Urbanite, the local magazine that earned many fans for its attention to civic life before folding in 2012, returned this month for a special issue to address the aftermath of the uprising. OSI-Baltimore, which sponsored Urbanite’s Learning Issue in 2009, was proud to support the new effort with a grant that helped make its production possible.
The centerpiece of the issue is “The Running Man,” an in-depth look into the life of Freddie Gray, whose death sparked the uprising and so much soul-searching in Baltimore. Among the other stories is “Fix This City,” which starts with a can’t-miss board-game illustration by Tom Chalkley and features various Baltimoreans offering suggestions to improve the city. Among the contributors are OSI-Baltimore fellow Lawrence Brown and Rodney Foxworth, whose BMe was an Open Society Foundations grantee.
“The Case for Reconciliation” includes an interview with Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and a member of OSI-Baltimore’s Advisory Board, among others. OSI-Baltimore director of strategic communications Evan Serpick, who was editor of City Paper during the uprising, contributed an online-only piece, “Why Local Media Matters,” as part of the project.
