@councilmanmosby

Councilman Nick J. Mosby

Councilman Nick J. Mosby

City Services: 3116 a.m.-10 p.m. Every DayAbandoned vehicles, alley repairs, footway repairs, animal control, rats, BGE emergency, Board of Elections, bulk trash, forestry (tree trimming), street lights, potholes, housing complaints, transportation, graffiti removal, snow removal, recycling, storm drain problems, and other city services.

Social Services: 211 Emergency: 911 Sexual Assault/DomesticFirst Call for Help Violence Hotline: www.211md.org 443.279.0379

LEGAL PROBLEMS & SERVICESConsumer Protection Legal Aid for Elderly Better Business Bureau 410.528.8662 410.396.1322 410.347.3990

Legal Aid Community Law Center State’s Attorney Office410.539.5340 410.366.0922 410.396.4001

EMPLOYMENTCity Employment Mayor’s Office of Unemployment410.396.3879 or Employment Development 410.767.2116 410.396.3860 410.396.1910

TAXES & BILLSProperty Tax Bills Income Tax, State Income Tax, Federal410.396.3987 410.260.2980 1.800.543.9809

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SENIORSCommission on Aging Senior Assisted Housing Eating Together ProgramAnd Retirement 410.396.4932 410.664.0700 410.396.4932

HEALTHHealth Department AIDS Hotline Medical Assistance410.396.4398 1.800.232.4636 1.800.456.8900 410.396.4448

Adolescent Pregnancy Medicare Poison Control Program 1.800.456.8900 1.800.222.1222 410.767.4160

HOUSINGLandlord/Tenant Relations Complaints (inspection) Housing Authority410.243.6007 410.396.4170 410.396.3237

Homeless Services 410.396.3757

COURTSDistrict Courts Juvenile Court Clerk Rent Court (Rent Escrow)410.878.8000 410.263.6310 410.878.8640

Housing Court 410.878.8940

ADDICTIONS, ALCOHOL & DRUGSBaltimore Substance Alcoholics Anonymous Drug Abuse CounselingAbuse System 410.663.1922 410.637.1900 410.637.1900 Alcohol Treatment 410.637.1900

LICENSES & PERMITSBirth and Death Certificates Permit Office Right of Way Permits410.764.3038 410.396.3360 410.396.4508

Marriage License 410.333.3780

TRANSPORTATIONMTA Parking Authority (Garages) Traffic Ticket Information1.800.543.9809 443.573.2800 1.800.492.2656

Department Parking Ticketsof Transportation 410.545.6942410.396.6802

BENEFITSSocial Security Veterans Energy Assistance Program1.800.772.1213 1.800.827.1000 1.800.352.1446

Public Assistance Emergency 443.423.6300

M a p s &Resources

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PublisherCouncilman Nick J. Mosby

Editor-in-ChiefCandance L. Greene

ContributorsEli Lopatin

Lauren Schiszik

Special ContributorsHistorical and Architectural

Preservation Division

Historical and Preservation and Interpretation Baltimore National

Heritage Area

The Frederick Douglass Alumni Association

The Reginald Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History &

Culture

PhotographyCarde Cornish

Eli Lopatin

Copy EditorHarbinger Communications

Art DirectionChris Thomas, PeculiarGFX.com

The SEVENth District Magazine is a Baltimore City 7th

District quarterly publication. To receive a copy of the SEVENth District Magazine, request writers

guidelines, or to send letters to the Editor,

Email: Candance.Greene@baltimorecity.gov

Or send mail to: The SEVENth District Magazine

Office of Councilman Nick J. MosbyBaltimore City Council, District 7100 N. Holliday Street, Room 513

Baltimore, MD 21202

© 2013 All rights reserved.All articles, except those identified as having

their own authors, are property of The SEVENth District Magazine and cannot be reproduced

without written permission.

Greetings,One year has passed since we launched The SEVENth District Magazine and I am excited about what this issue has to offer. The spring edition features one of the most prestigious schools in the country, Frederick Douglass High School, which celebrates its 130th Anniversary this year. My office has had a wonderful experience working with Principal Antonio Hurt, Frederick Douglass Alumni and the City Planner Historical and Architectural Preservation Division to establish both the current location of the high school on Gwynns Falls, as well as the location of the original school on Calhoun and Baker Streets, as historical landmarks (page 5).

This issue also features Loring Cornish, an amazing artist in our District (page 12); Elder C.W. Harris and his Newborn Community of Faith Church parishioners’ venture into urban farming in Sandtown-Winchester (page 14); the Charm City Roller Girls Roller Derby League (page 10); a recap of City Year (page 19); and a special letter from Baltimore City Police Department Commissioner Anthony Batts, who wants to speak directly to our readers about what his plans are to curb violence in our District (page 16).

I am also excited about the upcoming spring and summer. We have many initiatives, not only specifically targeting our youth, but also ones that will inform and engage our District about environmental issues that we can address as a community.

I look forward to this next quarter to be even more rewarding than the last, and I hope we will continue to build a special partnership that we have established between my office and the organizations, community associations, and the great people that live in the District. Without YOU, there is no US. Dr. Ben Carson, the re known surgeon from Johns Hopkins Hospital, said it best: “It does not matter where we come from or what we look like. If we recognize our abilities, our willingness to learn and to use what we know in helping others, we will always have a place in the world.”

Let’s continue to re-build and re-create our place, the 7th District, together!

Sincerely,

Nick J. MosbyCouncilman, District No. 7

@councilmanmosby

Councilman Nick J. Mosby

Councilman Nick J. Mosby

www.issuu.com/SEVENthmag

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FEATURES

11 Changing the Educational World with City Year

12 A Charmed Life: An Insider the Charm City Roller Girls

16 Pieces of a Dream: A Conversation with Loring Cornish

18 Strength to Love Farm

IN EVERY ISSUE

02 7th District Resources

03 The Councilman’s Corner

19 One Piece Recap

7th District Spotlight

05 The Historic Frederick Douglass High School

14 A Letter from Baltimore City Police Commissioner Batts

Table of ContentsI s s u e 4 • S p r i n g 2 0 1 3

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Mighty men and women walked the halls of school #450, and they knew they were great because they were students at the first school in Baltimore built specifically to educate African American students.

The Frederick Douglass High School was first established in 1883 on Holliday Street as the Grammar School for Colored Children where high school courses were offered to 15 youth. In 1889, those talented teens became the first

graduating class, and the school received a city ordinance designating it The Colored High School. The Colored High School relocated twice, once to Saratoga Street and again at the turn of the century to the corner of Dolphin Street and Pennsylvania Avenue where it took on the dual responsibility of teaching a high school curriculum and training African Americans teachers. The teaching branch of the school separated and became the Fanny Jackson

Coppin Normal School, known today as Coppin State University.

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It was not until the 1920’s that The Colored School, constructed by architectures Benjamin Owens and Spencer Sisco of Owens & Sisco Architects, adopted its new name and prestigious facility located on the corner of Calhoun and Baker Streets. The Late Gothic Revival architecture was grand and the ornate structures were unprecedented. Equipped with a space for 40 classrooms, five science labs, a home economics unit, library, music room, two gyms, a health suit, an auditorium that seated 1,600, and a new name, Frederick Douglass High School became the first accredited African American high school in Maryland.

The Legacy of Frederick Douglass High SchoolFrom its inception to 1940, Frederick Douglass High School was the only high school from which African American students could graduate. Because Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, located in east Baltimore, did not graduate students until 1940, their students traveled to the west side to attend

Douglass, but they were not the only ones. Young people traveled from as far as Ellicott City, MD to receive an education from the place many called the “public private high school”.

Talk to any of the Frederick Douglass alum and they will tell you that they were taught by some of the most accomplished scientists, doctors, theologians,

actors, musicians, and artists in the country. And the pedigree of students that attended the school was unprecedented. Before they were world-renown jazz musicians, local clergy electrifying their congregations, civil rights activists and elected officials whose work locally laid the foundation for national change, lawyers and a Supreme Court Justice, they were Douglass students.

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Distinguished Alumni Judge Milton AllenClerance W. BlountMaurice BriceAnne W. BrownJudge Benjamin BrownCab CallowayRev. Author CamperJudge Harry ColeRalph C. CookRev. Vernon DobsonDru HillEthel EnnisLeonard GibsonErnest Everett GoodmanWilliam “Box” HarrisLille Mae Carroll JacksonBill KennySupreme Court Justice Thur-good MarshallBertram MeredithKweisi MfumeJuanita Jackson MillerClarence Mitchell, Sr.Congressman Perrin MitchellMargaret “Peggy” MurphyHoward Pete RawlingsBishop L. RobinsonAttorney George L. RussellDr. Elijah SaundersJudge Robert WattsChick WebbR. Llewellyn Wilson

Integration1954 was a pivotal year for the country, especially for African Americans at Douglass. That year, a well-accomplished lawyer, and Douglass alum, by the name of Thurgood Marshall won the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, KS court case that ruled that state laws establishing “separate but equal” public schools for black and white students were unconstitutional. This case was a monumental win for the Civil Rights Movement and paved the way for integration. That same year, Douglass students left their prestigious facility on Calhoun Street and moved into their current location on Gwynns Falls Parkway that previously housed students of Western High School, the oldest public all-girls school in the country.

Integration brought with it advantages and disadvantages. New opportunities allowed many African Americans to move into other neighborhoods and enroll their children into schools that once denied them entry. Talented faculty, staff and students that once worked and attended school at Douglass were now spread across the city and county. Without the presence of upper and middle-class African Americans, business owners, churches and organizations, poverty increased and neighborhoods declined. Frederick Douglass High School was not immune to the social ills that plagued the neighborhoods surrounding the school. This was chronicled in the now infamous documentary Hard Times at Douglass High, released in 2008. But the school persevered with the help of a very vocal and active alumni association that worked diligently to save the school from closure.

New Life for Frederick Douglass High SchoolIn 2011, Frederick Douglass High School began a search for a new principal. They found Dr. Antonio Hurt. Since his arrival, school attendance, achievement and test scores have increased. The school has been the recipient of several grants and a refurbishment of the building and grounds. With the help of Councilman Nick J. Mosby and the Historical and Architectural Preservation Division, both the Calhoun Street and Gwynns Falls locations have been designated historical landmarks.

This year, Frederick Douglass High School celebrates their 130th Anniversary, and continues to work diligently to carry on the tradition paved by generations past with pride, dignity and excellence.

For more information about Frederick Douglass High School and their 130th Anniversary celebrations, visit the Alumni website at http://fdhsaa.net.

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The Historic Douglass High School on N. Calhoun at Baker and Carey Streets in West Baltimore fostered greatness. Thurgood Marshall, Lillie Mae Carroll Jackson, Cab Calloway, and countless other leaders in law, civil rights, entertainment, and more attended high school in this building that was constructed in 1925. The school’s legacy began decades earlier when high school curriculum was added to the coursework of the Grammar School for African American children in 1883, making it the first high school for African Americans in Baltimore City and the state of Maryland. Renamed “Frederick Douglass Senior High School” in 1923, it was the only high school for African American students in Baltimore City and Baltimore County until 1935. Before 1938, when East Baltimore’s Paul Laurence Dunbar High School began graduating students, and 1954 when schools were desegregated, Douglass was the only school in Baltimore from which African American students could graduate. Douglass High School moved in 1954 to the former Western High School building at 2301 Gwynns Falls Parkway, which has been its home for over 60 years. This building was constructed for Western High School in 1926-1927 as the fifth location for the girl’s school. It is the oldest existing high school for girls in the United States. Douglass High School on Gwynns Falls Parkway has played an important role in the histories of both of these ground-breaking high schools, and in the history of Baltimore’s school desegregation. This campus has

also had its share of distinguished alumni. This year, the alumni and students of Frederick Douglass High School will celebrate their 130th anniversary. There will also be another cause for celebration. In honor of Douglass’ anniversary, Councilman Nick J. Mosby is sponsoring two City Council bills that will designate both the N. Calhoun and the Gwynns Falls locations as Baltimore City Landmarks. The designation of these two buildings honors the importance of these sites in Baltimore’s history, fosters pride in the school’s legacy, and preserves these buildings for future generations. Our past informs our future, and landmark designation will ensure that Douglass’ legacy will continue to inspire Baltimore’s youth to achieve greatness.

Lauren Schiszik is a City Planner in the Historical and Architectural Preservation Division of the Baltimore City Department of Planning. She has a BA in Sociology/Anthropology

from Earlham College, and a Masters in Historic Preservation from the University of Maryland, College Park. She lives in Baltimore.

by Lauren Schiszik

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“Good morning students. It’s time for today’s announcements.” That voice you hear over the school intercom is that of Dr. Antonio Hurt. Walk into his school, Frederick Douglass High School, and you will most likely notice two things: order and cohesiveness. Principal Hurt sits at the helm of what has to be the most phenomenal come back stories in educational history: a school with a rich legacy nearly torn asunder by integration, the decimation of an urban community, drugs and gangs. Upon his arrival, he would have to fight this stigma, intensified by an HBO documentary, to reconnect this school with its rich history.

Dr. Hurt, a native of Milledgeville, GA., always knew he was called to be a high principal, and he dove into his undergraduate career seeking to do just that. He graduated from Georgia College & State University in his hometown with a degree in middle grades education. While teaching middle school, Dr. Hurt went back to school, received master and doctoral degrees, and then became a middle school assistant principal. Two years later, he was tapped by the Georgia Public School System to become a high school assistant principal. He held that position for nine months before becoming a high school principal of a school with

1,800 students. Dr. Hurt soon left the world of education for that of the private sector in 2005. Though he was successful there, he was not fulfilled, mainly because he was not following his calling. “My journey back to education was through prayer and fasting,” says Principal Hurt. “I wanted to go back to the world of education to a school that was in transition, the needed me as much as I needed the school.”

He interviewed with urban school systems around the country, but everywhere he went, he kept hearing about Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore, MD. After much prayer and discussions with his wife he applied. The day of his interview, Dr.Hurt walked into the foyer of Douglass and saw the mural of the history of African Americans and knew this school was the place he was supposed to be.

Since his arrival in the summer of 2011, Frederick Douglass High School has seen miraculous growth. Gone are the days documented in the now infamous HBO documentary “Hard Times at Douglass High”. In its place are rising test scores, two great academies—The Academy of Innovation that houses the Recording Arts, Media and Production Program (RAMP) headed by Teacher of the Year finalist Dr. Lynn M. Patterson, and the Cab Calloway

Institute of Music and Fine Arts; and the Academy of Global Leadership and Public Policy that houses the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and Street Law program that will open a state of the art moot courtroom in May—and early college program, a 21st century learning community, night school programs, and more rebuilt on the backs of a willing administration, faculty, staff, parents and students. In fact, the school is making such strides that Deb Delisle, Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education visited and was inspired by what she saw saying, “It’s so great to come to a school where people truly care about students, set high standards and believe in their kids.”

Dr. Antonion Hurt, faculty and staff of Frederick Douglass are determined to make the school the place for youth to gain the best education in Baltimore City, as it was during the early 20th Century. “This transition is all about relationship,” says Dr. Hurt, whom you will always find walking halls ensuring everyone is where they need to be. “I know these kids because they are me. I know what failure looks and feels like, but I also know success, and so will they.”

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In January, Councilman Mosby announced his first city-wide African American History Month Poetry Contest for middle and high school poets. Youth were asked to write about either an African American that means the most to them, an event in African American history that means the most to them, or a conversation between them and a historical African American figure.

On March 4, 2013, Councilman Mosby announced the winners at their schools. The 3rd place winner of was Jasmine LaPrade. The National Academy Foundation 6th grader was chosen for her poem “A World Without Black Inventors”. 1st and 2nd place winners were both students from Carver Vocational Technical High School. Khalil Day’s poem “Leon Day”, about the Negro Leagues pitcher, earned him 2nd place. The first place winner of the African American History Month Poetry Contest was 11th grader Mercedez Quarles. Her poem “Hail to Leon Day” earned her 1st place in the contest, as well as an opportunity to shadow Councilman Mosby at City Hall.

Poetry ContestWinners

Hail to Leon Dayby Mecedez Quarles

He lifts up his left foot, then he puts it back down.The ball flew 90mph. Not a hit. Not a sound.

With speed fast as a cheetah, you’d barely see his leg come to the ground.

Only brown and sandy dirt flew from the pitcher’s mound.

He was fast. He was quick,“Hey Batter Batter Swing”!

He was Mike Tyson, on that dirt field—he owned that ring.

When he stepped on the mound, it was over—the fat lady sings.

Batters were like microwaved food, in 3 seconds they would ding.

After a decade, after his time, he’s still of importance today.

He showed, if you want it, just strive hard—you’ll make it all the way.

And in his memory, a field was made where future ball players play.

Name after one of the greatest Black Baseball players,

Hats off to Leon Day.

At 5:30 a.m. on a brisk spring morning, a couple dozen area Baltimore City principals, school administrators, and staff joined me on a bus headed for New York City. This journey was a significant step to attain a goal that I sought to achieve right after I was sworn into the Baltimore City Council: to bring City Year to Baltimore and to provide the Baltimore school delegation an onsite tour of City Year which is actively deployed in 24 cities with similar educational struggles and opportunities for improvements as Baltimore City. The principals, administrators and staff joined me as part of an exploratory phase to analyze the viability of deploying City Year in Baltimore.The main goal and mission of City Year is to effectively decrease the number of American high school dropouts by strategically placing energetic and well-trained future leaders in some of the countries toughest school districts. These

young adults, that range in ages from 17–24, commit to a year of service to better their communities and protect the educational trajectories of our nation’s youth. The City Year members come from varied walks of life and socio-economic backgrounds but all have common leadership characteristics and goals.City Year’s key methodology is based on research and analysis that was cooked up in our backyard at Johns Hopkins University by nationally renowned educational advocate, Dr. Robert Balfanz. His research indicates that you can identify youth who are at risk of dropping out of school as early as the third grade based on three core components: 1) School attendance; 2) Behavior; and 3) Core curriculum achievement. Over the past decade the nation has made tremendous strides in reducing the overall dropout rate and Baltimore has seen exceptional gains as well. However, the country still struggles to make progress

with chronically impacted schools, known as Dropout Factories. These schools graduate 60 percent or fewer of their incoming 9th graders four years later and contribute for more than half of the one million students who dropout each year. The ability to further create opportunities for our youth is imperative and driven through innovation solutions such as City Year. New York City has 20 City Year sites and on this day, the Baltimore delegation toured their affiliate office and two transformational schools in Queens, New York. Led by City Year members, we were provided an opportunity to learn about their typical 12-hour days and provided opportunities for them to see the program at work. The team left New York with a high level of enthusiasm and desire to bring City Year to Baltimore.More information regarding City Year can be found at www.cityyear.org and you can follow City Year on twitter @CityYear

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By day they are nurses, lawyers, teachers, and artists. By night, they don colorful facepaint, helmets, fishnet stockings and kneepads to represent the Charm City Roller Girls (CCRG) Roller Derby League on hometown squads called the Junkyard Dolls, Mobtown Mods, Night Terrors and Speed Regime. With names like Brawltimore Hon, Trixy Von Doom, Lady Quebeaum and Uvetta Work, you would assume that they bring the noise AND the pain…and they do. Established in 2005 by a handful of women that met at a skating rink two nights a week, CCRG is now over 80 members strong. Made up of women from Baltimore, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, DC., CCRG is quickly becoming one of the country’s premiere Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) leagues.

A Little HistoryRoller derby was first seen in the early 20th Century in the form of Transcontinental Roller Derby. Created by Leo Seltzer, Transcontinental Roller Derby was a traveling marathon skating sport where during the 30-day competition participants sometimes skated over 4,000 miles. Over the decades, the length of Transcontinental Roller Derby was shortened, and evolved to become a wildly popular televised spectator sport.

Roller derby reemerged as a contact sport for women in the early part of the 21st Century. In 2004, the

governing body of the WFTDA was formed. The organization consists of two leagues—the Member League, of which CCRG ranks 12th, is made up of 176 established national and international leagues; and the Apprentice League, which was created as a support to build full-member leagues. WFTD Member leagues compete regionally and are ranked. Those ranked 1-40 are placed in Division 1, while those ranked 41-60 are placed in Division 2. These bouts lead to regional playoffs, and then the final championship tournament. This year’s tournament takes place in Milwaukee, WI in November.

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Becoming a Charm City Roller GirlSEVEN caught up with the ladies of CCRG the evening of their Boot Camp informational session. One on side of the Dundalk skating rink were the newbies. They read over the paperwork handed to them with nervous anticipation. In the rink were the ladies of CCRG, dressed in shorts and fishnets, elbow pads and helmets skating practice routs. “This is one of the biggest interest groups we’ve seen,” says Mindy Goldman, known as “Ellie Vation” in the rink and CCRG’s marketing guru in the real world.

The Charm City Roller Girls’ Tryout Bootcamp is a 10-week process that the organizers take very seriously. Once the potential CCRG women sign on, they are expected to participate in four two to three- hour practices each week. A successful pass on three exams leads to home team tryouts to become official Charm City Roller Girls, but it doesn’t stop there. The best home team players, veteran and new, also have the opportunity to join Female Trouble or the All Stars, CCRG teams that compete across the country against other leagues.

Being a CCRG woman is serious business. Not only do they play together, they also do everything else for the league including marketing, sales, greeting fans at the door, interfacing with the public and building and breaking down the track for the bouts. Their “all hands on deck” philosophy helps to build rapport and to create a family.

The BoutsFor those of you that may not know, roller derby is not just a delightful jaunt around the roller skating rink. It is a full-bodied contact sport played by two five-member teams. The object of the game is for a jammer from each team to score points by lapping players on the opposing team. Those opposing teammates, the blockers, are tasked with trying to stop the jammer from passing them all while working to allow their own jammer to do the lapping. Sound simple? It’s not.

SEVEN had a chance to see a CCRG bout live during the hometeam playoffs in February. That night, the Junkyard Dolls defended their opening bout win against Speed Regime, and the Mobtown Mods bouted against the Night Terrors. The double-header brought out a raucous crowd that knew the game, and their favorite players, well. One thing was very clear: playing this game requires skill, agility, intuitiveness, patience and strength to block with restraint to avoid maiming. It takes finesse, passion, and a love for a sport that deserves to be the next BIG thing.

Think you’re ready for a roller derby bout? Head to CCR’s Interleague doubleheader as the Charm City All Stars and Female Trouble play the Columbia Quad Squad and the Quad Squad B-Unit on Saturday, May 11th at the Clarence “Du” Burns Arena, 1301 S. Ellwood Avenue. Doors open at 5:30 pm. Find out more about CCRG at www.charmcityrollergirls.com.

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Loring Cornish is a product of West Baltimore. He grew up near Druid Hill Park before heading to California to pursue an acting career. While in the Golden State, he was a radio announcer and acted on various television programs (including a stint on “The Price is Right” where he won a huge gas grill) and movies. One day while waiting on a movie set to shoot his scenes, Cornish came to a realization: he wanted to spend more of his time worshipping God. That marked the end of his acting career.

Becoming an ArtistMonths later, Cornish found himself trusting God for food and shelter. “I went through phases of having and not having, and also trusting God to provide for me beyond a paycheck.” God soon led him to visit Paul, a friend and artist that was dying of AIDS. At that time, the disease was taboo, so most family and friends had abandoned Paul, but not Loring

Cornish. He spent months praying while nursing him back to health before Paul entered a program at UCLA that helped to reverse the symptoms.

It was during that time that Loring Cornish was introduced to mosaic art. From what they thought was his deathbed, Paul taught Cornish how to put nondescript things—pieces of glass, coke bottle tops, fabric, buttons that had long since fallen off of shirts—together to make art. “I thought I was there to help Paul regain his life,” says Cornish, “but instead God used him to put life back into me.”

Soon, Cornish rented a home that needed to be refurbished. Inside that house, he started doing what Paul had taught him, and he was unstoppable. The artwork he produced in that rented home, walls covered with pennies, crosses in the ceiling,

fabrics, buttons, shards of glass on the floorboards, was everywhere, and was so amazing that the house became one of the top twelve features in California.

Unfortunately, the artwork wasn’t bringing in the money Cornish needed to pay rent. One day, when he had received a substantial amount of money, he headed over to his landlord to pay rent only to have the landlord tell him that he was about to be evicted. When the sheriff arrived, he and the landlord opened the door and were astonished at what they saw. Cornish prayed and asked what he needed to do. God told him to “take three pieces of art and leave”. He grabbed his art and headed home to Baltimore.

Home and Back AgainWhen Cornish returned to Baltimore, he immediately started looking for work, but all he wanted to do was

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create art. He rented a small garage on Greenmount Avenue and worked on his mosaics. After three months, he knew he had to do something. He prayed and God told him to “call California”. After weeks of agonizing about calling the place where he’d left his life’s work, he picked up the phone and called Paul to call Marilyn Downey. He did and what he learned changed his life.

The day after Cornish left California for Baltimore, his landlord called workers to remove the artwork he had created. Marilyn Downey, a new neighbor living across the street, saw the artwork and then purchased the house from the landlord. For months, she repaired the artwork the workers had removed, and she also began searching for Cornish. Articles about him appeared on the front page of the Los Angeles Times, and people came in droves to see the house of art he created. After hearing this news, he packed up his art and drove back to California. Upon his arrival, Downey handed him the keys to the house and he stayed for two years.

When Cornish left California for good, he purchased a home in Baltimore not too far from his parents’ house, and began creating more art. His home in Los Angeles was just a precursor to what he has created since returning home. Drive to either the 2700 block of Parkwood Avenue or to 1622 Thames Street and you will see his homes, and gallery, bedazzled with a spectacular array of multi-colored mosaics that will literally stop you in your tracks. As with his home in California, his houses on Parkwood are covered from ceiling to floor, to bathroom, with artwork, but that’s not the only art Cornish is creating.

His work has been exhibited at the American Visionary Art Museum, the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, Morgan State University, The Jewish Museum of Maryland, The Museum of Arts & Design and the Harlem Fine Arts Show in New York. Last year, he also released the exhibit “In Each Other’s Shoes”. This exhibition is a fusion of the lives, experiences and struggles of African Americans and Jewish Americans. It is a show that depicts the “struggles of blacks and Jews over the years,” says Cornish. “A combination that touches you in a variety of ways, to bring about joy and pain, to help you experience life from the other’s shoes.”

We are blessed by Loring Cornish’s work, one that brings us closer to the understanding of how God can use the smallest items to make the largest masterpiece.

For more information about Loring Cornish and his artwork, visit his website at www.loringcornish.com.

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An urban farm might seem an unlikely sight in West Baltimore, but Elder C.W. Harris, the pastor and founder of the Newborn Community of Faith Church on Pennsylvania Avenue, hopes to change that. One of the church’s ministries, Strength to Love II, has installed a large hoop-house, a greenhouse made from metal hoops and plastic, on vacant land in Sandtown-Winchester. Inside is over 3,000 heads of organic romaine lettuce and four different varieties of kale.

Elder Harris worked with the Baltimore City Office of Sustainability to obtain land on the 1800 block of Lorman Street, between Fulton Avenue and Monroe Street. He also partnered with Big City Farms, a Baltimore based farm that provides training and assistance to build Baltimore’s farm network. The land on Lorman Street is large enough to hold three “crop-squares”, or groups of six hoop-houses. Each of these crop-squares will support two full-time employees. Currently, Strength to Love II Ministry is seeking funding to install the hoop-houses, as well as the additional crop-squares on the land they have acquired on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Strength to Love II is not focused exclusively on farming; it also includes landscaping and auto-mechanic services. The ministry provides jobs and skills training for those Elder Harris terms “returned citizens”, ex-offenders who are often overlooked by employers or lack the skills needed to find employment. The inclusion of farming seemed obvious to Harris, who says many of his neighbors had their own henhouses when he was growing up in Sandtown in the 1950’s and 60’s. “If this works,” says Harris, “we hope to expand to have tilapia and chickens.”

In 2012, Will Long, one of the returned citizens involved with Strength to Love II, trained as an intern with Big City Farms. Previously, he held various jobs and had many opportunities, but squandered them when he was incarcerated on drug charges in 2001. When he was released in 2003, Long says he never wanted to go back. “I’m done with that,” Long said. He became involved with Elder Harris’s church in 2008 and began working with Strength to Love II’s landscaping business. When the first hoop-house was installed on

Lorman Street last November, Long became the chief farmer there.

Long still works occasionally with the landscaping, but he is in the hoop-house for close to three hours every day. When additional hoop-houses are installed, Long’s hours will increase to provide him with what Harris says will be a living wage. Though he was never previously involved with farming, he says he hopes he will be doing it for a long time. “I love seeing what I have planted grow,” he said. “And I love being out in the community.”

Big City Farms is currently distributing the produce to area restaurants and stores, but eventually a market stand will be posted on Lorman Street. Long said he feels this is important because many of the neighborhood residents do not have access to healthy food.

If you are interested in participating in the Strength to Love II farming efforts, or in learning more, contact him by stopping by at the Harris Marcus Center at 1947 Pennsylvania Avenue, or calling 410-728-1350.

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We are excited about the growth and development of the One Piece Campaign. Launching in June 2012, One Piece was created specifically as a communal effort to target Baltimore’s litter issue, “one piece at a time”. Ten people picking up one piece a trash a day for one year leads to 365,000 pieces of trash off Baltimore City streets and out of our waterways. Since its inception, One Piece has gotten close to 1,000 people to take the One Piece pledge, and over a dozen One Piece Ambassadors to help spread the word about One Piece in the community.

One Piece ExpansionIf you have family and friends in Federal Hill, tell them that One Piece has arrived! In March, the Federal Hill community joined the One Piece Nation. Ms. Gayle McClure, coordinator of One Piece South Baltimore, said that the Federal Hill neighborhood wanted to bring a campaign to the community that would address the systemic issue

of littering in South Baltimore. Her councilman, William Cole, suggested One Piece, and, with the help of our One Piece coordinator Eli Lopatin and Councilman Nick Mosby, Federal Hill became the first offshoot of the One Piece Campaign. In addition to clean up efforts, One Piece South Baltimore plans to focus primarily on litter awareness. “We have identified audiences—elementary and high school aged youth, homeowners, dog owners, restaurants, bars and patrons—who can become active partners in not only keeping our neighborhood clean, but also helping people understand why doing so is important” says McClure. If you are interested in bringing One Piece to your neighborhood, contact Candance L. Greene at Candance.Greene@BaltimoreCity.gov.

Trash MobIn March, Councilman Mosby and George Peters, founder of Zero Litter Initiative, collaborated with community members, youth and

volunteers to host a “Trash Mob”. The “mob” met at 1917 Ridgehill Avenue in West Baltimore to clear the lot that had been used as a dumping ground. Zero Litter’s George Peters originated the trash mob concept where he calls for concerned citizens to meet him at a specific location and spend 30 minutes of their day clearing the area of trash. Councilman Mosby thought adding the Harlem Shake to the clean-up would be a great way to bring attention to both the trash issue and both anti-litter initiatives.

Green Week/EcoFest Clean-upSaturday, April 27, 2013, join One Piece and Zero Litter for our Green Week Clean-Up of Druid Hill Park. Our One Piece volunteers will meet at the Rawlings Conservatory at 10:30 a.m. and will clean until 12 p.m., ending in time before the 10th Annual EcoFest activities begin. Contact Candance L. Greene either via email at Candance.Greene@Baltimorecity.gov or by phone at 410.396.4810 for more details.

ONE PIECERECAP

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