Baltimore Sun op-ed: ‘Proud not only to be in Baltimore, but of Baltimore’

July 29, 2019

We are proud and privileged to call Baltimore home. Baltimore is a city of creativity, optimism, and determination. Home to leading public and private research universities, world-class medical institutions, and a diverse business community, Baltimore is a city where both artists and start-ups thrive. From creating one of the nation’s first racially integrated library systems to producing today’s modern medical and technological breakthroughs, our city has a proud legacy of leadership in improving lives and setting a national example for a stronger tomorrow. It’s no wonder we are often named as a place where millennials are moving and staying. This is a city where people not only want to live, but love to live.

That is why we, as leaders of 10 of Baltimore’s anchor institutions, reject the recent unfair and ungenerous characterizations of our great city and its region. Like so many cities across America, Baltimore is a place of paradox, at once vibrant and full of promise and yet also burdened by the weight of generations of racial and economic inequities, deindustrialization, and disinvestment. Like other cities of our size and history, we face urgent challenges with crime, housing equity and our education system. But like all Americans, Baltimoreans deserve respect, support and steadfast partnership from elected officials at every level.