News & Commentary

“No Justice. No Peace. No Private Police,” was a chant that rang through the Charles Village and Waverly neighborhoods last Wednesday. On the 300th “West Wednesday,” John Hopkins University students and community members gathered together to rally against JHU’s planned private police force and contracts to train employees of the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. While dozens of campus security watched ominously from the sidelines, people marched peacefully in the streets and then rallied inside JHU’s administration building.

In the era of MeToo, brave people continue to speak out against sexual violence. Sonya Zollicoffer has joined voices across the nation by exposing the truth about the sexual harassment she endured while she was a police trainee in Prince George’s Police Department in 2001. Zollicoffer has also filed a legal challenge, along with members of the United Black Police Officers Association and the Hispanic National Law Enforcement Association, to racial discrimination and retaliation against officers and community members of color in the PGPD.

On March 29th, protestors gathered outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Baltimore to stand witness and protect Abegninan Amouzou from being deported. Coach Fofo, his most popular nickname, is currently at risk for deportation after one of his regular check-ins with ICE. Unfortunately, Coach Fofo cannot return to Togo, his country of birth, over the fear of retaliation and violence against him for his political beliefs. For the last 20 years, Coach Fofo has been an outstanding resident in the United States.

 Poster created by students in Wide Angle Youth Media in collaboration with GLSEN Maryland, The Office of Mayor Catherine E. Pugh and the Baltimore City LGBTQ Commission. Supported by the Open Society Institute-Baltimore.

In Pocomoke City, a small town on Maryland’s lower Eastern Shore with a centuries-long history of racial oppression, three Black officers have fought against racial abuse from white coworkers, supervisors, and officials. In 2016, Police Chief Kelvin Sewell, Lieutenant Lynell Green, and Detective Franklin Savage sued officials in Worcester County and Pocomoke City, challenging a conspiracy of race discrimination and retaliation. This week, Chief Sewell and Lt. Green reached financial settlements for the racism they endured while on the force, as well as a Consent Decree to bring reform to the Pocomoke City Police Department. But the fight for justice still continues for Detective Savage.

The “Blueprint for Maryland’s Future” (HB1413/SB1030) bill is the first action on recommendations from the Kirwan Commission. The bill as introduced includes funding for expanding pre-kindergarten, increasing teacher salaries, and providing grants for concentrated poverty and special education. The ACLU testified in support of this bill, urging state legislators to develop a targeted and comprehensive formula which is the only way to seriously begin to combat decades of gross underfunding for students and families. As of now, the Kirwan “Blueprint” bill is pending the results of the State Budget process.   Currently, the House and Senate versions of the budget (SB125/HB100) do not match. Only the House version of the budget funds the entire Kirwan “Bluep

On March 15, Ms. Hui Fang Dong and her three children— ages 14, 11, and 9 — appeared before Judge George Hazel at the United States District Court in Greenbelt to fight ICE’s cruel “bait and switch” tactic. Her husband, Wanrong Lin, himself could not be present because he was working at their family restaurant in St. Mary’s County, and because he was scared of what might happen if he entered another government building again.

This piece originally appeared at in the Afro. 

On March 12, the Maryland Judiciary Committee considered HB 1001/ SB 774, which would limit the use of “restrictive housing” – the State’s term for solitary confinement – on children.