Diversity : Buzz

In office less than two weeks, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has made "The Grio's" list of 100 history makers in the making. Other notables on the list include, Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts , musician Will.i.am, Newark,N.J. Mayor Cory Booker,
Quincy Jones and newsman Lester Holt.

Here's an excerpt:

"Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's installation as mayor of Baltimore on February 4 will be the latest in a series of political accomplishments for the 39-year-old lawyer. "She is a leader that we need right now," Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) told voters in a video clip announcing his support for Rawlings-Blake last year.

"We are at a very difficult crossroads in Baltimore's history. Baltimore is changing... We need a leader who can truly lead... I support her because she is experienced and she is prepared for the moment," Said Cummings

Indeed, Rawlings-Blake has spent a lifetime preparing to lead Baltimore, a city of approximately 640,000. Her climb to the mayor's seat started at age 7 when she knocked on doors to help her father, the late Maryland legislator Howard "Pete" Rawlings, campaign for office."

Read the entire article here.

Award-winning blogger Mike Hitchen reports on a Baltimore-based soccer tournament, sponsored by the International Rescue Committee, that is allowing kids who have escaped conflict-ravaged countries to play soccer free from danger. Hitchen reports that plans are underway to create a permanent refugee soccer league -- a Peace League -- in Baltimore.

An excerpt from the blog post reads:

A soccer tournament is underway on a field next to a busy street in Baltimore, an hour or so outside of Washington, DC. Four teams of teenage boys are competing for ribbons and a gold cup. They could be from anywhere, but these teens are all refugees from conflict zones - Iraqis, Burmese, Bhutanese, and Meskhetian Turks.

Marwan Saleh plays defense for the Iraqi team, the "Tigers." The 17-year-old left his homeland nine months ago. "There, there's war. We don't have a chance to play soccer," he explains. "It's my chance to play soccer. We cannot live there. We don't have jobs. We cannot study; we cannot do anything. There's war, there's shooting, there are guns, gangs, the army, fighting between people. Here's better for us - safe. We can study. We can do anything here. Here is the future."

Read the entire post here:

A member of the online forum This Alley Life! visits Baltimore for the first time in more than 15 years and comments on the amiableness of the city's African Americans and their dedication to preserving and celebrating Black history.

Excerpt:

Despite the recent news that Baltimore is one of the most dangerous cities to live, and that many violent events have happened here...I have to say that the Black population in Baltimore is STILL friendlier than that of other densely populated Black urban areas that I've visited (Philadelphia, Atlanta and Washington, DC Area). Even when I visited in the early 90s, people always spoke...they smiled and said hello (it's seems like a more common occurrence in Baltimore). I don't even get that in my city.

Even though Baltimore has some rough areas, it's one of the few places where there is visible recognition of Black history (little noted notables) - the slavery museum, the murals, etc. The distinct cultural beat that has pretty much disappeared from the area I grew up in, mostly Black, is still visible in Baltimore.

Read the complete posting and reader comments here.