Archive

Tara Huffman, director of OSI-Baltimore’s Criminal and Juvenile Justice program, participated in a panel called “Criminal Justice Reform in the 21st Century: The Path Forward” at the 23rd Annual Sylvania Woods Conference on African Americans and the Law at the American University Washington College of Law in Washington.D.C. Huffman, (pictured, second from left), spoke primarily […]

Check out the great blog post and pictures on Wide Angle Youth Media’s website offering a behind-the-scenes look at the work of the group’s Design Team, a cohort of young people who designed, printed, and distributed beautiful, impactful signs for the ACLU of Maryland’s recent March For Our Schools in Annapolis. OSI provided funding for […]

Dr. Beverly Tatum, author of the landmark book, “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race,” recently released in an expanded 20th Anniversary Edition, talked about the importance of discussing race from an early age in a wide-range conversation with Baltimore City Schools CEO Dr. Sonja Santelises as […]

The OSI Baltimore Community Fellows network made a strong showing at the 2nd Grassroots DesignFest, held on Saturday, March 2, sponsored by MICA and the T. Rowe Price Foundation. A daylong hackathon-style event, DesignFest 2019 paired 21 grassroots nonprofits with teams of student and professional designers to create innovative design solutions. Projects included everything from […]

Last week, Tara Huffman, director of OSI-Baltimore’s Criminal and Juvenile Justice program participated in a panel discussion on policing in Baltimore, sponsored by the Racism, Immigration, and Citizenship Program at Johns Hopkins University. “Wherever othering happens, it becomes its most deadly in the realm of policing,” Huffman said, referencing the misguided mentalities behind the unconstitutional […]

About 20 OSI Community Fellows, including most of the 2018 cohort gathered at Carrie Murray Nature Center to hear updates from three Fellows, to share challenges, to offer feedback, and to discuss potential collaborations. Eric Fishel, a 2018 Fellow, talked about his project, Baltimore Foodparks, through which he works to improve vacant lots, conduct scientific research, and […]

Ganesha Martin, who led the Baltimore Police Department’s efforts to shape and enter into the Consent Decree, has been tapped to lead the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice. During Martin’s tenure with the police department, OSI-Baltimore worked closely with her to launch a pilot of the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program, support and advise implementation of the […]

OSI-Baltimore stands with our grantees, the ACLU of Maryland and the NAACP Legal and Education Defense Fund, who joined parents of Baltimore City Schools students in filing a lawsuit against the state of Maryland, alleging that the state has not lived up to its obligations under the Bradford vs. The State of Maryland case and […]

This morning, NBC’s Today show featured a four-minute segment on how fentanyl is worsening the overdose crisis in Baltimore and other east coast cities, and impacting more African-Americans. The reporter accompanied emergency responders as they administered Naloxone, the overdose-reversal drug, to several people experiencing an overdose. OSI worked with the Baltimore City Health Department for […]