including our annual tribal gathering, the Foundation also provides social services and organization for efforts such as: fighting to protect our sacred sites, educating the general public about our culture, history and the injustices of our people through lack of land and the challenges of being a Non-Federally Recognized Tribe. Because the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band is not a federally recognized tribe, they receive no medical, educational, social services or elder care assistance from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Many of the approximately 800 tribal members live paycheck to paycheck and do not have health insurance. Members of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band have organized the Amah Mutsun Families COVID-19 Relief Fund to assist Amah Mutsun tribal members who are being impacted by the pandemic. Funds will be used for personal protective equipment (PPE), food, elder care, medical supplies and transportation, school-related supplies/technology for distance learning, rent assistance for those most in need.

The Muslim Community Cultural Center of Baltimore (MCCCB) was established in 1990 at 3401 West North Avenue in Leakin Park, it is associated with the original Muslim Community that began in Baltimore in 1947. Their mission is to provide spiritual, cultural, educational and social resources to the Greater Baltimore Metropolitan Area and establish a vibrant community in the Greater Walbrook Neighborhood. The CSRC grant will help support repairs to the MCCB building in order to maintain their social service programs during the pandemic.

The Black Church Food Security Network (BCFSN) was founded in 2015 and specializes in recruiting, organizing, and mobilizing African American congregations around food system initiatives, environmental conservation, and agricultural projects. We utilize an asset-based community development model that helps churches leverage and maximize their existing resources for community food security. In 2017, we partnered with Northside Baptist Church in north Baltimore to establish a community garden which featured five raised beds. Now, we’re taking another step with them to transform 5-acres of their underutilized land into North Star Farm, an urban teaching farm that will support youth, neighbors, and others in the farm and faith communities. During enslavement of Africans in this country, the "north star" figured prominently in guiding runaway enslaved people toward freedom. Additionally, Frederick Douglass published an anti-slavery newspaper called "The North Star" from 1847 - 1851. We believe that North Star Farm can honor this history by pointing the way to freedom through food, autonomy, and communal self-determination. The farm will serve as a fresh food hub and food processing site. The food grown at the farm will be processed and transported to other BCFSN food hubs across Baltimore City for distribution at Soil to Sanctuary markets. The CSRC grant will support the establishment of North Star Farm. The North Star Farm organized by the BCFSN will serve as a community food anchor by increasing food security especially to the population most directly and disproportionately impacted. The farm will be in a unique position to offer experiential learning opportunities with youth in the district while simultaneously advancing community-resilience.

Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD) is a broad-based, non-partisan, interfaith, multiracial community power organization rooted in Baltimore’s neighborhoods and congregations. Turnaround Tuesday is a jobs movement of the BUILD (Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development) Organization. Over the past five and a half years we have helped over 860 people get livable wage jobs, with a two year retention rate of 83%. Sixty-five percent of the people we serve are ex-offenders. The average hourly rate is $15. Several of our employed participants have now become homeowners. The Covid-19 Pandemic has drastically impacted the people that Turnaround Tuesday serves. Several people have been laid-off or furloughed from their jobs. This has caused a tremendous burden and financial hardship on families. The pandemic has also slowed the potential for employment opportunities for many of the people that we have prepared to go to work. The Turnaround Tuesday staff has remained employed and providing daily contact with our participants and preparing them for opportunities when the pandemic ends. The gaps that will be address with these funds include food and financial emergency support as well as additional Case Management services needed to help people understand and navigate these uncertain times. Many people are experiencing psychological issues and are having difficulties coping. Our Case Manager is a licensed Mental Health Therapist. Turnaround Tuesday had to cease our weekly job readiness sessions and revert to a weekly video session. The CSRC grant will be used to support BUILD’s Turnaround Tuesday Jobs Movement efforts to distribute food, soap, personal protective equipment (PPE) and laptop devices for remote job training during the pandemic.

CASA Maryland is a group of passionate, community-conscious people working to organize, advocate for, and expand opportunities for Latino and immigrant people in the state of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. We do this by providing employment placement; workforce development and training; health education; citizenship and legal services; and financial, language, and literacy training to Latino and immigrant communities throughout the state. Since our humble beginnings in 1985 assisting Central American refugees fleeing wars and civil strife at home, we have worked tirelessly to bring immigrant communities in Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania out of the shadows and into greater power, dignity, and legitimacy. Our mission is To create a more just society by building power and improving the quality of life in working class and immigrant communities. We envision a future where we stand in our own power, our families live free from discrimination and fear, and our diverse communities thrive as we work with our partners to achieve full human rights for all. The grant will contribute to CASA’s Solidarity Fund which will allow CASA to directly distribute cash benefits to members who were unjustly and summarily ignored by the federal government in the CARES Act stimulus package.

The Baltimore chapter of Jews United for Justice, (JUFJ) is a grassroots community that seeks to repair the world by working locally for social, racial, and economic justice. A housing crisis in on the horizon. In this moment of uncertainty, it is critical to make sure our Baltimore City government protects its most vulnerable residents. During this crisis JUFJ, which organizes Jews around local policy issues, is mobilizing our community and using our power to amplify the voices and needs of those most directly impacted by injustice. JUFJ continues to organize for valuable housing protections. With our partners, we won an eviction moratorium to last until 90 days after the crisis. We are working to extend that. Our coalition is also advocated for late fees cancellations, rent rates to be frozen, and for additional money for rental assistance from the state and city government. Thanks in part to our advocacy, 300 of 700 people in the Baltimore shelter system are in hotels. We continue to work with our partners to get everyone using the shelter system into safe housing now. The CSRC grant will help support our efforts to bring about a more just housing system in Baltimore. Additionally, we will partner with the CSRC by providing an internship opportunity for 1-2 Morgan students to work collaboratively with our organization and with our partners: the Public Justice Center to learn about professional careers in organizing, advocacy, and legal support as interconnected activities.

The Public Justice Center was founded in Maryland in 1985. The PJC uses legal advocacy tools to pursue social justice, economic and race equity, and fundamental human rights for people who are struggling to provide for their basic needs. The PJC is a civil legal aid office that provides advice and representation to low-income clients, advocates before legislatures and government agencies, and collaborates with community and advocacy organizations. The PJC chooses projects and cases that will make a significant impact on systems, laws, and policies. The Human Right to Housing Project stands with tenants to protect and expand rights to safe, habitable, affordable, and non-discriminatory housing and to fair and equal treatment by Maryland’s landlord-tenant laws, courts and agencies. We provide legal advice, representation, and know-your- rights education to tenants in Baltimore’s eviction court, as well as to tenants whose landlords have entered foreclosure or retaliated against them. Representation then informs efforts to reform eviction court. The CSRC Relief and Restoration grant will help support our ongoing efforts to provide free legal aid and to work collaboratively with partners on the Renters Right to Counsel campaign and the Maryland COVID-19 eviction moratorium initiative. Additionally, we will partner with the CSRC by providing an internship opportunity for 1-2 Morgan students to work with our organization and learn about professional careers in organizing, advocacy, and legal support as interconnected activities.

Baltimore Ceasefire 365  offers a community based approach to gun violence reduction. Many crime rates have dropped in Baltimore during the pandemic, but gun violence continues. The goal of Baltimore Ceasefire 365 is for everyone in the city to commit to zero murders. We started by calling ceasefire weekends, where we ask everyone to be peaceful and celebrate life. In doing the outreach for ceasefire weekends, residents are: helping each other get the resources they need in their lives, having conversations with each other about how to handle conflict differently, and making commitments to one another to be non-violent in thoughts, words, and deeds, for AT LEAST the ceasefire weekend. When people are killed in Baltimore, we believe that their lives matter. We believe that the places where people are taken by violence should be Sacred Ground. We believe that just like somebody showed up to kill them, people should show up in that same space to send love and light to that person's spirit, to the community, and to their loved ones. During Sacred Space Rituals, people are invited to do whatever they believe will put love and light in the space. Baltimoreans show up to make sure that love has the last say in that space, how much the person matters has the last say in that space, and that murder does not have the last say. Baltimore Ceasefire 365 volunteers who have been trained to facilitate these Rituals are the people who schedule when they happen. Trained facilitators see who has been murdered, and check their calendars to see when they are available to bless the space. The CSRC grant will allow us to provide outreach materials, support families who lose loved ones to violence during ceasefire weekends, and to expand Baltimore's ability to address and heal the root causes and impacts of violence.

Browse through the following interviews to learn more:

Allen AME Oral Histories with Church Elders

Interview with Mr. and Mrs. Jones by Antonio Hardy Pt. 1

Interview with Mr. and Mrs. Jones by Antonio Hardy Pt. 2