Podcasts about open society institute baltimore

Today we meet two Open Society Institute-Baltimore 2022 community fellows and hear about their projects. There was a lot was going on in Alanna Taylor's life a few years ago. She was under so much stress, at one point she fainted in the grocery store. It turned out the episode got her connected to health care … and got Taylor thinking about what women over 40 need to be successful. That was the germ of Taylor's project 'Bronze Girl Collective.' And then: when most people look at a bus … they see a mode of transportation. Our next guest looks at a bus and sees … a potential mobile shower unit. Bria Evans tells us about 'Fresh Start Mobile Services' that serve people experiencing homelessness. Links: OSI Open Society Institute Baltimore Community Fellows, 2022See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Each year, the Open Society Institute selects a class of fellows, and funds their work with an disadvantaged group. How is this investment shaking out? We speak with Danielle Torain, the executive director of OSI-Baltimore, and Pamela King, the senior program manager for community fellowships. Meet the 2022 class of OSI-Baltimore Community Fellows. Plus: newly minted fellow, Jessica Smith, tells us about her project to break the stigma of mental illness in the faith community, the Mindful Ministries Collective. Learn about her other work, the Mental Health Emergency Fund.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Evan Serpick is a communications professional with backgrounds in journalism and social justice activism. He is currently the program manager for communications and narrative change at Open Society Institute-Baltimore, and previously served as the editor-in-chief of Baltimore's weekly City Paper, senior editor at Baltimore magazine, and associate editor at Rolling Stone. Evan has also been a lifelong community activist, serving in a wide range of roles, including as an Ambassador for Baltimore Ceasefire and Social Action Committee Chair for Beth Am Synagogue. He lives in Baltimore City with his wife Brenda, an English teacher at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, and his sons Jack and Benny.The Truth In This ArtThe Truth In This Art is a podcast interview series supporting vibrancy and development of Baltimore & beyond's arts and culture.Mentioned in this episode:Open Society Institute-BaltimoreTo find more amazing stories from the artist and entrepreneurial scenes in & around Baltimore, check out my episode directory.Stay in TouchNewsletter sign-upSupport my podcastShareable link to episodeStation North Art Walks continue all summer, celebrating 20 years of Station North. Join us on final fridays:  September 30th for a district-wide celebration. More info at stationnorth.org.  Station North Arts District is a program of the Central Baltimore Partnership.  ★ Support this podcast ★

As the Delta variant drives up the number of residents with COVID, Baltimore's public health web is hard at work, running vaccination clinics and deploying community ambassadors.Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Letitia Dzirasa talks about what it takes to dispel vaccine myths, "It's different for different communities, but what has been relatively universal is having a trusted messenger. And that's not always the government. I think that's really how the concept of VALUE ambassadors were born."We hear how the VALUE project offers culturally responsive outreach and education, including to some who may have felt ignored by the health system.And Evan Serpick, of Open Society Institute-Baltimore, tells how grants are supporting vaccine equity and outreach to marginalized groups.If you have a question about COVID-19 or the COVID vaccines, you can reach the city's COVID Call Center at 443 - 984 - 8650. Find a local vaccination site here. Check out this weekend's Ceasefire Block Party - vaccinations available Saturday - here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Open Society Institute-Baltimore each year launches the work of ten fellows who have plans to combat inequity and injustice. This year two of the ten are working to elevate Baltimore’s spanish-speaking community. Dinorah Olmos helps parents navigate the ins and outs of the American school system with her program La Escuela, Los Hijos y Usted. Then, Kendra Summers connects Spanish-speaking immigrant families with information about buying a home and tenant rights, while also teaching them English. Her program is called Casa Amable.

The rate of death during pregnancy and soon after childbirth in the U.S. is three times higher for African American women than for whites. Ana Rodney, an Open Society Institute Baltimore community fellow, intends to counter that staggering statistic with MomCares. MomCares offers postpartum support to low-income, single women of color whose babies need neonatal intensive care. Her project came from personal experience.

Now, a conversation about the Blueprint for Baltimore. It's a project supported by The Open Society Institute-Baltimore and the T.Rowe Price Foundation, in partnership with several community groups -- including Black Leaders Organizing for Change (BLOC), CASA, Baltimore Votes, Black Girls Vote, and the No Boundaries Coalition. The goal of Blueprint for Baltimore is to survey as many as 12,000 Baltimore City residents – the largest issue-oriented survey in city history – about their priorities for the city on a range of public policy issues, including education, public safety, and housing, as the race for Mayor, City Council President and City Council move into high gear. Joining Tom in the studio is Evan Serpick. He’s OSI’s Director of Strategic Communications, and was closely involved in the development of the survey. Also joining us are project partners Tre Murphy, the co-founder and operations director for BLOC; and Lydia Walther-Rodriquez, Baltimore Regional Director for CASA of Maryland, a group that advocates for the state’s Latino and immigrant communities. The Blueprint for Baltimore survey -- which can also be taken online -- concludes Sunday, December 8. This conversation was livestreamed on WYPR's Facebook page. Watch the video here.

Joseph T. Jones, Jr. is founder of the Center For Urban Families, a Baltimore nonprofit service organization established to strengthen urban communities by helping fathers and families achieve stability and economic success. Mr. Jones is a national leader in workforce development, fatherhood and family services programming, and through his professional and civic involvement influences policy direction nationwide. Mr. Jones has received numerous awards and honors including the Johns Hopkins University Leadership Development Program’s Distinguished Leadership Award, the Walter Sondheim Public Service Award, the White House Champion of Change and was a 2013 CNN Hero. He served on President Obama’s Taskforce on Fatherhood and Healthy Families and several boards including: the Open Society Institute-Baltimore, the Baltimore Workforce Development Board, and the National Fatherhood Leaders Group. He was a community advisor on fatherhood issues to Vice President Al Gore and contributed to First Lady Laura Bush’s Helping America’s Youth initiative.

How do you attract young people to care about pursuits like math and engineering? Brittany Young contends dirt bikes are the answer!Young is a 2018 Open Society Institute-Baltimore community fellow. Her project ‘B-360’ helps students learn skills they can apply in STEM fields -- science, technology, engineering and math -- through riding and maintaining bikes. She stresses meeting students where they are.

Safe shelter, safe streets - we meet two Open Society Institute-Baltimore community fellows who are working to improve city life. Ava Pipitone’s app “Host Home” will quickly find shelter for transgender individuals in distress: And artist Graham Coreil-Allen will work with residents to re-envision access to Druid Hill Park so that pedestrians, cyclists, and people with mobility devices can safely travel to and enjoy this open space.

In the last of Open Society Institute-Baltimore's 20th Anniversary special events, Open Society Foundations president Patrick Gaspard discusses the challenges to open societies around the world. Speakers: Lois Feinblatt, Patrick Gaspard, Kurt Schmoke. (Recorded: Oct. 30, 2018)

A builder and a comedian are part of the new cohort of Open Society Institute-Baltimore community fellows--each with a remarkable plan to improve city life.Carpenter Shelley Halstead will transform blocks in the Upton and Druid Heights neighborhoods, one vacant home at a time. Participants in Black Women Build Baltimore will learn valuable job skills, and have the opportunity to buy the homes they restore.Then, Fred Watkins used humor to find the light in dark times. His group, “Lil' Laughs,” will work in schools to build self-esteem and send a message against bullying.

We’ll learn how Disability Rights Maryland is putting power in the hands of disabled citizens here in Baltimore to address transportation issues.We’ll also meet the folks at Open Society Institute Baltimore who are championing the idea that an individual has the power to make a big change here in our community.

Because music transcends language barriers and evokes emotion, it’s the tool one of this year’s ‘Open Society Institute Baltimore’ fellows intends has singled out: Amy Tenney plans to harness music’s therapeutic potential with her project, ‘Healing and Community Integration through Music for Refugees and Immigrants.’

What is an open society? Diana Morris works to answer that question in her role as director of Open Society Institute-Baltimore, a philanthropic organization dedicated to promoting opportunity and justice by resolving issues faced in urban areas. Open Society Institute-Baltimore is the only U.S. field office of the Open Society Foundations, founded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros. Here in Baltimore, Diana and the office focus on issues like lowering suspension rates for kids in school, providing accessible drug treatment and reducing the number of Marylanders in the criminal justice system. Social justice and human rights work have always been important to Diana, who grew up in a small town with an itch to get out and see the world. Diana spoke about some of her travels, and the early issues that got her involved in this kind of work. She also discussed the learning curve she experienced when she got to Baltimore, the challenge of convincing people of the importance of urban issues, and the future of the city.

Open Society Institute-Baltimore is supplying the city's health department funds for another front in the fight against the opioid epidemic. The $200,000 grant is aimed at saving lives from overdose and reducing stigma around addiction. We speak to OSI director Diana Morris about what activities the grant will fund and how she'll measure the success of this investment.

Elizabeth Nix, professor of legal, ethical and historical studies at the University of Baltimore, will bring examples of structural racism and white privilege to light by talking about the history of Baltimore and how that history has resulted in discriminatory patterns and policies and segregation in Baltimore.Elizabeth Nix is co-editor of Baltimore'68: Riots and Rebirth in an American City.Talking About Race is presented in partnership with Open Society Institute-Baltimore.Recorded On: Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Elizabeth Nix, professor of legal, ethical and historical studies at the University of Baltimore, will bring examples of structural racism and white privilege to light by talking about the history of Baltimore and how that history has resulted in discriminatory patterns and policies and segregation in Baltimore.Elizabeth Nix is co-editor of Baltimore'68: Riots and Rebirth in an American City.Talking About Race is presented in partnership with Open Society Institute-Baltimore.

Ai-jen Poo, director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and Gustavo Torres, executive director of CASA, will talk about structural changes in the job market that have resulted in many day laborers, especially among immigrants and people of color. They will focus on how we can help build power, respect and fair labor standards for the 2.5 million nannies, housekeepers and elderly caregivers in the U.S.Ai-Jen Poo is co-director of the Caring Across Generations campaign. She has been organizing immigrant women workers since 1996. In 2000 she co-founded Domestic Workers United, the New York organization that spearheaded the successful passage of the state's historic Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in 2010.Gustavo Torres is the executive director of CASA, a multi-service Latino advocacy and support agency. He has been recognized nationally and internationally for his leadership and vision in the immigrant rights movement in the United States. He joined CASA's staff as a community organizer and has served as CASA's executive director since 1994.Talking About Race is presented in partnership with Open Society Institute-Baltimore.Recorded On: Thursday, October 15, 2015

Ai-jen Poo, director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and Gustavo Torres, executive director of CASA, will talk about structural changes in the job market that have resulted in many day laborers, especially among immigrants and people of color. They will focus on how we can help build power, respect and fair labor standards for the 2.5 million nannies, housekeepers and elderly caregivers in the U.S.Ai-Jen Poo is co-director of the Caring Across Generations campaign. She has been organizing immigrant women workers since 1996. In 2000 she co-founded Domestic Workers United, the New York organization that spearheaded the successful passage of the state's historic Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in 2010.Gustavo Torres is the executive director of CASA, a multi-service Latino advocacy and support agency. He has been recognized nationally and internationally for his leadership and vision in the immigrant rights movement in the United States. He joined CASA's staff as a community organizer and has served as CASA's executive director since 1994.Talking About Race is presented in partnership with Open Society Institute-Baltimore.

In the wake of the killing of Freddie Gray and the subsequent uprising, many media outlets focused on tired stereotypes about black criminality rather than the years of oppression that sparked the protests. Rashad Robinson, Executive Director of ColorOfChange, and Stacey Patton, reporter for The Chronicle of Higher Education, will talk about how dehumanizing media coverage can reinforce bias and negatively impact black communities.Since 2005, ColorOfChange, the nation's largest online civil rights organization, has been a leading force in holding government and corporations accountable to black people and advancing visionary solutions for building a just society. From fighting for justice for Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Renisha McBride and Trayvon Martin to battling attempts to suppress the black vote and helping shape the successful strategy in the fight to protect a free and open Internet, ColorOfChange has been at the forefront of the most critical civil rights issues of this century.Before joining The Chronicle, Stacey Patton was a senior editor and writer for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. She has also reported for the Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun.Talking About Race is presented in partnership with Open Society Institute-Baltimore.Recorded On: Tuesday, September 29, 2015

In the wake of the killing of Freddie Gray and the subsequent uprising, many media outlets focused on tired stereotypes about black criminality rather than the years of oppression that sparked the protests. Rashad Robinson, Executive Director of ColorOfChange, and Stacey Patton, reporter for The Chronicle of Higher Education, will talk about how dehumanizing media coverage can reinforce bias and negatively impact black communities.Since 2005, ColorOfChange, the nation's largest online civil rights organization, has been a leading force in holding government and corporations accountable to black people and advancing visionary solutions for building a just society. From fighting for justice for Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Renisha McBride and Trayvon Martin to battling attempts to suppress the black vote and helping shape the successful strategy in the fight to protect a free and open Internet, ColorOfChange has been at the forefront of the most critical civil rights issues of this century.Before joining The Chronicle, Stacey Patton was a senior editor and writer for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. She has also reported for the Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun.Talking About Race is presented in partnership with Open Society Institute-Baltimore.

National outrage and protests have swept the country following the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died of a severe and critical neck injury on April 19, exactly seven days after he was apprehended by Baltimore police. We talked about the "Baltimore Uprising" and the underlying issues fueling the protests, which includes poverty, unemployment, police mistrust, systemic racism and oppression, featuring Diana Morris, the Director of Open Society Institute-Baltimore and the Open Places Initiative

Charles M. Blow, New York Times op-ed columnist, will join us to talk about his own extraordinary life story -- growing up in segregated, dirt-poor Louisiana. As told in his new memoir, Fire Shut Up in My Bones, he will share his reflections on coming of age in the South.Shawn Dove, director of the Open Society Foundations' Campaign for Black Male Achievement, will serve as moderator for the discussion.Talking About Race is presented in partnership with Open Society Institute-Baltimore. Recorded On: Wednesday, October 1, 2014

As parents, Michele Stephenson and Joe Brewster, M.D., recognized that all black boys must confront and surmount the "achievement gap," regardless of how wealthy or poor their parents are. To understand why this occurred, they filmed their son, Idris, as he struggled through high school and produced an award-winning documentary, "American Promise." In their book, Promises Kept, they discuss the reasons for the gap; practical, innovative solutions to close it; and a call to action to eliminate it.A 10 minute video from the New York Times, An Education in Equality, was shown during the presentation.Talking About Race is presented in partnership with Open Society Institute-Baltimore.Recorded On: Monday, September 15, 2014

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Taylor Branch has selected eighteen essential moments from the Civil Rights movement as presented in his "America in the King Years" trilogy and has written new introductions to set each passage in historical context. "For nearly 25 years, since publication of Parting the Waters," says Taylor Branch, "teachers have pressed upon me their need for more accessible ways to immerse students in stories of authentic detail and import. The goal here is to accommodate them and others by careful choice."Taylor Branch is the author of Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-1963; Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years, 1963-65; At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-68; and The Clinton Tapes. In addition to the Pulitzer, he has won the National Book Critics Circle Award.Presented in partnership with Open Society Institute - Baltimore. Recorded On: Tuesday, January 29, 2013

In High Schools, Race, and America's Future, Lawrence Blum offers a lively account of a rigorous high school course on race and racism. Set in a racially, ethnically, and economically diverse high school, the book chronicles students' engagement with one another, with a rich and challenging academic curriculum, and with questions that relate powerfully to their daily lives.Blum, an acclaimed moral philosopher whose work focuses on issues of race, reflects with candor, insight, and humor on the challenges and surprises encountered in teaching -- the unexpected turns in conversation, the refreshing directness of students' questions, the "aha" moments and the awkward ones, and the paradoxes of his own role as a white college professor teaching in a multiracial high school classroom. High Schools, Race, and America's Future provides an invaluable resource for those who want to teach students to think deeply and talk productively about race.Lawrence Blum is the Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and Education and a professor of philosophy at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.Presented in partnership with Open Society Institute - Baltimore. Recorded On: Tuesday, November 27, 2012

What we don't know can hurt us and others -- and unconscious bias along with racial anxiety can unwittingly affect our responses and behavior. The examples revealed in provocative new research may surprise you: embedded stereotypes, it concludes, are experienced by people of color and whites alike. Understanding these biases is critical, especially for people in positions of power where critical decisions are made -- in the classroom, in the court room, and in the doctor's office.Rachel Godsil, Director of Research at the American Values Institute, and Alan Jenkins, Executive Director of The Opportunity Agenda, will present some of the most recent research and reports on this topic. This event is part of the "Talking About Race" series sponsored by Open Society Institute-Baltimore and the Pratt Library. Recorded On: Thursday, September 13, 2012

Talking About Race, an ongoing series co-sponsored by the Open Society Institute-Baltimore and the Pratt Library Touré's newest provocative book, Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness? What It Means to Be Black Now, was acclaimed by the New York Times as "one of the most acutely observed accounts of what it is like to be young, black and middle-class in contemporary America." Benjamin Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP, calls the book "a fascinating conversation among some of America's most brilliant and insightful Black thinkers candidly exploring Black identity in America today. Touré powerfully captures the pain and dissonance of Black Americans' far too often unrequited love for our great nation."Touré is a cultural critic for MSNBC, as well as the host of a couple of shows on Fuse-TV: "Hip Hop Shop" and "On the Record." A contributing editor at Rolling Stone, his articles appear regularly in publications ranging from the New York Times to the Village Voice to the New Yorker.Michael Eric Dyson, University Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University, wrote the foreward to Toure's book. Recorded On: Monday, December 5, 2011

A Community Comes to Grips with its Past  A tragedy occurred in Greensboro, North Carolina, on November 3, 1979, resulting in the deaths of five anti-Klan demonstrators, and the grave wounding of ten others. Over 25 years later, the community still had not resolved the pain that resulted from this event. Thus was born the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission, with a mandate that stated, "There comes a time in the life of every community when it must look humbly and seriously into its past in order to provide the best possible foundation for moving into a future based on healing and hope." Listen to Commissioner Rev. Mark Sills and Rev. Nelson Johnson and his wife Joyce Johnson as they discuss the lessons learned from this unique process in healing. The conversation was moderated by U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Andre Davis. Presented in partnership with Open Society Institute - Baltimore.Recorded On: Thursday, November 4, 2010

Dr. Hubert G. Locke will discuss the Holocaust and Jewish-Christian relations. Dr. Locke is Provost Emeritus for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Evan School of Public Affairs, University of Washington, Seattle, and member of the Committee on Church Relations and the Holocaust at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.Dr. Locke's appearance in Baltimore is sponsored by the Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies and the Committee on Church Relations and the Holocaust, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.Partners include: Associated Black Charities; THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore; Baltimore Community Foundation; and Open Society Institute-Baltimore.  Recorded On: Thursday, June 24, 2010

Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, and professor at New York University School of Law, and Renee Hutchins, professor at the University of Maryland School of Law, will discuss how race affects attitudes and outcomes in the criminal justice system.Part of "Talking About Race," a year-long speaker series, presented in partnership with Open Society Institute-Baltimore.Recorded On: Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Why is race still an uncomfortable subject to talk about in the United States? Join us for this conversation with Rich Benjamin, author of Searching for Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America, and Tim Wise, author of Between Barack & A Hard Place: Racism & White Denial in the Age of Obama. Benjamin and Wise will discuss white America's struggle to talk about race. Rich Benjamin is a Demos Senior Fellow.Part of the year-long speaker series, "Talking About Race," presented in partnership with the Open Society Institute-Baltimore. Cosponsor: Demos Recorded On: Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Beverly Daniel Tatum, president of Spelman College and author of Can We Talk About Race? And Other Conversations in an Era of School Resegregation, which discusses how American schools are experiencing increasing and underreported resegregation, will talk with David Hornbeck, former Philadelphia superintendent of schools. Hornbeck is the author of Choosing Excellence in Public Schools: Where There's a Will, There's a Way, about how race plays out in our classrooms.Part of the year-long speaker series, "Talking About Race," presented in partnership with the Open Society Institute-Baltimore.Recorded On: Monday, November 2, 2009

With the election of President Obama, some say race is no longer an obstacle to success and that the "American Dream" is more reality than not. Ben Jealous, executive director of the NAACP, and Gerald Torres, professor at the University of Texas Law School and co-author of The Miner's Canary: Enlisting Race, Resisting Power, Transforming Democracy, will grapple with this erroneous supposition.Part of the year-long speaker series, "Talking About Race," presented in partnership with the Open Society Institute - Baltimore.Recorded On: Wednesday, September 16, 2009

 How to Build Success Without Forgetting the StruggleJournalist Gwen Ifill of Washington Week and The News Hour with Jim Lehrer and author of The Breakthrough: Politics & Race in the Age of Obama, and Sherrilyn A. Ifill, civil rights lawyer and law professor at the University of Maryland School of Law and author of On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the Twenty-first Century, will discuss this pivotal moment in American history -- what has brought us to this moment, why our history is important, and how we can make this a new beginning for equity and social justice.This was the first program in a new speaker series, How We Talk About Race, presented in partnership with Open Society Institute-Baltimore.Recorded On: Thursday, June 4, 2009