After finding out that some of their founders’ had ties to slavery, Bolton Hill’s Memorial Episcopal Church pledged $500,000 in reparations to Black-led justice-seeking organizations in Baltimore over the next five years.
Among the recipients were projects started by OSI Community Fellows, including Black Women Build Baltimore, founded by 2018 OSI Community Fellow Shelley Halstead, and Building Our Nation’s Daughters, Inc., founded by 2020 Fellow Ateira Griffin (who was recently named to the Baltimore City School Board).
Black Women Build purchases abandoned homes in Baltimore (currently in West Baltimore) and trains Black women in skills like carpentry, electrical and plumbing, then guides them through the home-buying process, allowing those women to purchase the homes they’ve restored. Tonika Garibaldi of Black Women Build told WJZ in the story below that the $15,000 grant from the church will allow the organization to purchase additional homes and expand the program.
