The Department of Justice has taken steps to ensure that people with disabilities have access to the polls, including evaluating voting equipment, adapting locations to make them ADA-compliant, and training poll workers, while organizations like the National Disability Rights Network have worked directly with election officials to make polling locations more accessible.
Author Archives: Megan Sayles AFRO Business Writer
Megan Sayles is a business reporter for The Baltimore Afro-American paper. Before this, Sayles interned with Baltimore Magazine, where she wrote feature stories about the city’s residents, nonprofits and initiatives. Her love of music inspired her to be a writer. At a young age she realized it was not the melody that she was so infatuated with, but the lyrics that made up the song and connected with listeners. Sayles grew up in Pasadena, Maryland, and is a 2021 graduate of the University of Maryland, where for her senior capstone project she reported on how the coronavirus and inequality intersected in Baltimore. She also worked as a staff writer and copy editor for campus publications, including Stories Beneath the Shell and The Black Explosion. Sayles teamed up with a partner to report on how the pandemic had put many more responsibilities on the oldest child in families. The Associated Press and other news organizations picked up her story.
Posted inBaltimore News
Baltimore City leaders announce schedule for 2025 festivals with Artscape slotted for May
Baltimore City has announced a new festival schedule for 2025, with Artscape moving to May, AFRAM on June 21 and June 22, the Baltimore Caribbean Festival on July 12 and July 13, and Charm City Live on Sept. 20, while the Baltimore Advisory Committee on Caribbean Affairs has been created to advise the Mayor’s office, Baltimore City Council and all city agencies on the needs of the local Caribbean community.
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Local community organizations receive $10 million to assist students with school commute
The Center for Nonprofit Advancement, Collaborative Solutions for Communities, Georgia Avenue Family Support Collaborative and National Association for the Advancement of Returning Citizens have received $10 million to support D.C. youth as they travel to and from school through the Safe Passage, Safe Blocks program.
Posted inBaltimore News
Meet LaVonda N. Reed, the first woman dean for University of Baltimore’s School of Law
LaVonda N. Reed, the first woman dean of the University of Baltimore’s School of Law, is focusing on student success, raising the profile of faculty, and engaging Baltimore’s underserved communities in her new role.
Posted inPOLITICS
Lives in limbo: Immigrants grapple with uncertain future post 2024 election
Black immigrants in the U.S. are concerned about the incoming President’s anti-immigration rhetoric, as they fear deportation, loss of TPS status, and a lack of language access in the Democratic Party’s campaign efforts.
Posted inBaltimore Government
Members of 74th Baltimore City Council sworn in as new president takes the reins
The Baltimore City Council was sworn in at the Baltimore War Memorial on Dec. 5, with Zeke Cohen as the new City Council President, who pledged to work together to address trauma, public safety, climate change, the opioid crisis and education disparities.
Posted inBaltimore News
Proposed legislation could limit non-safety related traffic stops
Maryland’s Office of the Public Defender is proposing a new policy to enhance safety during traffic stops, which would treat non-safety related offenses as secondary violations, in an effort to reduce racial disparities in policing.
Posted inPrince George's County News
Senator-elect Angela Alsobrooks resigns as Prince George’s county executive
Angela Alsobrooks has resigned from her position as county executive of Prince George’s County, MD, to prepare for her role as Maryland’s first Black woman senator, while Tara H. Jackson steps in as acting county executive.
Posted inBUSINESS
Business Over Breakfast: Addressing Maryland’s procurement landscape for minority and veteran businesses
The Maryland Black Caucus Foundation hosted its 29th annual Legislative Weekend to discuss top issues for state lawmakers, including increasing minority, veteran and women business participation in the state’s procurement and contracting ecosystem.
Posted inBUSINESS
Baltimore Together Summit highlights opportunities for young entrepreneurs and capital access for small business owners
The Baltimore Together Summit featured 10 break-out sessions on community revitalization, workforce development, youth entrepreneurship, and support for local small businesses, with a focus on the need for young entrepreneurs to have a “why” behind their business and the importance of capital access for Black business owners.
Posted inNational News
Outrage grows over Nordstrom employee’s death as family alleges negligence
Felicia Lee Ray-Jenkins, a Nordstrom employee, died at a California distribution center on Nov. 7 after her co-workers and supervisors allegedly left her lying on the ground without administering any life-saving measures.
Posted inBaltimore Community
Local entrepreneurs to bring popular flea market to Coppin State University
Brianne Mobley is hosting Blk Ass Friday on Nov. 29 at Coppin State University’s College of Business, featuring 50 Black-owned businesses, in an effort to encourage the circulation of the Black dollar in the community.