It’s not often that the Open Society Institute-Baltimore spotlights the positive impact we have made in Baltimore. We tend to be more comfortable shining that light on our Fellows, grantees, and community partners. But last year was different: In 2018 OSI-Baltimore marked 20 years helping to make our city stronger and more equitable with a series of three anniversary events.
At each event, we celebrated how OSI-Baltimore has helped to solve social problems by working in community with others and making sure that every voice is heard. OSI-Baltimore has accomplished much in 20 years but there’s more work to do. As social and political forces outside of Baltimore continue to threaten democracy itself, OSI is committed to being a force for positive change.
Photo: Edward Bernard, OSI Advisory Board member and vice chairman at T. Rowe Price Group, led a crowd in the lobby of the Baltimore Museum of Art in a toast to mark OSI’s 20th anniversary
Bold Thinking on Racial Justice in America
June 13, 2018
Photo: Vanita Gupta and Taylor Branch, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and OSI Advisory Board member, talked about ways to advance racial justice using the judiciary despite the Trump administration’s attempts to roll back previous gains.
“Right now we are facing a frontal attack on who we are, our values, on what the founding ideals were of this country. And that is bringing people together in a way, recognizing that the fight for civil rights and the fight for human rights is not going to be won by one group alone. It has to be waged in coalition.”
Vanita Gupta
President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Making Sure Every Person Counts: The Census, Advocacy, and Civic Participation
September 25, 2018
Barbara Mikulsi and Rashad Robinson talk about the importance of the census during one of OSI’s 20th anniversary events.
“Democracy only works when every voice is heard, that’s why the census matters.”
Rashad Robinson
Executive Director of Color of Change
“Eighty-five percent of federal funds for Baltimore are based on formulas from the census.”
Barbara Mikulski
Professor of Public Policy at Johns Hopkins University and former U.S. Senator representing Maryland
Challenges to Open Societies Around the World
October 30, 2018
Photo: Patrick Gaspard, speaking at OSI-Baltimore’s final 20th anniversary event about our work supporting addiction treatment, mental health care, and job training for people returning from incarceration; helping combat drug addiction and shifting attitudes away from punishment and toward health; advocating for harm-reduction policies and the use of naloxone to prevent opioid deaths; and implementing restorative practices in public schools to improve school climate and address bullying.
“These are things that here, in Baltimore, you’re probably beginning to take for granted. But you need to understand that in the 49 states outside and beyond Maryland, this is not common practice. You are leading the way.”
Patrick Gaspard
President, Open Society Foundations
