NOVEMBER 15, 2017 VOL.1 ISS.1 BALTIMOREBEAT.

COM

After the Ceasefire

Lisa Snowden-McCray talks
to Erricka Bridgeford
Photos by Devin Allen
 THIS WEEKS SHOWS
NOVEMBER DECEMBER (cont.)
Lincoln Theatre 1215 U Street, NW Washington, D.C.
ALL GOOD PRESENTS
The Lone Bellow w/ Up and Vanished Live Sa NOV 11
The Wild Reeds ................................................... JUST ANNOUNCED!
Yonder Mountain String Band This is a seated show. .....................M 18

ALL GOOD PRESENTS
w/ The Last Revel........................F 17
Mipso The Brothers Comatose STEEZ
Strike Anywhere &
Hippo Campus
City of Caterpillarw/ Remo Drive ........................................................................ M 13
w/ Battery Worriers Big Hush . Th 21
The Pietasters w/ Bumpin Uglies
& The Players Band ......................F 24
ALL GOOD PRESENTS
Keller Williams
Thanksforgrassgiving feat.
Larry & Jenny Keel, Jeremy Garrett,
Danny Barnes, Jay Starling .....Sa 25
Cut Copy w/ Palmbomen II........W 29
Deer Tick w/ Nore Davis ..........Tu 30
DECEMBER
Priests
w/ Blacks Myths & Mellow Diamond . F 1
Reverend Horton Heat
w/ Big Sandy Dale Watson
The Blasters...................................Su 3
Jungle ..........................................M 4
TEEV PRESENTS
Hadag Nahash with
special guest Hanan Ben Ari ...W 6
NEW MEDIA TOURING PRESENTS
Matt Bellassai
This is a seated show. ......................Th 7
No Scrubs: 90s Dance Party
with DJs Will Eastman
and Brian Billion .........................F 8
Gary Numan w/ Me Not You
Early Show! 6pm Doors ....................Sa 9
STEEZ PROMO PRESENTS
Bear Grillz w/ Phase One
Dirt Monkey Kompany
Late Show! 10pm Doors.. ..................Sa 9
Mogwai w/ Xander Harris ........Su 10
AN EVENING WITH
Hiss Golden Messenger .....M 11
The White Buffalo
w/ Suzanne Santo ........................W 13
D NIGHT ADDED!
FIRST NIGHT SOLD OUT! SECON
Angel Olsen w/ White Magic.....F 15
ALL GOOD PRESENTS
Victor Wooten Trio
feat. Dennis Chambers &
Bob Franceschini ...................Sa 16
Municipal Waste
w/ NAILS Macabre Shitfucker .Su 17
Rob Bell
The Lil PROMO PRESENTS
Smokies .................... Su 12
Ookay .........................................F 22 w/ Peter Rollins ................................................... MARCH 27
OTHERFEELS PRESENTS NEXT UP II FEAT.
Tony Kill Echelon The Seeker
THE WEST WING WEEKLY (LIVE) .... APRIL 16
OG Lullabies Dawkins On Sale Friday, November 17 at 10am
FootsXColes Sugg Savage .Sa 23
U STREET MUSIC HALL PRESENTS THIS FRIDAY!
Flosstradamus .....................Th 28 AN EVENING WITH Henry Rollins -
Puddles Pity Party....................NOV 17 Travel Slideshow .......................... JAN 15
SPEND NEW YEARS EVE WITH
Majid Jordan ................................ JAN 23
SPOON w/ White Reaper THIS SATURDAY!
ALL GOOD PRESENTS ALL GOOD PRESENTS
Complimentary Champagne Toast
at Midnight! ............................ Su DEC 31 The Mavericks ...........................NOV 18 The Wood Brothers
MURRAY & PETER PRESENT w/ The Stray Birds ........................... JAN 26
A Drag Queen Christmas .......NOV 26 Dixie Dregs
JANUARY
Yann Tiersen.................................. DEC 5 (Complete Original Lineup
The Dead Milkmen AN EVENING WITH
with Steve Morse, Rod Morgenstein,
w/ Mindless Faith ...........................F 5 Allen Sloan, Andy West,
David Rawlings ............................DEC 6 and Steve Davidowski) ..................MAR 7
Boat Burning: Robert Earl Keens AEG PRESENTS
Music for 100 Guitars Merry Christmas Bianca Del Rio ........................... MAR 15
w/ Visuals by DC guerrilla From The Fam-O-Lee Show.........DEC 7
projectionist Robin Bell .............Su 7 AN ACOUSTIC EVENING WITH Lucius (Acoustic)
Kip Moore, Randy Rogers, w/ Ethan Gruska (Solo) ..................... MAR 23
The Wombats
w/ Blaenavon & Courtship.............M 8 and Wade Bowen...................... DEC 13 Max Raabe
Cracker and NEW YEARS EVE AT LINCOLN THEATRE! & Palast Orchester...................APR 11
Camper Van Beethoven ....Th 11 White Ford Bronco:
DCs All 90s Band..................... DEC 31
AN EVENING WITH
The Disco Biscuits thelincolndc.com U Street (Green/Yellow) stop across the street!
Ticket included with purchase of tickets to
1/13 The Disco Biscuits @ The Anthem..F 12
ALL GOOD PRESENTS
Collie Buddz w/ Jo Mersa Marley
& The Holdup..............................M 15
ALL GOOD PRESENTS
The Infamous 9:30 CLUB PRESENTS AT U STREET MUSIC HALL
Stringdusters ......................Sa 20
M & Cashmere Cat .............M 22 Bully w/ Aye Nako ......................... W NOV 15 Rico Nasty .............................................F 8
Arkells w/ Irontom .............................. Sa 18 Shamir w/ Partner ................................ F 15
Tennis ........................................W 24
herMajesty
Big Head Todd Sheppard ............................................ M 20
& Honest Haloway ..................Sa JAN 13
& The Monsters ...................Th 25 Moonchild .......................................... Tu 21
Enter Shikari Maximo Park Alex Aiono ......................................... Sa 20
Rostam w/ Joy Again .......................Th FEB 1
w/ Single Mothers & Milk Teeth..Su 28 w/ Active Bird Community ..................... Tu 28
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Stop Light Observations Flint Eastwood ......................................F 2
w/ Night Beats .............................M 29 w/ Little Stranger ............................... F DEC 1 Mod Sun ................................................. M 5
Kimbra w/ Arc Iris....................Tu 30 Allan Rayman ..................................... Sa 2 Why? .......................................................F 9
Typhoon ....................................W 31 Uno The Activist & Thouxanbanfauni Anti-Flag & Stray From The Path .. Sa 10
w/ Warhol.ss ........................................... Th 5 MAGIC GIANT w/ The Brevet ............... Su 18
FEBRUARY Busty and the Bass ........................... Th 7 Gabrielle Aplin w/ John Splithoff......... Su 25
STEEZ PROMO PRESENTS
Buy advance tickets at the 9:30 Club box office 930.com
Emancipator Ensemble......... Sa 3

MANY MORE SHOWS ON SALE! 930.com

9:30 CUPCAKES The best thing you could possibly put in your mouth
Cupcakes by BUZZ... your neighborhood bakery in Alexandria, VA. | www.buzzonslaters.com

impconcerts.com

Tickets for 9:30 Club shows are available through TicketFly.com, by phone at 1-877-4FLY-TIX, and at the 9:30 Club box office. PARKING: THE OFFICIAL 9:30 parking lot entrance is on
9th Street, directly behind the 9:30 club. Buy your advance
9:30 CLUB BOX OFFICE HOURS are 12-7PM Weekdays & Until 11PM on show nights. 6-11PM on Sat & 6-10:30PM on Sun on show nights. parking tickets at the same time as your concert tickets!

HAPPY HOUR DRINK PRICES 930.com

AFTER THE SHOW AT THE BACK BAR!
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After the Ceasefire

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PUBLISHER
Ext. 8088

We talk to Ceasefire organizer Erricka Bridgeford Jennifer Marsh

jmarsh@baltimorebeat.com
about the movements next steps. ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
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Lisa Snowden-McCray
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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NOVEMBER 15, 2017

4 BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
 Letter From
The Editor-in-Chief
Last week, Devin Allen, the Baltimore photographer who
continues to make a name for himself with his arresting, graceful
shots of this city and the people in it (go get his book A Beautiful
Ghetto), agreed to take the cover shot for this, the first issue of our
new weekly newspaper.
Separately, organizer Erricka Bridgeford, fresh off the second
Baltimore Ceasefire, agreed to talk to us about what shes learned
since she launched the city-unifying effort aimed at stopping
Baltimores troubling murder rate.
The two agreed to meet me on a cold and rainy Tuesday in
Bridgefords old West Baltimore neighborhood for a photoshoot.
Allen looked at Bridgeford. Bridgeford looked at Allen.
Were you . . . a teacher? Allen asked her.
Yes, she was, she confirmed. Then, she was known as Ms.
T. (short for Thomas, Bridgefords maiden name). It turns out
Bridgford was Allens kindergarten teacher.
The two screamed, hugged, and snapped a photo together.
This coincidencethis little bit of magicin what would turn
out to be a busy, stressful week taught me some things. First,
Bridgeford has been a nurturer from way back. Second, according
to Bridgeford, Allen was curious, high-spirited, and whip-smart,
even when he was a little guy.
Everything has to start somewhere. Roots run deep.
Were starting now with this very newspaper. But we grow out
of the journalistic roots of Baltimores old alt-weekly, the Baltimore
City Paper, and other alt-weeklies around the country, staffed by
people who work hard to fill in the details that traditional media Erricka Bridgeford and Devin Allen
often miss, and tell stories that people from all walks of life can
Photo Courtesy Bridgeford
appreciate.
In these pages youll find that interview with Bridgeford,
along with information about lots of other events happening in
the city. You will also find an interview that some local students
conducted with famed writer and essayist Chimamanda Ngozi
Adichie. Wed like to note here that in explaining her particular
brand of feminism Adichie has made some troubling comments
about trans women, comments that deserve to be challenged.
But in this instance weve chosen instead to focus on the young
people and how they wielded their opportunity to interview one
of the most celebrated authors of our time.
When we announced that we intended to start a new
newspaper, the support that we got before wed even printed a
word was overwhelming and positive. Journalism isnt dead, print
isnt dead, and people will always search out ways to communicate
with one another.
Thank you for your warm welcome. Please keep reading, but
also hold us accountable. We want to make this a place where
people from all parts of the city are seen and heard. Welcome to
the Baltimore Beat.

Lisa Snowden-McCray
Editor-in-Chief
The Baltimore Beat

BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
5 NOVEMBER 15, 2017

Illustration by Alex Fine
Week In Review
All that is frustrating, exciting maddening, and
occasionally heartening in Baltimoreand
not covered elsewhere in the issue
NOVEMBER 15, 2017
6 BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
T arget announced it would close its
Mondawmin location in February
because it was underperforming. Crucial
to the redesign of Mondawmin Mall, the
Target was a badly needed resource for
many who didnt have access to lots of
shopping options in an area that had
been neglected for years. Maybe we
should consider investing locally and stop
trying so hard to court giant corporate
structures who will pull out the moment
things dont benefit them.
In response to the alarming
homicide rate and attacks by teens
in neighborhoods that dont usually
see that sort of thing, Mayor Catherine
Pugh decided that the heads of more
than half of city agencies must meet up
at police headquarters every morning
to better combat crimewhich pretty
much means everybody answers to
the police now? Crime is a symptom,
not the disease, and it might help us
all if we thought about it that way. Our
other complaint? The mayor called for
the private sector to help finance a $10
million expansion of the highly effective
Safe Streets program while continuing to
find more and more public funding for
police and private developers.
In response to attacks by teens in
neighborhoods that dont usually see
that sort of thing, Commissioner Kevin
Davis has announced a number of hasty
crime prevention plans including one
where young-looking undercover cops
go to the neighborhoods to catch the
bad kids, 21 Jump Street style. Davis
other big plan? Throw more teens in
jail and charge 16-year-olds as adults
something the law demands for violent
crime but a policy that has been shown
not to work.
With over a dozen allegations of sexual
misconduct leveled against Kevin
Spacey, Netflix has fired their leading
man from House of Cardsand good like all police settlements, comes with
riddance. Production has been put on hold
while writers on show, which is filmed in
Baltimore and other parts of Maryland,
are scrambling to rewrite the final season.
Locally, groups like Hollaback Baltimore
have been putting together discussions
and workshops as the #metoo movement
pushes on and more stories come out.
Its time to reevaluate how we respond to
abuse.
Governor Larry Hogan condemned Roy
Moore after the Alabama maniac was
accused of propositioning a 14-year-old
40 years ago. While some have doubled
down in support of Moore, Hogan at least
said Moore has got to go, declaring him
unfit for office and asking if Republicans
would be so quick to excuse him if the
victim was their daughter or if the offender
was a Democrat. The bar for Republicans
to do the right thing is so low.
The Baltimore Museum of Art
announced that in conjunction
with a solo exhibition by famed artist
Mark Bradford, whom BMA Director
Christopher Bedford has called the
greatest living abstract painter,
Bradford will start a partnership with
Greenmount West Community Center,
providing training and equipment for a
silk-screening project for kids. At a public
talk hosted at Union Baptist Church
over the weekend, Bradford and the
BMA team emphasized the importance
of strengthening community-driven
projects that already exist and work,
rightly echoing the sentiments of local
organizers.
Where there is black pain, there will
always be white people looking to
profit. Over on Twitter, one-time-officer-
turned-police-brutality-pundit Michael
Wood claimed that race was just a social
construct, identified himself as anti-
identity politics, and said that black
women were falsely claiming special
exemption. The internetin particular
Morgan Universitys Dr. Lawrence
Browncame for him, much to the
delight of many in Baltimore who are
sick of Woods white-centered wokeness.
A 2014 incident involving Baltimore
resident Jamal Kennedy and
Baltimore City Police outside Melbas
Place in Waverly has resulted in a
$135,000 settlement with the city, the
Baltimore Brew reported last week.
Kennedy sued the city, claiming officers
acted inappropriately when they tasered
and beat him (the officers were cleared
in court of all wrongdoing). The money,
a gag order silencing Kennedy from
talking about the specifics of his case.
There were four homicides in
Baltimore over the past week (Nov.
6-13, the week before the Beat to
press), with two on Nov. 6 (Latasha
Walls, Winfield Parker) and two on Nov.
12 (Dashon Griffin, Gerald Gardner). It
follows the second ceasefire weekend
where there was one homicide on Nov. 4
(Tony Mason Jr.) and a brief burst of hope
where residents saw no homicides for
most of last week. As of Nov. 13, day 316 of
2017, Baltimore has had 305 homicides.
 we
Public meetings, support
the
Activist events, more. alternative
Trial Board Hearings: Lt. Brian Rice.
and
Second of five disciplinary hearings held as independent
a result of the 2015 death of Freddie Gray.
Through Nov. 17, 9 a.m., University of Balti- voice.
more Learning Commons Town Hall, 1420
N. Charles St., civilrights.baltimorecity.gov.
Baltimore Community Relations
Commission. Monthly meeting of the
group, which works to investigate dis-
crimination claims in Baltimore City. Nov. congratulations
15, 8:30 a.m., The Office of Civil Rights and baltimore
Wage Enforcement, 7 E. Redwood St., (410)
396-3141, CivilRights@Baltimorecity.gov.
West Wednesdays. Tawanda Jones,
beat
the sister of Tyrone West, a man killed in po-
lice custody in July 2013 has been gathering
every Wednesday with other activists in the
city to call attention to Wests death and
police brutality in Baltimore. Nov. 15, at the
corner of Greenmount Ave. and 33rd St., 6:30
p.m., and Nov. 22, at the Northeast District
Police station, 1900 Argonne Drive, 6:30 p.m.
DPW Hosts Plastic Bag Takeback, 201 e fort ave.
Free Community Shredding. The Depart- south baltimore
ment of Public Works hosts a plastic bag
takeback where residents get one reus-
@idlehourbaltimore
able bag for every five they give up. There
will also be free paper shredding for city
residents and recycle bins for sale. Nov. 18,
9 a.m.-1 p.m. Baltimore City Community
College, 2900 Liberty Heights Ave., (410)
2016s Trans March Of Resilience 396-4511, publicworks.baltimorecity.gov/
events/celebrating-america-recycles-day. NOW ONLINE
Baltimore Beat Photo by Brandon Soderberg NAACP Baltimore Town Hall. A
panel of local leaders look for solu- BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
tions to challenges like housing, unem-
ployment, and crime. Nov. 18, 3-5 p.m.,
Trans March of Resilience Douglas Memorial Community Church,
1325 Madison Ave., eventbrite.com/e/
naacp-baltimore-town-hall-tickets-
N O V . 2 0 38793179444?aff=efbneb.
Youth Mental Health First Aid
Transgender Day of Remembrance has been held internationally in Novem- Training. Public education program
ber since 1998 to honor and bring attention to transgender lives lost to violence that teaches ways to identify and help
and each year, it seems, the need for this gesture grows more necessary. In 2016, a young person in mental health crisis.
27 reported murders of transgender people broke 2015s record of 21 murders, Nov. 18, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; Nov. 19, 2-6 p.m.,
and 2017 is on track to match or exceed that 27. As of press time, 23 transgender Community Mediation of Baltimore,
people have been murdered in the United States this yearand all but two of the 3333 Greenmount Ave., (410) 467-9165,
victims were people of color. One of those victims was Baltimores own Alphonza communitymediation.org.
Watson, who was shot in the Barclay neighborhood on March 22. At a vigil honor- Legal Observer Training. The Nation-
ing her life held by the Baltimore Transgender Alliance at Station Norths Ynot Lot al Lawyers Guild: University of Baltimore
a few days later, Monica Stevens, founder of transgender network Sistas of the T, Chapter offers training for those who want
lamented Im not just sick of the killing, Im sick of people not seeing the beauty to be legal observers at action, protests, etc.
of our diversity. Learn how to be one of those people in the
In that spirit of perseverance and celebration of life, the Baltimore Transgen- bright green hats. Nov. 20, 12 p.m.,John and
der Alliance marks Transgender Day of Remembrance once again with the third Frances Angelos Law Center, Room 019,
annual Trans March of Resilience. While previous celebrations held on this day 1401 N. Charles St..
were focused on remembering our loss; the [Trans March of Resilience] has al- Committee Meeting: Judiciary and
ways been about reminding us of our strength, reads the events Facebook page. Legislative Investigations. The Judiciary
This strength exists in many forms, in our integrity to our truest selves & in the and Legislative Investigations committee
community we have built for each other. The march will start from the Ynot Lot gathers to call on the Baltimore Delega-
and will follow with a free banquet at 2640 Space complete with performances tion to the 2018 Maryland General As-
from Coco Nicole, DJ Pancakes, Rahne Alexander, and others. Assembly at 5:30 sembly to change the citys police district
p.m., Ynot Lot, 1904 N. Charles St.; banquet at 7 p.m., 2640 Space, 2640 St. Paul St., boundaries. Public comment is encour-
facebook.com/bmoretransalliance, free. (Maura Callahan) aged. Nov. 20, 5 p.m., Du Burns Council
Chamber, Baltimore City Hall, 100 Holli-
day St. baltimorecitycouncil.com.

BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
7 NOVEMBER 15, 2017
ALL WE GOT, ALL WE NEED
300 Gangstas give away turkeys and counter the non-profit industrial complex
By Brandon Soderberg
Last year, 300 Gangstas, a radically
pragmatic collective of gang mem-
bers and organizers, gave out about
100 donated turkeys to families in need
on Monument Street, all the while also
hosting a block party, dropping plenty
of knowledge, and clothing and feed-
ing the homeless, and this year theyll
do it again.
Our goal is basically to inspire, says
Ray Lugar, 300 Gangstas head of enter-
tainment and a veteran rapper, posted
up with 300 Gangstas co-founder PFK
Boom at the park on St. Paul and Lafay-
ette streets. We want you to get involved
in your own transformation and we use
ourselves as an example.
PFK Boom and Ray Lugar of 300 Gangstas
Photo by J.M. Giordano
The movement is important: By me
knowing you, you knowing me, all these
collectives can grow, Boom says. If we
all throw $10 out and someone who has
$50 can pull that out for someone who
doesnt have $10, then you can get it,
they can get it, and we can get it.
This years turkey giveaway will take
place at Latrobe Homes public housing
on Nov. 18. The event is an extension of the
work 300 Gangstas began during the Bal-
timore Uprising, when they were founded
as major players in the much-publicized
gang truce and as a corrective to many of
the opportunists who swooped in to cash-
in on the unrest.
When the so-called riotsthe up-
NOVEMBER 15, 2017
bsoderberg@baltimorebeat.com
rising, reallyhappened, that was an
opportunity for people to come get this
money and thats why 300 Gangstas
stepped out on the frontline so people
didnt get it twisted, because these peo-
ple werent out here when the problems
were herethey were only here when
the cameras were here, Lugar says. The
Freddie Gray situation was comprehen-
sive but there are kids and people in
those communities still dealing with it
now and they were dealing with it be-
fore then too.
Indeed, a whole bunch of social jus-
tice-oriented groups have fallen by the
wayside or collapsed post-uprising. 300
Men, the anti-gun violence campaign
which predated the uprising (the name
300 Gangstas, by the way, is a churlish
response to 300 Mens respectability pol-
itics) has been mostly silent over the past
two years despite praise from police and
other city officials, and initiatives such as
former mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blakes
One Baltimore shuttered last year with lit-
tle evidence it did much of anything be-
yond pay some peoples salaries.
All money isnt good money...We
dont take any money that we dont
put into the movement, Boom says.
You know what GANGSTAS mean?
Gathering All Nations Gaining Salvation
Through Advancing Society.
He rests on the phrase all nations
for a moment and then repeats.
All nations. White, black, yellow, green,
Christian, Blood, Crip, BGF, ex-addict, who-
ever actually want to help, he says.
These are 300 Gangstas people,
and these are the people who can get
things done.
The guys and girls we go after are
the ones that people throw awaythe
ones that people feel are lost, Lugar
adds. We see their potential. They just
need someone to stop in and show
them some love.
It takes the people who are afflict-
ed and conflicted to understand the re-
alness, Boom says.
Boom was one of the afflicted. He
was charged with murder in 1993 and
spent years in solitary confinement until
he was found not guilty in 1995. Out of
that experience came a commitment to
helping others, a focus on changing how
ex-felons are treated, and a hyper-co-
gent rage that motivates him. Hes a
masterful talkerlike an amalgamation
of H. Rap Brown, 2Pac, and Bernie Mac
and a bold, unafraid organizer. Just a few
days after Freddie Grays death, in the
early days of the uprising, Boom helped
marshall a large protest of mostly teens
from Gilmor Homes to downtown and
back. It wasnt his march; it was set up by
Pastor Westley Westa figure then crit-
icized for chasing camerasbut Boom
8 BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
knew they needed someone who knew
how to march and stepped in.
Since the uprising, 300 Gangstas
has stuck around. Its core dozen or so
membersincluding co-founder Big
Wolfe, a Blood no longer in the life; and
Bonez, also a Blood and a writer, educa-
tor, and prognosticator of yogapop up
wherever needed. 300 was present with
the Fruits Of Islam for overnight events
during Baltimore Ceasefire and for Tent
City, the 10-day homeless encampment
and protest in front of City Hall.
What we did at Tent City was we pro-
vided security, Boom says. But my kids
mother and daughter was also feeding
them spaghetti for the first few days too
the city wasnt providing any of that.
The volunteers there stayed the
night, that experience was a represen-
tation of what 300 Gangstas was about:
You had people from different walks
down there to support Tent City. They
were about the sacrifice, man, Lugar
says. We were there for them, it was
more than security.
The longview is proper, cop-free
community policing. Its through reach-
ing people on their level and realistically
that change can happenit has almost
nothing to do with the city or the state
or any elected officials. Wolfe has de-
clared that his goal is to put a 300 Gang-
stas chapter (or as hed write it khapter)
in cities around the country.
Its about people taking owner-
ship, Lugar says. We want to build that.
Right now we have to be the faces of
it, but its not about 300 Gangstas. We
need to show when its not us, when its
all the people doing the work. And we
want to inspire people our age as well.
Just let it go, the times is different, peo-
ple say. You cant complain about how
times is different, you played a role in
accepting: Terms change, but we gonna
have to change.
Its crazy how certain things didnt
change but then you look at the unrest
and a new generation, most of these
kids are from the Sheila Dixon era, so
they see someone who stole gift cards,
Boom says. And now they got Pugh, and
when she talks they hear their mom or
their dad and shit
You all right ma? Lugar shouts
across the street, interrupting Boom.
A woman in a walker is wheezing,
struggling to move up the slight incline
of Lafayette Street.
Lugar dashes across the street to
check on her there are more important
things than this interview, than talking.
Theres action.
She just lives up the street and
needs some help getting there, Lugar
tells Boom.
I got you ma, Lugar says, crouched
down, his hand on her back.
The Arts and Humanities at UMBC

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

Directed by Eve Muson
With sumptuous and adorable costumes, musical interludes
of Russian folk songs and carols, sword-fighting, and snow in
abundance, this Shakespeare favorite is told with riotous discord.
Man, Image, Idea: Photographs of Men Performances through Sunday, November 19
from the Mark Rice Collection Proscenium Theatre
Ticketed Event
The exhibition considers various aesthetic, social, and historical
aspects of the photographic representation of the male body
since 1969 and the history of gay male photography.
Now through December 12
HUMANITIES FORUM:
Lecture with curator James Smalls
The Mark Rice Collection and the Homo Erotics
of Photography after Stonewall
Thursday, December 7, 4 p.m.
Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery

Spectrum: 2017 Visual Arts Faculty Exhibition

Featuring the work of Eric Dyer, Corrie Parks, and Sarah G. Sharp
On display through December 16
Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture

UMBC is located ten minutes from downtown Baltimore with convenient

parking, free for evening and weekend events. Full details for these and
other events:

engage.umbc.edu
 Erricka Bridgeford, one of the main organizers behind Baltimore Ceasefire
Just a few days after the second
72-hour Baltimore Ceasefire weekend,
which ran from Nov. 3-5, Erricka
Bridgeford and I are sitting in her car
in her old Rosemont neighborhood
escaping the cold and rain.
She has a bit of a cough and shes
just off a speaking engagement at the
Community College of Baltimore Countys
Essex campus, but Bridgeford has gamely
agreed to take a few moments to share
her thoughts about the second ceasefire,
meant to pause the violence in the city and
connect with and create community.
The ceasefire movement has made
me become more actively spiritual in
relation to death, Bridgeford says. I did
not expect to be the person people call
when their child gets killed. And they
dont want me to do nothing, just come
and hug them cause they feel like there
is something about my energy.
She has started doing something
she calls pouring light into the concrete
going out and placing her body into the
places around the city where someone
NOVEMBER 15, 2017
Photos by Devin Allen
has been killed. She started this during
the first ceasefire when 24-year-old
Lamontrey Tynes was found shot (he later
died at Shock Trauma), and again when
Washington, D.C. officer Tony Mason was
killed on Nov. 4the first homicide of the
second ceasefire.
We lost Tony Mason at 24.5 hours in,
reads a post on the Baltimore Ceasefire
Instagram account. People responded
by showing up in the place where we
lost Tony, and by pouring love into the
murder spot and into the residents who
live in that neighborhood.
Bridgeford implores people not
to be numb, to allow themselves to
stop and feel the impact of each of the
citys murders and what the loss means
for the city and for the family of the
deceased. Its part of a kind of spirituality
that she says shes been thinking about
and building on for a while, but is just
now able to really put into words.
People really only accept
spirituality if its said in a religious frame
that they understand, so when you talk
about Jesus blood making you not be
sinful people are like oh yes, yes, yes,
she says. But then when you say, Well
we have the power to pour light into the
concrete, that sounds like devil work.
People dont like it.
That spirituality is why shes been
able to tackle the seemingly impossible
goal of stopping deaths in a city that
has experienced over 300 murders this
year. We shouldnt just hope for miracles,
Bridgeford sayswe should expect them
because we have the power to make
them happen.
All religious traditions teach that
were made in Gods image in some kind
of way, but then mans doctrine gets in it
and it makes us think we dont have the
same creative powers that God has, she
says. So we keep limiting ourselves to
what we can do in this earth.
Knowing this, Bridgeford says that
she must continue to challenge herself,
and people in the city.
She decided to launch the first
ceasefire because, despite her work
10
with the group Community Mediation
Maryland, she felt she wasnt doing
everything she possibly could do to stop
violence in Baltimore. Now, with two
ceasefire events under her belt, shes still
pushing herself to do more.
This whole movement has made
me stand in my power, Bridgeford says. I
cant ask other people to look at murder
in this more spiritual, public health kind
of way if Im not willing to not just do
outreach on drug corners in the west, I
gotta go over east in those drug markets
and hop out my car too. Because theyre
still people and they got spirits.
Speaking of what this looks like
when she reaches out to others, she
talks about harnessing the positive
power of Baltimore Citys ego. People
here are quick to challenge somebody
who is trying to overstep their personal
boundaries, she observes, but are less
aggressive in combating systemic
problems that go deeper than face-to-
face conflict.
We dont remember that kind of
BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
 Organizer Erricka Bridgeford talks
about how the effort to stop Baltimore
homicides has changed her and
how she hopes it changed the city.
swag as when it comes to social issues,
Bridgeford says. What has happened to
us for so long, we dont notice that they
trying to bitch us. If we looked at it like,
They say we got to live over here, we gotta
live in these conditions, we cant have
good food, our schools gotta be bullshit?
Thats why the ceasefire had to be
community-driven.
If the police had said there was a
ceasefire, people would have been like,
You not gon tell me what to do. Had
the mayor said it theyd be like, She not
gon tell us how to live, she says.
Because it was the communitys
own thing, done of their own volition,
more became involved.
Since the beginning, Bridgeford has
maintained that the ceasefire events
werent just about stopping murders.
Shes been clear about the societal and
structural forces that keep violence
goingchanging those, shes said, isnt
something that can happen overnight.
But the ceasefire has created a
shift in the energy of the city. Leading
BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
up to both events, Baltimore Ceasefire
signs could been seen in shops all over.
People here took the impetus and
ran with itorganizing marches, food
giveaways, and more. Eager community
members packed the room at a post-
ceasefire event held in August. All of
this has happened with Bridgeford at
the center, as the movements most
public organizer. She says shes coming
to terms with her more public position,
and the negativity it can open her up to.
For example, there are people who will
never believe that Baltimore is anything
but a haven for uncivilized, murderous
black savages. For them, Bridgeford can
be a target for their derision and hate.
I have learned to show up in my
wholeness, being a black girl from this
neighborhood with one hand, she says.
Every hard thing that Ive been through
has prepared me for this. Ever since I
was born, people have been looking at
me like Im broken, thinking that Im
not as good as them, thinking that Im
something to pity.
11
By Lisa Snowden-McCray
lmccray@baltimorebeat.com
She gets scared a lot. She also gets
angry. Its a process, she explains, to walk
away from anger and into peace and
compassion.
Its so many people, I think, need to
be punched in their face, she says, but
adds that she pushes herself to move
past that feeling. It takes me a minute
to come to, because we are socialized
to think that love is weak. We dont
understand that love really dont take
much shit. In real life, it really does not
because it is honest and its transparent
and it is long-suffering and its strong as
fuck, so love is really not the one to come
for. But we dont view it that way so it
takes me a minute to find something
that would be a God-like response.
She says she never reads the
comments on stories written about her
or the ceasefire. She also remembers that
if people are coming for her, its because
the work she is doing is successful.
It makes me remember, well, when
they thought I wasnt doing nothing they
aint pay me no mind, she says. It must
be now that Im a big enough target. I
must be doing something so big that
now they can just hit it from anywhere in
the city if they want to because you can
see it everywhere now.
Bridgeford says that ceasefire
events will happen quarterly, and the
next one is scheduled for February. Her
goal is to for everyone in the city to be
aware when a ceasefire is going on.
Bridgeford imagines a day where
ceasefire events are ingrained in
everyones minds, but at the same
time shes realistic about what she can
accomplish.
Im really aware that the next time,
four people might get killed, she says.
I understand how things go up and
down, and at the same time, I know that
there will come a time where this is an
institution in Baltimore and it is seen as
something that is sacred. Itll start to seep
out into the days before the ceasefire and
after the ceasefire because thats just what
light does. It just starts seeping out into
everything that is around it.
NOVEMBER 15, 2017
 Mothers Of Murdered Sons And Daughters at the 2016 Stop The Killing Drive

Photo by J.M. Giordano

Spreading The Word

Mothers Of Murdered Sons And Daughters offers space to deal with grief
At around 1:50 a.m. on Aug. 8, just
two days after Baltimores first 72-hour
Ceasefire, Dejuane Beverly was shot near
a house on Liberty and Tulsa roads. He
died. Police found no motive. No suspect
was arrested.
Naturally, Dejuanes mother De-
drah Johnson was caught completely off
guard. It was the last thing she expected
to hear on that Tuesday morning.
Its like, you become shut off from
people sometimes because you feel like
nobody understands what youre going
through, she said.
After taking time to mourn, John-
son has been actively volunteering and
spreading the word about Baltimore
Ceasefire 365.
I want to put it out there. This has to
stop, she said. I really want to do what-
ever I can to stop this from happening,
but some days are harder than others. So
I go to my therapy group on Tuesdays.
The therapy group is Mothers of Mur-
dered Sons and Daughters (MOMSD),
which meets every Tuesday and Sunday
at St. Johns Alpha and Omega Church.
In that group she connected with
other mothers dealing with the same
kind of griefand one whose 15-year-old
son was murdered just 30 minutes be-
fore Dejuane, in almost the exact same
way, in the same part of town.
Daphne Alston founded MOMSD
in 2008. She knew firsthand what these
women were going through. On July 14,
2008, her son Tariq was on the phone
By Eze Jackson
with his girlfriend at a party when some-
one shot and killed him. When Alston
got the call, she was devastated. She
was living in Harford County and tried
a couple different groups, but she says
they were predominantly white and the
members were mostly parents who had
lost their children to drug addictions,
motorcycle accidents, or suicide. She
says she eventually felt uncomfortable
speaking in the groups.
It would interrupt the group every
time, she said. So I stopped coming
because the women would be so over-
whelmed with my story. How could I live
through something like that? Many of
them had lost homes, marriages broken
up, got addicted and all kinds of stuff
while going through their grieving pro-
cess.
But there was one woman, Mildred
Samy, whose son Samuel had also been
shot and killed during a dispute at a
Waffle House one night.
At the time, Alston and Samy felt
they were the only women in Harford
County that had this shared experience
of losing their sons to gun violence.
That year I think it was only one
murder for the whole county, Alston re-
called.
But when they watched the news at
night and talked to one another, Alston
says they saw so many women in Balti-
more City who were going through the
same thing. They felt their pain. Without
knowing any of them, they still felt the
loneliness these women may have felt.
No one was paying attention to people
like them, the mothers left devastated
by the bullets that snatched their sons.
They decided to start Mothers Of
Murdered Sons and Daughters in the
city. A co-worker introduced Daphne to
the pastor of St. Johns Alpha and Ome-
ga, a church in West Baltimore. He gave
MOMSD space to operate out of their
building and the group has been meet-
ing there ever since. MOMSD officially
became a non-profit 501(c)3 two years
ago. Daphne says the group has been
predominantly self-funded, only receiv-
ing their first grant this year.
The majority of black people who
live in this city, when they walk out they
door, they dont see hope, she said.
Broken bottles, trash, blunt guts. How is
somebody supposed to be hopeful liv-
ing in these conditions?
The conditions of poverty are
heightened by the trauma of living in
what she calls homicide density.
We just went to a boys funeral the
other day . . . Dante, Alston said as she
took a pause, thinking about him and
his mother as if they were her own fam-
ily.
Today, the group has around 65 ac-
tive members who regularly attend the
meetings and more than 300 in their ex-
tended network.
A lot of the mothers dont come
out much, but we have a lot of phone
conversations, Alston said.
The group reaches out to every par-
ent or grandparent when someone is
murdered. They attend the funeral ser-
vices and try to keep in touch with the
family of the deceased. They also have
two liaisons who work to follow up with
detectives to be sure that cases are con-
sistently being worked on.
Look, Im on the phone seven days
a week, still talking to who I can about
what happened to my son, Alston said,
but everybody cant do that.
Dedrah Johnson knows the kind
of support that these mothers need
through her first-hand experience.
Sometimes they just need some-
one to sit in the courtroom with them
while they have to relive this over and
over again. Some of them have the kill-
ers walking the streets again in the same
neighborhoods because the courts
didnt have enough evidence to convict
them. How are they supposed to live
with that?
Johnson paused.
We are abnormal. Losing a child is
hard regardless, but lets be real, losing a
child to murder is different than losing a
child who is sick, she said. Sometimes
my husband has to point things I do out
to me and say, Baby, thats not normal.
These women need to know that its OK to
be abnormal. You can come on over here
and be abnormal with us . . . together.
This piece runs courtesy of
the Real News Network.

NOVEMBER 15, 2017

12 BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
 Activists prove prescient for City Hall;
Kids counter cops on Goodson
Housing activists argue for new
community land trust plan
On Wednesday, Nov. 8, a coalition of housing activists marched into the offices
of the citys finance department, where they presented petitions demanding that
the city adopt a plan called 20/20 Vision for Baltimore, a proposal to establish two
separate $20 million funds to bolster affordable housing and fight blight through
community land trusts.
Financed by city-backed bonds, the two pools of money would be administered
in part by community groups, not just the mayor or city council. Activist Destiny
Watford said the distinction was critical to address the dearth of affordable housing
and the further encroachment of vacant homes in neighborhoods that have received
little attention from City Hall.
This tool will allow us to keep wealth in our neighborhood, Watford said. It would
allow us to build the things that we need in our neighborhoods because no one else in
Baltimore knows what we need more than the people that live there.
Led by Workers United, a textile and gaming union under the umbrella group
United Not Blighted, the housing activists made their case during a press conference
just before entering City Hall. They argued that the existing process of funneling
housing funds through the city council and the mayor has not worked.
We need for our city leaders to be more than leaders at the podium, said Terell
Askew. We need for them to join us and this great cause of building the city into a
better place to live and building us all into better people to live in it.
This argument seemed prescient just 24 hours later when the City Council held a
briefing on the myriad tax breaks the city has granted developers to stimulate growth.
During the hearing finance officials presented statistics that revealed just how costly
this policy has been.
Baltimore Development Corporation President William Cole told the council that
in 2017 the city lost $12 million in tax revenue annually as the result of payment in lieu
in taxes (PILOTs), tax incentives that allow developers to forgo taxes for a prescribed
length of time. During the same period the city collected just $2 million from projects
where the PILOT had either ended or was winding down.
Deputy Budget Director Steve Kraus also told the council the that the citys
tax increment finance deals (TIFs), which hand over future property tax revenues to
developers to invest in infrastructure, has almost maxed out the citys credit.
With Port Covington, we will reach $1 billion, Kraus said of the amount the TIFs
have contributed to the citys debt. That number has nearly quadrupled as a result of a
roughly $600 million TIF to build out Port Covington, a development backed by Under
Armor billionaire Kevin Plank.
We dont have much room left, Kraus said.
The numbers didnt seem to faze the council: A number of members heaped
praise on the presenters even as they failed to give an in-depth accounting of just
how much the tax breaks are costing the city in aggregate, or what terms the city has
committed to going forward.
The moment that best encapsulated the concerns of the 20/20 supporters
was a question from Councilman Kristerfer Burnett, who asked Kraus if there was a
database or web site where residents could track the progress of the growing array of
tax subsidies.
We dont have the resources for that, Kraus replied. (Taya Graham & Stephen Janis)
BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
13
10th grade students at Reginald F. Lewis High School
Photo Courtesy The Real News Network
What we can learn from the 10th grade
mock trial of Caesar Goodson
Last week, an all-police panel cleared officer Caesar Goodson on all 21
administrative charges he was facing for the in-custody death of Freddie Gray.
Last year, a group of students at Reginald F. Lewis High School came to a very
different conclusion.
The 10th grade law class spent the semester preparing for a mock trial for
Goodson, who drove the van that transported Gray. The students, who were
mostly black, said they were touched deeply by Freddie Grays death.
Were scared because what happened to him could have happened to any
one of us, Antonio Satchell said.
Living in the same world and facing many of the same problems as Freddie
Gray, the students found Goodson guilty of involuntary manslaughter for his
role in Freddie Grays death. The hearings Goodson faced focused instead on
technicalities of what an officer should be expected to do, rather than what the
law requires. Although no other public body has found Goodsonor anyone
elseguilty of any crimes in Grays death, many students say that the months they
spent studying the case in preparation for the mock trial inspired them to work
on correcting the injustice and institutional racism they face everyday. Satchell
said that after college he would like to work at an organization like the Innocence
Project, which works toward exonerating the wrongfully convicted.
Poverty, joblessness, and a lack of hope are still endemic in these students
communities. And the police dont make it easier. With fresh reports on youth
violence across the city, there have been calls to increase the number of police
and set up undercover squads of officers who look young.
There is media hysteria. Baltimore leaders, community frustrated by juvenile
crime they say is out of control, a Sun headline blared.
This kind of headline and reporting drives false narrative. Buried in story is
the truth Overall juvenile arrests in the city are down 11 percent, Public Defender
Jenny Egan tweeted.
There is no denying violence remains a problem for young people. But they are
able to see its causes. Its caused by unnecessary laws and poverty, Satchell said.
Because if you have nothing else to do you are going to resort to selling drugs.
Students like Samon Fedd dont need the studies that have found that
Baltimore is among the worst places to grow up poor and black to explain their
realities, they already knew all that.
Were trapped, were afraid, and were hurting, she said. (Jaisal Noor)
NOVEMBER 15, 2017
 A roundup of LGBTQ news
from the region and around
the world courtesy the
Washington Blade

Patrick Wojahn (center) won election to a second term.

Photo by Tom Hausman / Courtesy Washington Blade

Gill Action Fund Actions website, which is no longer

Mayor Wojahn wins re-election shut down: sources in operation. The spokesperson said
the website had merely contained the
in College Park bios of the two employees who left
The Gill Action Fund, a prominent and is being redesigned, but couldnt
College Park Mayor Patrick Wojahn, whos gay, won election to a second term LGBT political organization founded say when the website would be back
in office last week, finishing ahead of three challengers by a wide margin. by gay philanthropist Tim Gill, has online. (Chris Johnson)
Final but unofficial returns showed that Wojahn received 1,495 votes. Council effectively been shut down according
member Mary Cook came in second place with 572 votes followed by candidates to two knowledgeable sources.
S.H. Tom Chen and Lalzarliani Malsawma receiving 351 votes and 98 votes Sources familiar with Gill Action Diplomat insists
respectively. said the recent departures of two U.S. committed
Wojahn became College Parks first out gay mayor when he was first elected individuals Shawn Werner, who
to the mayoral post two years ago. served as national political director, to LGBT rights
Im excited, honored and humbled to be given the opportunity to serve and Tim Meinke, who served as director
College Park another two years as mayor, he said in a statement Tuesday night. of political outgiving brought the SAN JOSE, Costa Rica An official
Im eager to continue the progress weve made over the past two years on groups operations to an end. with the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica on
revitalizing our city and making our neighborhoods safe and our communities A spokesperson confirmed the Thursday stressed the U.S. continues to
strong, he said. departures of the two employees, but support the rights of LGBT and intersex
Also winning re-election on Tuesday was College Parks gay City Council said Gill Action continues its work. The people around the world.
member P.J. Brennan, who finished ahead of four challengers. (Lou Chibbaro Jr.) only change is turning to a consultant Our government has a strong
model and one of the two employees commitment to support the rights of
was retained in that capacity, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and
spokesperson said. intersex people, said Eric Catalfamo at
Tim Gill and his spouse, Scott the opening of the Civil Marriage Equality
Miller, remain as engaged in political Congress that is taking place at the Inter-
DNC chair to stand Del. Bob Marshall (R-Prince William), had work as theyve always been, the American Institute of Human Rights in the
sought to pass a bill banning transgender spokesperson said. Costa Rican capital of San Jos.
with Roem on day people from using the restroom consistent But one source insisted the Catalfamo, who spoke on behalf of
she takes office with their gender identity.
Danica Roem not only won her race
departures even if one is retained as
a consultant means the organization,
U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica Sharon
Day, said the embassy continues to work
in Virginia, she won handily, and she won which once had 15 employees working with Costa Rican LGBT rights advocates.
Democratic National Committee it against the incumbent who authored on political activities, has shut down. He noted embassy personnel took
Chair Tom Perez said last week the defeat the bill on transgender bathrooms and I dont think anything exists part in San Joss 2016 Pride march, which
of a Virginia anti-LGBT Republican at the refused to refer to her by her pronoun, anymore, one source said. Its probably included a tribute to the 49 people who
hands of transgender candidate Danica Perez said. That is justice in my opinion, there on paper, but I know that theyre were killed inside the Pulse nightclub
Roem was justice, pledging to stand and that reflects the fact that Virginians not really doing anything anymore. on June 12, 2016. Catalfamo also pointed
with her on the day she takes office in understand fairness. The spokesperson called the assertion out the embassy flies the rainbow flag
the state legislature. Perez said election night was Gill Action is closed not true and said the throughout the month of June.
I look forward to her service in remarkable on so many levels, comparing organization remains as active as it has Catalfamo in his speech noted he
Richmond, and Im going to be there Roems win to other victories for diversity, been in previous capacities. himself is gay and cited Secretary of State
I want to go there on day one because such as the election of a Sikh as mayor Theres no change in the way that Rex Tillersons Pride month statement
that will be a remarkable moment for of Hoboken, the election of the first two theyve been doing business other than in which he said, among other things,
her, Perez said. Latinas and Vietnamese-American to the the fact that they are using consultants the State Department and the U.S. will
Roems first day in the Virginia House Virginia House of Delegates, the election as opposed to using two employees in continue to support the human rights
of Delegates will be Jan. 11, when shell of a Liberian-American refuge as mayor house, the spokesperson said. So the of LGBTI persons together with like-
become the first openly transgender of Helena, Mont., and the election of a things that they have been funding and minded governments, businesses and
person seated to a state legislature in the black candidate for the first time as mayor the things that they have been focused civil society organizations globally.
history of the United States. of St. Paul. on for years are going to be the things The dignity and equality of everyone
Asked about the nationwide You look at the people who won, that they continue to fund and continue is engrained into the constitutional,
implications of wins by Roem and other and they reflect the diverse quilt that to work on. fundamental principles of the U.S., said
transgender candidates, Perez pointed out is the United States of America, Perez As evidence of the organizations Catalfamo, referring to the statement.
the Republican she unseated, anti-LGBT said. (Chris Johnson) closure, another source pointed to Gill (Michael K. Lavers)

NOVEMBER 15, 2017

14 BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
 The governments case sets low bar for conspiracy charges on eve of this weeks J20 trial
A year ago, after the election of
Donald Trump, Dylan Petrohilos hung an
Antifa flag out in front of his house.
I had [the flag] flying outside my
home because Trump was elected and
there was a belief he was a fascist, and
so we had this idea that we needed to
bring back the moniker of anti-fascism,
Petrohilos told me at a bar where he was
discussing the Washington D.C. Riot Act
case with other defendants arrested in
connection with the protests of Trumps
inauguration.
When Petrohilos home was raided
by D.C. police in April, the flag was the
first thing they took. They also took seven
small black flags, copies of The Nation
and In These Times magazines, and a
banner, made during the financial crisis,
that read Kiss Capitalism Goodbye.
These items are evidence in the J20
case, the first mass trial of which be-
gins this week. Most of the defendants
were arrested on inauguration day, after
a protest (which the government has
deemed a riot) resulted in several bro-
ken windows. Police officers threw more
than 70 non-lethal grenades, sprayed
dozens of canisters of pepper spray, and
cordoned off around 200 people in a
kettle flanked by riot police and walls
on all sides.
And though the Department of Jus-
tice claims that Petrohilos conspired to
plan the riot, he was not arrested that
day. He says he was not even there.
But the fact that he spoke about
J20 on a podcast and was recorded by
undercover police and the far-right sting
video site Project Veritas at protest-plan-
NOVEMBER 15, 2017
By Baynard Woods
ning meetings has put Petrohilos at
the center of what could be the most
important political conspiracy trial of a
generationone that could change the
way we think about our data and other
records of our actions.
Almost any statement made by
Petrohilos about the days protest ev-
idence was at play in what was to be
the final hearing before this weeks tri-
als. The Nov. 9 hearing was intended to
establish the fact of the conspiracy, a
move that would make co-conspirators
statements admissible in court, despite
hearsay rules.
Prosecutor Jennifer Kerkhoff cit-
ed statements made on the Its Going
Down podcast as evidence of conspiracy.
At one point, the judge, Lynn Leibovitz,
surmised that appearing on a podcast
required planning, so if Petrohilos was
going on the podcast to talk about the
protests perhaps the existence of the
podcast could be evidence of conspiring.
Saying that coming on a podcast
recorded for public consumption to talk
about a public demonstration is evidence
of conspiracy, is like saying that someone
writing a column in High Times is proof
that they are in a drug cartel, Paul Her-
nandez, a member of the Its Going Down
editorial collective wrote me. The State is
trying to make the case that anyone that
attends a demonstration or protest is
thus involved in a conspiracy.
All the prosecution needed to es-
tablish was a conspiracy to commit any
crime, including conspiracy to disrupt
public congress. This could refer to any
protest at any time.
16
This is a fundamental attack on the
right to organize, Petrohilos said.
Petrohilos is not among those to
stand trial this week. The prosecution
classed all of the defendants into four
categories based on their alleged in-
volvement in planning or participating
in the riot. He is in category two, which
Kerkhoff has referred to in court as the
planners.
Dylan Petrohilos said, Come with
me if you want to talk about black bloc.
I am black bloc, Kerkhoff said in court,
citing the planning meeting that was in-
filtrated.
Black bloc is the essence of a large
part of the J20 charges. It is a political
strategy in which wearing identical
clothing and face masks allows a group
to move collectively through the city in
protest, mimicking the black flag of an-
archism and making it harder for police
to identify individuals, which is why the
government is using clothing as evi-
dence of conspiracy.
Isaac Dalto, Petrohilos friend who is
also included in Category 2 as a planner,
says the government is using affiliation
with the Industrial Workers of the World
union, for whom he organizes, as evi-
dence of conspiracy.
Because they went to legitimate,
above-ground union meetings about
forming a union in their workplace, their
Google calendars say IWW, and thats
being used against them to prove mem-
bership in this criminal conspiracy that
were alleged to be part of, says Dalto.
Conspiring to commit lawful acts
is not a crime. Its not a conspiracy. Its
called organizing, he said. Thats the
real danger of this case to democracy
and dissent in this countrythat any
form of organizing or civil resistance
stands to become a crime.
The threshold for conspiracy is so
low that two journalists, Aaron Cant
and Alexei Wood, are still facing charges
for following a group that they were cov-
ering. Wood is part of the group who de-
manded a speedy trial and goes to court
this week.
With long hair, black clothes, and
a leather wide-brimmed hat, Wood
may have looked a bit like an outlaw at
the hearing, but he was arrested and
charged with conspiring because he was
livestreaming the political actions.
The chilling effect is obvious, he
said. It took me months to go docu-
ment another protest. Even the most
like, Grannies Against Trump thing, I
didnt want to go to. I was traumatized.
Absolutely traumatized.
Finally, he says, on May Day, he was
fed up.
I was like, Fuck it, this is what I do.
This is my beat. This is what Ive done for
years, Wood said. I didnt do anything
wrong. I live-streamed myself from be-
ginning to end, and the entire world can
decide whether I incited a riot. . . . Its out
there for the whole world to decide, and
Im glad it is.
Baynard Woods is a reporter at the
Real News Network and the founder of
Democracy in Crisis. Email baynard@
democracyincrisis.com; Twitter @
baynardwoods
BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
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 LabBodies third annual performance art review channels pain into resistance
Park Hyun Gi performing Cigarettes as the Western Incense
Photo by Alexandro Orengo / Courtesy LabBodies
At the Friday night opening for LabBodies third
annual performance art survey, I smell at different
moments burning incense and the strange, hot aroma
of bricks colliding and shatteringthe latter I havent
recognized before but likely encountered passing
demolition sites. In each case, the sources of these
scents are threatening bodily harm to the artists who
wield them. But there is purpose in that pain, and its
intensity activates the audience.
Carrie Fucile, whose performance Occupational
Enterprises kicked off the event, tossed and toppled
white bricks as she built up and dismantled various
structures around her own body. Contact microphones
picked up and distorted the clamor of bricks smashing
to the floor, delivering a thunder that rose and sank as
each haphazard edifice grew and collapsed. Wearing a
red workers jumpsuit and no protection aside from a
pair of gloves and goggles, the artist handled the visibly
heavy bricks as if they were toy blocks. She disappeared
inside the final structure completely before pushing
against each of its four teetering sides, as if breaking out
of an egg. Bricks rained down, splitting into shards; what
sounded like fireworks burst from the speakers. That
faintly chemical smell charged forward from the debris.
I soon after noticed Fucile holding an ice pack to
her head as she sat observing a performance by Park
Hyun Githe source of the incense. Specifically, Parks
knuckles, about to be singed by the near-depleted
NOVEMBER 15, 2017
incense sticks she held between each finger. She waved
her smoking hands in circular motions as she strode
around the long white scroll rolled out onto the floor
and topped with an assortment of apparent offerings or
talismansburning candlesticks, oranges, altoids, a mini
trophy inscribed with Worlds Best Daughter Lisa Park
2014while another performer in beekeeping gear sat in
lotus pose and rolled two chiming silver balls in his hand.
Park stopped to stare at a member of the audience as
the sticks burned out, their faces inches apart.
The artists eyes watered.
Though far from a defining factor, physical pain is
commonly associated with performance art, thanks in
part to art world stars like Chris Burden (who had himself
shot himself in the arm, among other things) and Marina
Abramovic (spent 12 days in a museum exhibit without
food, among other things). Early in the traditions history,
the Viennese Actionists attempted to shock the Austrian
bourgeoisie out of their conservatism through ritualistic
aktions that often employed self-mutilation, a movement
that climaxed when artist Gnter Brus cut into his own
skull in 1970. In 2014, Columbia University student Emma
Sulkowicz carried a dorm room mattress everywhere she
went on campus for nine months, refusing to quit until
the school expelled her rapist (he wasnt; Untitled [Carry
That Weight] instead concluded with her graduationthe
mattress joined her onstage as she received her diploma).
Protest is often a thread here.
18
And so it is not unusual that pain, endurance,
and dissent are present here at the third iteration of
LabBodies Borders, Boundaries, and Barricades (BBB)
Performance Art Review. After all, it was no coincidence
that the first BBB arrived on the heels of the Baltimore
Uprising. Further, this years curatorial focus is freedom,
which LabBodies co-founder and co-director Ada
Pinkston says has become a matter of urgency.
Mind you, freedom is important all the time,
but I think that considering the current political
circumstance, freedom is on peoples minds and on
the agenda, Pinkston told me two nights before the
opening as she, fellow co-founder/director Hoesy
Corona, and program manager Ashley Dehoyos worked
on installing the exhibition at SpaceCamp on North
Avenue. Its more at the forefront.
Fuciles and Parks performances both draw from
direct narratives dealing with freedom: In her statement,
Fucile condemns the exploitation of artistic labor (the
white bricks are a nod to the historically exclusive
and viciously capitalistic white cube art galleries)
that constrains and punishes cultural producers. Park
describes her multi-step performancein which she
also hand-pokes tattoos onto orange rinds, doused
herself with a self-made elixir, and moreas a healing
ceremony to the repressed traumas of my sexual
assault, my parents rejection, and societys rejection
of women of color. Whether or not these messages
BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
 By Maura Callahan
Domineka Reeves performing Eroica
Photo by Alexandro Orengo / Courtesy LabBodies
make themselves clear, ultimately, is secondary to
the experience of the work; the performers struggle
against containment is felt, even smelled. The arc of the
performances could be compared to a long inhale, held
almost too long, then finally released all at once as the
artists concluded their work.
Nearly all artists represented in BBB this year are
female-identifying, and most are people of color. Not
all artists, however, offer performances; stand-alone
installations and objects from five artists take over the
front room. In the center, a sculpture by Julia Kim Smith
reflects the viewers face behind the words In Trumps
America, I am worth nothing etched into the surface of
a small round mirror. On the back, I am secretly going
to burn this thing down from the inside. A noose hangs
from the stand holding up the mirror.
Nearby, pieces from the same artists series titled
What To Wear To A Protesta leather handbag spray-
painted with the words DEFY HATE and a sweater vest
donning the logo RESIST. The kicker: Both the purse
and the top are repurposed items from the Ivanka
Trump line. The tags are still attached, though the T-word
is crossed out and replaced with resist. By the way, both
pieces are for sale with all proceeds going to the ALCU.
Also on view here are re-embellished boxing
paraphernalia and a documentary short championing
Latina women by Tanya Garcia, an installation
connecting land and the black body by Najee Haynes-
BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
mcallahan@baltimorebeat.com
Follins, a ghostly floor-to-ceiling sculpture by Sarah
Stefana Smith, and a video drawing by Helina Metaferia
(who will also present a performance at the second night
of programming). Though LabBodiesand performance
art in generalare typically rooted in ephemeral work
that directly incorporates the body as a medium, the
bigger through line is in disciplinary intersections and
finding alternative ways to engage with an audience.
Because LabBodies is a performance art presenter,
Pinkston said, the concept of freedom is that much more
important and relevant because were all about pushing
boundaries and considering the freedom of what it is for
artists to express themselves outside of traditional forms
and also outside of traditional institutions.
That push naturally extends to artists whose
identities are excluded from the traditions championed
by the art world and art history.
To some marginalized folksIm thinking queer dancer Domineka Reeves kicks up dirt and charcoal
folks, people of colorits always been important to
push and create these dialogues that are not within
the mainstream or are even themselves marginalized in
conversation, said Corona.
In Megan Livingstons participatory performance
Freeing Us Is Easy, people in the audience are asked to
click through a text-based computer game that muses
over the artists search for freedom in her identity:
Love is a political act. Black Love is a political act. An
economic act. We aint free but we act free. We free
19
what we can get. Standing nearby as a kind of IRL
avatar (dubbed by the game as the real Black Megan),
the artist returns the clicks with song and spoken word,
which she records and replays in loops. With each cycle
of the game, participants are directed to remove a sheet
of black plastic tarp where Livingston stands, revealing
a maze that stretches across the floor. With all the
tarps finally gone, Livingston slowly navigates her way
through the labyrinth and out to the audience, singing
her way around each corner. The repetition in process
here feels like the unabating pattern of questioning
and reevaluating ones place in the world, how for black
women in particular that place is determined by other
players in the game.
At the end of the night, I think about how pain
whether felt by the body or being or bothwinds itself
around resistance as both a tool and impetus while
and dry leaves, swaying and leaping in response to a
live sound performance by Erick Antonio Benitez in a
collaboration dedicated to the empowerment of black
women. Reeves limbs slam into the floor, and at the
end, the dust settles, but the air still smells like earth
and sweat.
LabBodies will hold a second night of performances
featuring Lynn Hunter, Olu Butterfly, Helina Metaferia,
and Nicoletta de la Brown at SpaceCamp on Nov. 17 at
8 p.m. The exhibition runs through Nov. 30.
NOVEMBER 15, 2017
ON PAPER

April Camlin, The Love Manifesto. Open edition screen print, 10x14 inches, 2017.

April Camlin is a Baltimore-based labor artist. She employs the languages of textile, percussion, and writing in an attempt to
understand and subvert power struggles, repression, and repetition. She currently works as an artist and educator. Find her
work at aprilcamlin.com and on Instagram @aprilcamlin.

IMAGE COURTESY OF CAMLIN

NOVEMBER 15, 2017

20 BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
 ART CENSORED
American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Highway. (410) 244-1900, avam.
org. The Great Mystery Show, A group exhibition of self-taught artists exploring
the unknown and human imagination. Through Sept. 2, 2018. Reverend Albert N O V . 1 6
Lee Wagner: Miracle At Midnight, Art by the late visionary artist who experienced
a spiritual epiphany at age 50. Ongoing.
Area 405, 405 E. Oliver St., are405.com. Retreat, In a dual exhibition, Balti- Few people seem to agree on what
more-based artist Lu Zhang presents an in-flux, experimental installation Head- censorship really means. The alt-right,
space alongside New York-based artist William Lamsons video installation Unti- MRAs, and even plenty of leftist ding
tled (Infinity Camera). Through Jan. 13, 2018. dongs have a habit of co-opting the word
Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive, (443) 573-1700, artbma.org. in an effort to discredit anyone who calls
Njideka Akunyili Crosby: Counterparts, A suite of new paintings by 2017 MacArthur them on their shit. Censorship is real, but
fellow Njideka Akunyili Crosby drawing from her experience as a Nigerian immigrant. its not what the trolls would have you
Through March 18, 2018. Phaan Howng: The Succession of Nature, in collaboration think. A new group show at the Motor
with Blue Water Baltimore, local artist Phaan Howng highlights local environmen- House highlights artists whose work was
tal issues through a toxic-toned immersive installation. Through Aug. 31, 2018. Spi- taken down in other exhibitions as a result
ral Play: Loving in the 80s, Three dimensional collages in intense colors and spiral of complaints and fears of protestremov-
shapes by the late African-American abstract expressionist Al Loving. Through April als that were deemed sensible responses
15, 2018. Annet Couwenberg: From Digital to Damask, Maryland-based artist Annet by some and acts of censorship by others.
Couwenberg investigates the intersections of science, art, history, and technology In the wake of the white supremacist ral-
through 11 textile works. Through Feb. 18, 2018. Toms Saraceno: Entangled Orbits, ly and terrorist attack in Charlottesville,
Web-like clusters of iridescent-paneled modules are suspended in the museums Baltimore artist Paul Ruckers touring Paul Ruckers REWIND exhibition
East Lobby. Through June 10, 2018. Black Box: Kara Walker & Hank Willis Thomas, exhibition Rewindwhich includes im-
Courtesy/ Paul Rucker
Salvation by Kara Walker and And I Cant Run by Hank Willis Thomas are paired ages of lynchings and KKK robes made
as explorations of the legacy of slavery. Through March 18, 2018. Crossing Borders: from Kente, camouflage, and other tex-
Mexican Modernist Prints, 30 prints and drawings by artists including Diego Rivera, tileswas closed to the public by the York
Jos Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Elizabeth Catlett. Nov. 19-March 11. College of Pennsylvania. Locally, a black erate monuments before and after their
Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave., (410) 276-1651, creativealliance.org. Erin employee from Goucher Colleges public removal (i.e. documentation of a debate
Fostel: A Measure of Place, Baltimore artist Erin Fostel draws from grief in her safety department took issue with Ste- in which censorship was often thrown
charcoal drawings of Baltimore architecture. Through Dec. 1. phen Towns six paintings representing around incorrectly) and performance
Current Space, 421 N. Howard St., (410) 343-9295, currentspace.com. Layers, Turner rebellion insurgents, whose raised work from Lynn Hunter, whose art deals
Interwoven paintings and quilts by Baltimore-based artists Elena Johnston and fists held nooses around their necks. As a with the black female bodya target of
Monique Crabb. Through Dec. 3. Its Not Complicated (But It Is), Paintings by Sara result, the paintings were removed from historical and cultural censorship if there
Havekotte. Through Dec. 3. his show A Migration in the colleges ever was one. Opening reception Nov. 16,
Guest Spot At The Reinstitute, 1715 N. Calvert St., (718) 541-9672, guestspot. Rosenberg Gallery. Works from both exhi- 5-7 p.m., Motor House, 120 W. North Ave.,
org. Not on View: Re/Activating the Archive and its A/Effects, Work from Con- bitions will be on view at the Motor House (410) 637-8300, motorhousebaltimore.
rad Bakker, Eric Doeringer, Noah Fischer, Kang Seung Lee, Antoine Lefebvre, Ka- alongside photos of Baltimores Confed- com, free. (Maura Callahan)
meelah Janan Rasheed, and Paul Soulellis; with selected ephemera, texts, and
archival materials from John Cage, Juan Caloca, Sylvia Federici, Coco Fusco, the
Guerrilla Girls, Martin Herbert, David Horvitz, the Journal of Aesthetics & Protest,
Miranda July, Sister Corita Kent, Zoe Leonard, Mess Hall, Occupy Museums, John
OConnor, Press Press, Public Collectors, The Reinstitute Press, Gregory Sholette,
Temporary Services, W.A.G.E. (Working Artists and the Greater Economy), Kara
Walker, and Caroline Woolard. Through Jan. 6, 2018.
Maryland Historical Society, 201 W. Monument St., (410) 685-3750, mdhs.org.
Unscripted Moments: The Life & Photography of Joseph Kohl, Photographs from
c.1980 through 2002 by the late Baltimore photojournalist Joseph Kohl. Ongoing.
Metro Gallery, 1700 N. Charles St., (410) 244-0899, themetrogallery.net. Complicat-
ed World Views, Works by Ryan Travis Christian, Lauren Genovese, Kat Kennedy, Matt
Leines, and Anna Silina. Opening reception Nov. 16, 7-10 p.m., on view through Dec. 31.
Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Cul-
ture, 830 E. Pratt St., (443) 263-1800, lewismuseum.org. Maryland Collects: Jacob
Lawrence, Over 50 prints by Jacob Lawrence from personal collections in and
around Maryland. Through Jan. 7, 2018.
School 33 Art Center, 1427 Light St., (410) 396-4641, school33.org. Slow Form,
A juried exhibition featuring the work of Mary Baum, Mollye Bendell, Kei Ito,
Elizabeth Mead, Lake Newton, Nick Primo, Margaret Rorison, Matthew Sepielli,
and Doohyun Yoon. Through Jan. 6, 2018. Decompositions, A solo exhibition by
Chris Zickefoose employing common construction materials and negative space.
Through Jan. 6, 2018. Lost Earring, A multi-media installation by Elliot Doughtie
considers the shift of cultural touchstones and the evolution of the artists own
queer sexuality and transgender body. Through Jan. 6, 2018.
Springsteen, 502 W. Franklin St., springsteengallery.com. Four Thieves Vine-
gar, In Springsteens final exhibition at its current location, Sydney Shen presents a
solo exhibition inspired by a prophylactic against bubonic plague. Through Nov. 25.
St. Charles Projects, 2701 N. Charles St., stcharlesprojects.com. Pre-Verse,
Paintings by June Culp, Joshua Bienko, and Delphine Hennelly in conversation
with Grace Hartigan. Ongoing.
The Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St., (410)547-9000, thewalters.org.
Faberg and the Russian Crafts Tradition: An Empires Legacy, 70 works includ-
ing the Walters two famed Faberg Easter eggs alongside gold and silver vessels,
enamels, jewelry, carved stones, and icons from Russia. Through June 24, 2018.
After Faberg, Five digital prints of surreal, digitally-rendered Faberg eggs by
artist Jonathan Monaghan complement the exhibition Faberg and the Russian
Crafts Tradition. Through June 24, 2018.

BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
21 NOVEMBER 15, 2017
LOCAL SINGLES, REVIEWED
Anti-Trump emo from Chaz Monroe, slow-motion trap music from Its Tadoe, and more
By Brandon Soderberg bsoderberg@baltimorebeat.com
MUSIC
Maxine: Possibly americas only lesbian dreampop band
Photo by Jenny Revilla
Bully Preston, Tony Iommi
Rapper Dwell teams up with low-key boom-bap
unraveler Jumbled for Bully Preston (named after an iP-
hone autocorrect fuck-up of Billy Preston). The two keep
it simple, stupid, and occasionally zooted with a loop of
The Young-Holt Unlimiteds Sombrero Man (thanks to
Jumbled for the tip) and a whirl of rhymes and referenc-
es to among other things Brand Nubian, Doctor Who
superfans, Prince, and Black Sabbaths Tony Iommi:
Show me you know me and tell your girl to blow me
homie you phony-baloney, yeah Im Tony Iommi, Ill rip
shit, yeah Ill admit it sometimes what I spit is explicit.
Chaz Monroe, The State Were In
The visionary behind the short-lived, totally legend-
ary Imaginary Hockey Leagueimagine a trans punk My
Chemical Romance with a more lived-in love of show-
tunes and black metalreturns as an apocalyptic trou-
badour on This Suffering Shall Not Be In Vain, a dented
EP of fateful acoustic threnodies. The State Were In,
the enraged, afraid closer, diagnoses the past year of
Trump fuckery and offers the obvious, immediate way
for the most vulnerable to deal with it: Wont defend
their hateful speech/ I guess Im gonna have to punch a
Nazi in the teeth/ And yet Im scared/ But Im always be
prepared/ To do whats right.
HI$TO, Let Me Know
Aaliyahs We Need A Resolution gets a horrorcore
footwork treatment. Samples of Timbalands bro-y Im
tired of arguing girl semi-come-on and demands to
hollaaaaaaa, that clarinet cry from the soundtrack to
the 1998 movie Incognito starring charismatic void Ja-
son Patric (which grounded Aaliyahs original) interrupt
an attack of treated Aaliyah vocals and tripping, trippy
drums. From Psychd Out, available for download and
limited run cassette, which is the best way to hear these
trackswith too many ideas and a cacophony of sounds
threatening to overcrowd the magnetic tape.
NOVEMBER 15, 2017
Its Tadoe, Back To It
Less of a song and more of a nearly three-minute vibe,
West Baltimores Tadoe raps like Migos Offset in slowed
down The Matrix-style bullet time, whispering askew
rhymes that often meander back to the terror of living and
hustling in Baltimore: Too much hatin, shit ridiculous/ My
niggas shooting, no witnesses; In my city, shit be crazy/
Got shooters with guns like the Navy. These rhyming asides
nag Tadoes statement of purpose (hes back, duh) and the
rainy lullaby of a beat is a modest contrast to Tadoes nervy,
swaggering song from last year, Project Shit.
Lex Chapo, .38 Baby
The late Lor Scootas assistant turned insistent MC
Lex Chapo offers an oblique refix of NBA Young Boys 2016
song of the same name (though this isnt a freestyle) to re-
veal another way in which women rappers best the dudes
these days every damn timeit is deeper than the delight-
ful Cardi B and always has been. Meanwhile, Infamous
Rells beat offers up a replacement to Hans Zimmers
dopey, tasteful score to Blade Runner 2049 through its
bleeps and bloops amid the echoing emptiness of space
shifting Lexs swift and effective street tale and ode to a
gun into a grand, brooding piece of neon-noir.
Lor Choc, Fast Life
Whats better than one billionaire? aging-out
neoliberal rap icon Jay Z asked earlier this year. Two,
was his answer. The correct answer is no billionaires.
But hey, Ill take Lor Choc of Gilmor Homes chirp of
solidarity and wealth redistribution at the beginning
of Fast Life when she declares, Theres enough paper
out here for everybody, and subsequently sing-raps
like a dancehall Boosie about hustling however you
gotta, giving sound advice (Run it up, call the plug,
grab everything for the low) over a Soothing Sounds
For Baby-like beat. As Noiseys Lawrence Burney wrote
last month, Lor Chocs Fast Life is the financial opti-
mism we all need.
22
Maxine, Boo Hoo
A cajoling shoegaze-y riff (the sort you didnt think
could be conjured anymore because all the good jangly
guitar parts had been taken decades ago), drums that
hide in the background then lurch forward and back
jazz-like (think Beat Happenings Heather Lewis meets
free and then fusion percussionist Tony Williams), and
reticent, placeholder-like vocals leads to Boo Hoolike
some 60s Marianne Faithfull pop song reimagined by
a few 4AD-obsessives. Possibly americas only lesbian
dreampop band, declares this lackadaisical trio on
their Bandcamp and well, factually Im not sure about
the only part, but lets just say theyre surely one of the
best lesbian dreampop bands around?
Pale Spring, Proud Of Your Poison
Named after a Lord Of The Rings quote (Like a
morning of pale spring still clinging to winters chill),
Pale Spring makes shame-dogged slow jams culled
from influences tied together by feelz more than genre
(The musicians I look up to and respect most are Chel-
sea Wolfe, Patsy Cline, CocoRosie, Aaliyah, The Knife,
she said in an interview with the blog The Witzard). EP
2 highlight Proud Of Your Poison is a Future Islands
ballad at half-speed, a Beach House song contorted
into a sci-fi waltz, and an intimate word-nerdy confes-
sional (appropriately, Pale Spring also performs as Anna
Notte, an arch sort of serpentine rapper).
Voyager & Liz Downing, Lying On
Thorns
Borne out of a performance at Normals Red Room
earlier this year, this collaboration between Liz Down-
ing (of Mole Suit Choir and many, many other projects)
and Tennessees Voyager (short bio: I am Josefine W.
W. Parker. I am Ruby L. L. Voyager. I am Voyager) whirls
Mortan Feldman-like noise out of banjo along with
some haunted, some comforting howls over a reading
by Voyager of the essay To Bear Hair Removal. The re-
sult is an incorporeal, trans transmission: Transgender
people turn to bodily invention like laser hair removal
in a contemporary system of medicine that we largely
have not devisedthese techniques seldom are on our
own terms.
YBS Skola feat. Young Moose,
YBS X OTM
A recent cosign by Philadelphias Meek Mill com-
plete with a deal with Meeks Dreamchasers label (free
Meek Mill, by the way, about to serve a few years at least
for decades-old probation violations because the sys-
tem devours young black men) makes YBS Skola local
raps big hope right. On YBS X OTM, he maintains some
continuity by joining up with Young Moose (who along
with the late Lor Scoota made street rap viable in Balti-
more again) and delivers his strongest verse yet, a com-
pelling, aggressively on-beat scene-stealerall thought-
ful, meter-sensitive spitting. Moose meanwhile remains
flailing, angry, unhinged, and always compelling.
BALTIMOREBEAT.COM

Venues
An Die Musik, 409 N. Charles St., (410)
385-2638, andiemusiklive.com
Anthem, 901 Wharf St. SW, Washington,
D.C., (202) 888-0020, theanthemdc.com
Baltimore Soundstage, 124 Market Place,
(410) 244-0057, baltimoresoundstage.com
Berthas, 734 S. Broadway, (410) 327-
5795, berthas.com
The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon
Ave., Alexandria, VA, (703) 549-7500,
birchmere.com
The Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW,
Washington, D.C., (202) 667-4490,
blackcatdc.com
Cats Eye Pub, 1730 Thames St., (410)
276-9866, catseyepub.com
Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave.,
(410) 276-1651, creativealliance.org
The Crown, 1910 N. Charles St., (410) 625-
4848, facebook.com/TheCrownBaltimore
The 8x10, 10 E. Cross St., (410) 625-2000,
the8x10.com
E.M.P. Collective, 307 W. Baltimore St.,
(410) 244-0785, empcollective.org
Echostage, 2135 Queens Chapel Road
NE, Washington, D.C., (202) 503-2330,
echostage.com
The Fillmore Silver Spring, 8656
Colesville Road, (301) 960-9999,
fillmoresilverspring.com
Germanos Piattini, 300 S. High St., (410)
752-4515, germanospiattini.com
Joe Squared, 33 W. North Ave., (410) 545-
0444, joesquared.com
Lyric Opera House, 140 W. Mount Royal
Ave., (410) 685-5086, modell-lyric.com
Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little
Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia, (410) 715-
5550, merriweathermusic.com.
Metro Gallery, 1700 N. Charles St., (410)
244-0899, themetrogallery.net
Motor House, 120 W. North Ave., (410)
637-8300, motorhousebaltimore.com
9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW, Washington,
D.C., (202) 265-0930, 930.com
The Ottobar, 2549 N. Howard St., (410)
662-0069, theottobar.com
Pier Six Pavillion, 731 Eastern Ave., (410)
547-7200, livenation.com/venues/14732/
pier-six-pavilion
Rams Head Live, 20 Market Place, (410)
244-1131, ramsheadlive.com
Rams Head On Stage, 33 West
St., Annapolis, (410) 268-4545,
ramsheadonstage.com
Red Room, 425 E. 31st St., redroom.org
Reverb, 2112 N. Charles St., (443) 447-
4325, reverbcollective.com
Royal Farms Arena, 201 W. Baltimore St.,
(410) 347-2020, royalfarmsarena.com
The Sidebar, 218 E. Lexington St., (410)
659-4130, sidebarbaltimore.com
Tin Roof, 32 Market Place, (443) 873-8137,
tinroofbaltimore.com
U Street Music Hall, 1115A U St. NW,
Washington, D.C., (202) 588-1889,
ustreetmusichall.com
The Windup Space, 12 W. North Ave.,
(410) 244-8855, thewindupspace.com
B A L T I M ORE B EA T . C O M
W e d . 1 5
An Die Musik. Joanna Wallfisch.
Anthem. National Symphony Orchestra.
Berthas. Baltimore Songwriters Association
Songwriters Showcase.
The Birchmere. Lyle Lovett & John Hiatt.
The Black Cat. Queer Girl Movie Night.
Cats Eye Pub. Rachel & Chick Hall.
The 8x10. Bunk Buddha, Goose, FFiiZZyy.
Germanos Piattini. Open Mic Night with
Mary Reilly.
Joe Squared. Church Girls, Them Animals,
Pinkwench.
Metro Gallery. Jenny O., Mr. Husband, Pale
Spring.
9:30 Club. The Revivalists, Southern Avenue.
The Ottobar. Emery, CIVILIAN, LOYALS, The
Funeral Portrait, In Your Memory.
Rams Head Live. Lukas Nelson & Promise of
the Real, Nikki Lane.
Rams Head On Stage. Bruce Cockburn.
Tin Roof. Nate McCormick.
The Windup Space. Downtown Boys, Olivia
Neutron-John, Mallwalker.
T h u . 1 6
An Die Musik. AppalAsia.
Baltimore Soundstage. Whitechapel,
Carnifex, Rings of Saturn, Entheos, So This Is
Suffering, Emerge A Tyrant.
Berthas. Jeff Reed Trio.
The Birchmere. Lyle Lovett & John Hiatt.
The Black Cat. The Drums, Methyl Ethel.
Cats Eye Pub. The Racket.
The 8x10. Manly Deeds, High & Wides, Two
Ton Twig.
The Fillmore Silver Spring. Thrice, Circa
Survive, Chon, Balance & Composure.
Germanos Piattini. John and Kristy Cocuzzi.
Joe Squared. The GTVs, Woolly Bushmen,
The Hall Monitors.
9:30 Club. The Revivalists, Mt. Joy.
The Ottobar. Lucero, Two Cow Garage.
Rams Head Live. Slowdive, Cherry Glazerr.
Rams Head On Stage. Lez Zeppelin.
U Street Music Hall. Bully, Aye Nako.
The Windup Space. Drinking and Dragons.
F r i . 1 7
An Die Musik. Jeff Cosgrove Trio.
Baltimore Soundstage. Crywolf, SOOHAN.
Berthas. The Juke Drivers.
The Birchmere. Walter Beasley, Unit 3 Deep.
The Black Cat. The Story So Far, Turnstile,
Drug Church; Eat Your Hart Out Burlesque
Revue.
Cats Eye Pub. Ken G. Shorts, Nothin But
Trouble.
The Crown. Friday Night Magic; Yo No Say,
SGT GUSTO, Bloomer .
The 8x10. Better Off Dead, Stewbone.
The Fillmore Silver Spring. Yelawolf, Mikey
Mike, Big Henri, CookUpBoss.
Germanos Piattini. Christine Thomas and
Michael Tan in The Not Here Cabaret.
Lyric Opera House. Lyle Lovett & John Hiatt.
Metro Gallery. Baltimore 4 Puerto Rico: Soul
Cannon, Chiffon, Super City, Shinji, Tropixxx,
LIP.
Motor House. Joy Postell, Wendel Patrick,
Randi W. Roberts, Station North Sadboi.
23
9:30 Club. Yonder Mountain String Band,
The Last Revel.
The Ottobar. Lucero, Two Cow Garage;
Karaoke Happy Hour; Extra Medium Dance
Party.
Royal Farms Arena. Trans-Siberian
Orchestra.
Rams Head Live. Luke Combs, Josh Phillips,
Faren Rachels.
Rams Head On Stage. Savoy Brown.
Red Room. Diffusion: Kassel Jaeger, Leila
Bordreuil, Wobbly.
Reverb. Breadfoot, Kurt Deemer Band,
Harlan County Kings.
The Sidebar. Complex, Joe Biden, Pearl.
Tin Roof. Mic Larry.
U Street Music Hall. Kelela, Lafawndah.
S a t . 1 8
An Die Musik. Saud The Music of McCoy
Tyner.
Anthem. Erykah Badu, The Crossrhodes,
Pinky Killacorn.
Baltimore Soundstage. Rodrigo y Gabriela,
Marc Scibilia.
Berthas. June Star.
The Birchmere. Paul Thorn Band, Alice
Drinks The Kool-Aid.
The Black Cat. Take Me Out: 2000s Indie
Dance Party.
Cats Eye Pub. Nothin But Trouble, Eddy &
The Haskyls.
Creative Alliance. The Quebe Sisters.
The Crown. Mega Funk II: Skin Tight Soul
Party, 4 Hours of Funk, RAW Content.
The 8x10. Ivy Lab, Brightside, And More.
Echostage. Afrojack, Cheat Codes, Ravitez.
E.M.P. Collective. Told Slant, Yowler, Molly
Soda, Maya Martinez, Alain Ginsberg, Grace
Davis.
Germanos Piattini. Kings of Crownsville.
Lyric Opera House. Chicago.
Metro Gallery. The Dirty Grass Players,
Pressing Strings.
9:30 Club. Bleachers, Bishop Briggs, Amy
Shark.
The Ottobar. Unsane, Plaque Marks, Hangers,
Birth (Defects).
Rams Head Live. The Infamous Stringdusters,
Cris Jacobs.
Rams Head On Stage. Simply Three.
Red Room. Diffusion: Groupe de Recherches
Musicales.
Reverb. Jumpcuts, Sammi Lanzetta.
The Sidebar. The Fuss, Sir Ryan Collins, DJ
Bobby Babylon.
Tin Roof. Mic Larry.
U Street Music Hall. Arkells, Irontom.
The Windup Space. MT6fest XIII 2017.
S u n . 9 Children, The Expotentials, Distinguished
An Die Musik. Matthew Odell in Recital;
Roots Cafe Special Event: Nashville Singer
Songwriter Kevin Gordon.
Anthem. Ozuna.
Baltimore Soundstage. H.E.R, Arin Ray, Tiara
Thomas.
Berthas. June Star.
The Birchmere. Kathy Mattea, Bill Cooley.
The Black Cat. Eyelids, Jay Gonzalez & the
Guilty Pleasures, Humble Fire.
Cats Eye Pub. Steve Kraemer & The
Bluesicians; Pete Kanaras & The Hi-Fliers.
The Crown. Theta Flux Bastet, Mall Prowler,
Kendall Cahan, BWO.
The 8x10. Jerry Joseph, Revelator Hill.
The Fillmore Silver Spring. Curren$y, Dave
East, Lil Bibby, Ethan Spalding, The Traprock
Band, Billionell.
Germanos Piattini. Showstoppers Present
Sentimental Journey.
9:30 Club. Angus & Julia Stone, Luke Sital-
Singh.
The Ottobar. Cults, She-Devils, Hideout.
Rams Head On Stage. Spyro Gyra.
U Street Music Hall. Hot Chip (DJ set).
M o n . 2 0
An Die Musik. Monday Jazz Jam hosted by
Alex Meadow and Joshua Espinoza.
Baltimore Soundstage. Fit For A King, In
Hearts Wake, Like Moths To Flames, Phinehas,
Artifacts.
The Birchmere. The Stanley Clarke Band.
Cats Eye Pub. Phil Cunneff New Trio.
Rams Head On Stage. Gaelic Storm.
U Street Music Hall. Sheppard.
The Windup Space. Sadistik, Nacho Picasso,
Rafael Vigiliantics, Butch Dawson, Drew
Scott.
T u e . 2 1
Baltimore Soundstage. mewithouyou.
The Black Cat. Branch Manager, Bells Of,
Ruin By Design.
Cats Eye Pub. Cats Eye Blues Jam.
The Fillmore Silver Spring. Jhene Aiko,
Willow Smith, St. Beauty, Kitty Cash.
9:30 Club. Strike Anywhere, City Of Caterpillar,
Battery, Worriers, Big Hush.
The Ottobar. Left Stronger, Kan Of Worms,
The Control, Trite & Cheap.
Rams Head On Stage. The Stanley Clarke
Band.
U Street Music Hall. Moonchild.
W e d . 2 2
Baltimore Soundstage. Pierce Fulton,
Nvdes, Noosa.
The Black Cat. The Mattson 2, Foots x Coles.
Cats Eye Pub. Ruben Montoya Band.
The 8x10. Bunk Buddha, Image.nation,
Linkmindz.
Echostage. Benny Benassi, Bassjackers.
The Fillmore Silver Spring. Hoodie Allen,
Luke Christopher, Myles Parrish.
Germanos Piattini. The Hot Club Of
Baltimore.
Lyric Opera House. Kirk Franklin, Ledisi.
Metro Gallery. Lazlo Lee & The Motherless
Gentlemen.
9:30 Club. 6lack, Sabrina Claudio, Sy Ari The
Kid.
Rams Head Live. Stacked Like Pancakes,
The Hollow Party, The Never Ending Fall,
PLEVYAK, Joint Operation.
Tin Roof. Whirlwind.
U Street Music Hall. Anjunadeep, David
Hohme, Jody Wisternoff, Luttrell.
The Windup Space. Liberate.
NO V E M B ER 1 5 , 2 0 1 7
 Janet Jackson live in 2011

Photo by Amy Leighton/ Courtesy Wikimedia

JANET JACKSON
N O V . 1 8

Yeah, the NFL got Justin Timberlake
to play their little Super Bowl or what-
ever (funny how his career didnt take a
hit after that 2004 Nipplegate mishap
wonder why?), but Baltimore has Janet
Jacksonat least for one night. Her Un-
breakable Tour was supposed to stop in
Baltimore last year, but legends do what
they want and Jackson took some time
off to get married and have a baby. Shes
back now and if youve seen videos con-
certgoers in different cities have posted
online of Jackson and her dance crew,
youll see that she hasnt missed a beat.
Go to catch her in all of her what-have-
you-done-for-me-lately-thats-the-way-
love-goes-I-get-so-lonely-ness. 8 p.m.
Royal Farms Arena, 201 W. Baltimore
St., royalfarmsarena.com, (410) 347-2020
$39.50-$135. (Lisa Snowden-McCray)

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E RIGHT TO ACCEPT OR REJECT ANY ADVERTISEMENT. DOS SANTOS ANTI-BEAT ORQUESTA,
AMADOU KOUYATE, LEON CITY SOUNDS
N O V .
Chicagos Dos Santos Anti-Beat
Orquesta mixes Latin sounds such as
cumbia and salsa with the sprawl and
thump of 60s trip musicthink the Ghet-
to Brothers meets Hawkwind meets the
Heliocentrics and youre like, on the right
trackand the opportunity to get caught
in their cloud of culture-crossing hard
rock and intense dance is something
special. Dont miss this. Also on the bill is
D.C.s Amadou Kouyate, who plays kora
(a 21-string lute/harp) along with djembe
1 9
and koutiro drums, maintaining a long-
standing West African tradition of music.
It is music about accumulation, hundreds
of years old and yet thoroughly modern
because its the kind of shit people are
still ripping offwith nods to American
blues and jazz. And between bands, Leon
City Sounds select cumbia tracks to keep
the energy going and further connect the
sonic dots. 8 p.m., The Windup Space, 12
W. North Ave., (410) 244-8855, thewindup-
space.com, $10-$15. (Brandon Soderberg)

NOVEMBER 15, 2017

24 BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
BOTH SAD AND BEAUTIFUL
Writers In Baltimore Schools students interview author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
By Anastasia Farley, Maia Washington, and CinShea Williams
BOOKS
Maia Washington, CinShea Williams, and Anastasia Farley introduce Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (sitting bottom right)
Photo By Patrice Hutton
Back in September, three high school students in-
volved in Writers in Baltimore SchoolsAnastasia Farley,
Maia Washington, and CinShea Williamswere tasked
with delivering remarks on Chimamanda Ngozi Adi-
chies 2003 novel, The Purple Hibiscus, which Maryland
Humanities had chosen as the One Maryland One Book
read for 2017. The students are writers; they perform their
work for audiences throughout the city. But on this night,
in the Evergreen Museum and Librarys Carriage House,
the author herself sat in the front row, beaming.
After the event, the girls sat down to interview Ms.
Adichie at a table set up in the venues stables. The
famed novelist began the interview by joking about the
interview setup itself. It feels like an interview. You have
the second interview, youve passed through the first
stage, so this is the head of human resources, this is the
vice president, and this is the communications execu-
tive, she said. What would I like to bring to the compa-
ny? I would increase the diversity quota.
All four writers laughed. Ms. Adichie had put the
girls at ease and the interview began. (Patrice Hutton,
founder and director of Writers in Baltimore Schools)
CinShea Williams: What made you want to write
this novel?
Chimamanda Adichie: I wanted to write a novel
that felt trueto me. I was in Connecticut, it was my
third winter in America, I was so homesick, so I want-
ed to write about home. I wanted to write a book that
is both sad and beautiful about what it means to love,
what family means, what religion means, all of those
things. So it wasnt one thing.
CW: What about your past life is the biggest reason
you are who you are today?
CA: The fact that I was fortunate to be raised by re-
ally wonderful parents who gave me space to be myself.
NOVEMBER 15, 2017
Anastasia Farley: What was most difficult to write
about in this novel?
CA: The scene where [Kambilis] father punishes
her in the bathtub was really difficult. I wrote it and re-
wrote it 10 times, maybe. That was the most difficult.
AF: In previous interviews youve said you put real-
ism before likeability in your writing. Did this influence
your ending, including Father Amadi and Kambilis re-
lationship?
CA: Did I say that in a past interviewoh? I never
think about likeability. And I dont want you to think
about likeability. You just need to be yourself. I think
girls are always thinking about being liked, even by as-
sholesoops, sorry, I guess the language isnt appropri-
ateand the thing is the world is such a lovely place that
someone will like you, and I feel girls are always, How
many likes did I get? Sorry, what was the question?
AF: Did this influence the ending, including Father
Amadi and Kambilis relationship?
CA: Thats an interestingyes, thats a simple an-
swer, yes. Just because I think its important to be real-
istic, and also because Father Amadi and Kambilishes
not old enough. And hes a good man, hes the sort of
man who does the right things, so I kind of imagineI
dont know but I kind of imagine when she turns 18 . . .
Maia Washington: What were some of your inspira-
tions for the development of Kambili?
CA: I wanted to have a character who doesnt real-
ly have a voice, who has trouble with speaking because
I thinkwell, first of all, because most people go through
that at some stage in their life, where we feel voiceless
and struggle with voice and also we feel that we cant be
heard, so I wanted to write that. Also, I think that a child
who goes through what she went through would struggle
26
with having a voice. I remember when she came to me
because, you know, sometimes characters will just sort
of come to meand I remember that for me the thing
was the hushed-ness of her voice, and her nature, that
she hadits kind of like growing up in a place where even
your soul becomes smothered. And to then watch her
very slow, just slowly, come alive, I wanted that to be the
journey of the book. And its nothing dramatic, but its that
thing where shes becoming a whole person who can be.
MW: What advice would you give to people who
were in the same position, or feel the same way, feel
trapped?
CA: I just wish I could wave a magic wand and make
it all okay for them. But I believe in trying. The thing I
would say is be kind to yourself. And Im going to talk
about girls in particularbut Im sure also boysbut
when girls feel voiceless they feel helpless, and they dont
know how to be kind to themselves, by which I mean
that you feel like youre voiceless, you feel like a failure,
and you beat yourself up, and it becomes this cycle. So
its important to remember to be kind to yourself, and
you havent done anything wrong. And to keep trying.
You know how [Kambili] tries? When the book
starts, when she goes to Nsukka the first time, shes not
talking. And she wants to talk, but she just cant. But
we watch that she keeps trying and at some pointshe
gets help, obviously, Father Amadi and her cousin, with
all of her sharpness, care about her. So she gets help,
but what is also important to remember is that Kambi-
li helps herself when she keeps trying. Because people
cant help when you dont do your part. She does her
part, she keeps trying. And suddenly shes talking, and
she can laugh because she tried. So I think being kind
to yourself, being patient, and trying. And always re-
membering that its not your fault. I think its important
to keep that in mind.
BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
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 Writing About the Vietnam War: A Conversation
with Wayne Karlin And Marc Steiner
N O V .
Everything old is new again, and as
a result, its time for us to tackle the sub-
ject of unwinnable wars. Hear radio and
podcast host Marc Steiner and Vietnam
veteran Wayne Karlin, author of Wan-
dering Souls: Journeys With the Dead
and the Living in Viet Nam, talk about
their 2006 project, Shared Weight. The
six-part broadcast was a way of tackling
the huge subject of the Vietnam War
Marching Dykes, Liberated Sluts,
and Concerned Mothers
N O V .
It is, as always, a dangerous time to
be a woman. Republicans seem poised
to take away our access to abortions and
other forms of healthcare, and the cur-
rent focus on prominent predators like
Harvey Weinstein shows how deeply en-
trenched our society is in rape culture.
And its not as if women dont speak
outwe do. But when we do we are often
silenced. That silencing can come from
men, who call us angry, nags, bitches,
and worseor, if you are a minority, from
NOVEMBER 15, 2017
1 5
through the eyes of U.S. soldiers, artists,
war resisters, and Vietnamese people.
Steiner says the project left him forever
changed. The talk comes on the heels
of Ken Burns and Lynn Novicks 10-part
documentary series The Vietnam War.
6:30 p.m, Enoch Pratt Free Library North-
wood Branch, 4420 Loch Raven Blvd.,
(410) 377-2966, theivybookshop.com,
free. (Lisa Snowden-McCray)
1 9
white women who dont understand
why you wont just fall in line with the
larger, more mainstream agenda. Writer
Elizabeth Currans tackles all of this, us-
ing her book Marching Dykes, Liberated
Sluts, and Concerned Mothers: Wom-
en Transforming Public Space to look
thoughtfully at the way feminist, queer,
and race theory shape the way women
protest. 3 p.m., Red Emmas, 30 W. North
Ave., (443) 602-7585, redemmas.org, free.
(Lisa Snowden-McCray)
28
Enoch Pratt free Library
Photo by Smash the Iron Cage / Courtesy of wikimedia
Atomic Books, 3620 Falls Road, (410) 662-4444, atomicbooks.com. Radical
Reproductive Justice Anthology book release party with Jamia Wilson, executive
director The Feminist Press at CUNY in conversation with the books editors Loret-
ta Ross, Lynn Roberts, Erika Dermas, and Whitney Peoples. Nov. 18, 7 p.m.
Baltimore County Public Library Cockeysville Branch, 9833 Greenside
Drive, (410) 887-7750, bcpl.info. Matthew A. Crenson discusses his latest and high-
ly-praised book Baltimore: A Political History. Nov. 17, 2 p.m.
Baltimore County Public Library Pikesville Branch, 1301 Reisterstown Road,
(410) 887-1234, bcpl.info. Will Englund, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and cur-
rent senior editor on foreign affairs for the Washington Post, talks about his book
March 1917: On The Brink Of War And Revolution. Nov. 15, 2:30 p.m.
Bird In Hand, 33 E. 33rd St., (410) 814-0373, birdinhandcharlesvillage.com.
Pinball Wizards: Jackpots, Drains, And The Cult Of The Silver Ball author Adam
Ruben in conversation With Marion Winik. Nov. 15, 7:30 p.m. Starts Here! reading
series featuring Christopher K. Doyle, Jill McCroskey Coupe, and Michelle Junot.
Nov. 18, 7 p.m.
Enoch Pratt Free Library Central Branch, 400 Cathedral St., (410) 396-5430,
prattlibrary.org. Poetry and conversation with Hilary S. Jacqmin, Greg Williamson,
and Michele Wolf. Nov. 15, 6:30 p.m.
Enoch Pratt Free Library Light Street Branch, 1251 Light St., (410) 396-1096,
prattlibrary.org. Ceil Lucas, professor emerita of Gallaudet University in Washing-
ton, D.C. discusses her book How I Got Here: A Memoir, which details her life in
Guatemala City, Rome, and then the U.S. Nov. 16, 6:30 p.m.
Enoch Pratt Free Library Roland Park Branch, 5108 Roland Ave., (410) 396-
6099, prattlibrary.org. Holly Lewis Maddux reads from her book I Wouldnt Have
Changed a Thing, based on the memoirs of her grandfather Luther S. Ludie Tall,
one of Roland Parks earliest residents. Nov. 18, 11 a.m.
Impact Hub, 10 E. North Ave., (443) 821-7482, baltimore.impacthub.net. Book re-
lease party for photographer Kyle Pompeys Perspective Baltimore. Nov. 17, 5 p.m.
The Ivy Bookshop, 6080 Falls Road, (410) 377-2966, theivybookshop.com.
James Archer Abbott, Philip Franklin Wagley Director and Curator of Evergreen
Museum & Library at Johns Hopkins University, discusses his book Evergreen:
The Garrett Family, Collectors And Connoisseurs. Nov. 16, 7 p.m. Courtney Pip-
pin-Mathur reads from her new childrens book Dragons Rule, Princesses Drool
alongside crafts and treats for the Ivy Bookshops Read Local Party. Nov. 19, 10 a.m.
Maryland State Library for the Blind & Physically Handicapped, 415 Park
Ave., (410) 230-2424, marylandlibraries.org. Dr. Lydia Kang, a practicing internal
medicine physician and author of young adult and adult fiction, discusses her
book Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything, co-written
with Nate Pedersen. Nov. 16, 6:30 p.m.
Red Emmas, 30 W. North Ave., (443) 602-7611, redemmas.org. Punishing Dis-
ease: HIV and the Criminalization of Sickness author Trever Hope in a conversa-
tion with Tyrone Hanley, Esq., moderated by Mark S. King, Nov. 15, 7:30 p.m.
BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
 Colin Kaepernick:
For the Love of The Game
POETRY

B y T a r i q To u r

Tariq Tour is a native Baltimorean, Muslim essayist, poet, educator, humanitarian and public speaker. Since the age of 19, Tour has mentored at-risk African-American
Males in Baltimore and Washington D.C. Find his work at tariqtour.com and in his 2016 collection of poetry Black Seeds.

Screen Capture courtesy of YouTube

Yes sir Coach, Shoot, But my job is just to play!?

Yes sir Coach,
Yes sir Coach, So me without a ball My foundation gave out
Yes sir Coach, is Clark Kent without a cape, 10,000 turkeys in the hood last year
I knock a couple helmets off Whats more for me to say?
I throws the ball coach they depositing my papes. I dont wanna get cornered in debate.
I runs the ball coach But wait... What you say? We aint supposed to mixing
I catches the ball coach 44 shots? Three of em to the face? this blessed game here with politics.
I knows the ball coach Plus theres mortgage in the way,
I holds the ball coach Now wait... its how I afforded the estate
I controls the ball coach But could I be mortgaging my play?
Did he hold on to the steering wheel Could my legs be the leverage
But you, you, you owns the ball coach? was a smile up on his face!? that makes owners more
Did he say yes officer no officer cordial with the tape?
And this here field and them there stands, please check my registration
and that there JumboTron, And them there fans, And and my plates!? And is a mouth wide shut,
oh Lord my fans, you aint got to ask! and blind eyes open help
Just last week I signed a grown mans forehead and Oh naw... absorbing all the hate.
the palms... of his newborns hands This game is all Ive had for my escape!
you know how we be bucking the law and I escaped..
Oh boy they love me, too much damn attitude But I assure you they love me!
on my grandmommas grave they surely do, get them weapons involved surely theyll understand today
You know a bullet be the only thang So you saying he was unarmed? So when I take this knee
keepin this game from me and you. And fit a description as that anthem starts to play.
wasnt no shakin it off? You think they could look at me
God got to be a gifted artist with this passion in my face
the ways I been picked and prodded. They were looking for a And truly be able to say,
Since sixteen I been lean whole hood knew 64 black male this is the land of the free
Id get the farthest away from our fathers 245 lbs to be exact and home of the brave?
away from slaughters... away from coffins, And you sayin he was
Can you believe, USC wanted me? reaching for his license
They only pick the hardest. Three year starter. and got rounds up in his back?
2 All-Americans, Bankers daughter.
Loud sounds
This got to be a dream. See, see where Im from you and then collapsed?
either Hustle, get high, get hit,
or hurdle defenders. But you take children Well look here we got to do something
with trauma and tempers, I means something gotta shake!
from august december. That could be me arms folded
Blow a whistle let them loose cousins gettin consoled and
tear limbs from the tendons. everybody huddled at my wake...
Only the strong survive there you
betta remember

BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
29 NOVEMBER 15, 2017
MEN RUIN EVERYTHING
Two plays about women forming connections in the face of erasure
By Maura Callahan mcallahan@baltimorebeat.com
STAGE
Jade Wheeler (left), Dawn Ursula, and Beth Hylton in Intimate Apparel
Photo by ClintonBPhotography / Courtesy Everyman Theatre
Intimate Apparel
Depending on who you ask, a corset is either a
symbol of feminine beauty and sexuality, or one of
womens subjugationa literal and figurative means of
suffocationor both. In the hands of lauded playwright
Lynn Nottage, and those of her nimble heroine Esther,
its not that simple.
Nottages Intimate Apparel, now running at Ev-
eryman Theatre through Nov. 19 under the direction
of Tazewell Thompson (who directed Ruined by the
same author at Everyman in 2015, a production that
shared three cast members with Intimate Apparel),
Esther (played by Dawn Ursula, deservedly cast once
more as Nottages protagonist, again a businesswom-
an) is a seamstress in turn of the century New York who
specializes in crafting womens undergarments. For her,
a corset is not merely a piece of lingerie; it has a story
there are the origins of the fabric and lace and how it
arrived in Esthers hands, who will wear the piece and
why. Theres even a story in how silk feels against ones
back. And then theres the story only Esther knows: the
18 years of labor spent at her machine, located in her
bedroom apartment in a boarding house full of wom-
en; the small profit from her sales that she tucks into
pockets of a quilt made from fabric scrapsa fund for
a future beauty parlor she hopes to open in service of
fellow black women.
While Esther has devoted her life to making wom-
en feel attractive, and dreams of making them feel even
more pampered, such treatment is of little interest to
Esther herself. She dresses modestly, wears no make-
up, and, at 35, has never been with a man, though she
hopes to marry one day. She finds gratification merely
in pleasing her clients, seeing them admire themselves
NOVEMBER 15, 2017
and her fine handiwork in the mirror. Her two favorite
customers couldnt be more dissimilar: One, Mrs. Van
Buren (Beth Hylton), is a white Southern belle, wealthy
and married, privileged but painfully repressed. The
other, Mayme (Jade Wheeler) is a black prostitutea
self-made businesswoman like Esther, though Mayme
feels more liberated than incomplete in the single life.
But when we meet Esther, she is not single for long.
Out of the blue she receives a letter from George (Bueka
Uwemedimo), a laborer working on the construction of
the Panama Canal, and they strike up a correspondence,
which illiterate Esther keeps going with the help of Mrs.
Van Buren and Mayme. With their expertise, Esthers mes-
sages go from friendly introductions to the 1905 equiva-
lent of sexts to full-blown love letters, and they become
engaged. George sails to New York, they marry, andsur-
priseEsther finds her new husband is not the smooth
talker, caring lover, and dedicated worker hed made him-
self out to be in his letters. But its too late to swipe left.
Now a married woman with a gold-digging
spouse, Esthers labor and craft take on new mean-
ing, as do her relationships with her clients and her
fabric supplier, an observant Romanian Jew named
Mr. Marks (Drew Kopas), whose tenderness and ap-
preciation for good silk clearly make for a better albe-
it forbidden match.
Like the story of the corset, Intimate Apparel is ul-
timately a familiar story of woman being defined and
stifled by man. But the play, again like the corset, is pres-
ent for the private lives and dreams of womenblack
women, in particular, whose interiority would rarely un-
fold in such detail on major stages if not for Nottage
and the connections they form when they overlap.
That rare view is worth enduring the sight of men, once
again, ruining everything.
30
Origin of the Species
The Biblical creation myth pegs all human folly on
women just because Eve deigned to access knowledge.
But evolution and the story of the first hominids arent so
kind to women either: That history has been told by big
great male geniuses, who, naturally, tell us that man dis-
covered fire, man learned how to use stones as tools, man
created civilization. The term man here might be a proxy
for humankind, as is often the case, but that exclusionary
language has proven damaging enough on its own.
In her 1987 two-hander Origin of the Species,
now receiving a run directed by Erin Riley at the Strand
Theater through Nov. 19 to kick off their 10th season
of women-focused theater, Bryony Lavery attempts to
right this disastrous wrong in perhaps the most literal
way imaginable: by digging up an early female human
and letting her tell the story.
This early woman comes to us by way of Molly, an
eccentric archaeologist in her golden years. She relays
to the audience from her artifact-stuffed Yorkshire cot-
tage how she traveled to East Africa ostensibly for a
digthough really, she says, she embarked on the jour-
ney to find herself a man (why someone would cross
thousands of miles to an archeological site where there
are more bones than breathing men is beyond me;
Laverny never really illuminates). Instead, she finds her
four-million-year-old female ancestor beneath the dirt,
still breathing. Molly quietly smuggles her miraculous
find, whom she names Victoria, back to Yorkshire and
begins to teach her the English language and customs.
As she demonstrates to Victoria how to identify col-
ors and use her imagination among other things, Mol-
ly studies and interrogates her ancestor in an attempt
to uncover secrets about the beginning of human life.
Struggling with her limited but growing vocabulary,
Victoria signals to Molly it was woman, not man, who
discovered fire; woman, not man, who figured out how
to use a sharp stone to skin animals for their hides.
Molly, like most, has learned everything she knows
about everything from men, and has accepted most
of their stories as factthough not without skepticism.
Among the various male-authored scientific texts Molly
reads to Victoria with an eyebrow raised, a real quote
from one of the founders of social psychology, Gustave
Le Bon: Women represent the most inferior forms of
human evolution. . . . They excel in fickleness, inconstan-
cy, absence of thought and logic, and incapacity to rea-
son. Without a doubt, there exists some distinguished
women, very superior to the average man, but they are
as exceptional as the birth of any monstrosity, as for ex-
ample, of a gorilla with two heads. Consequently, we
may neglect them entirely.
Together, these two old women begin to relearn
the world just as their species races toward extinction
(the result of mans achievements). Often, their journey
takes distracting turns that appear directionless. But
while Laverys ambitious attempt to reach a summation
of the history of humankind proves at times convoluted,
her story is grounded by tender performances from Jan-
et Constable Preston as Molly and Nicole Millins-Teasley
as the equally inquisitive Victoria. Their exchanges of-
fer an intimate manifestation of one of the most para-
mount rules in science: Question everything.
BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
 Ashani Dances Five

Screencapture courtesy of Baltimore Theatre Project

Photo Courtesy of Hippodrome Theatre
Disneys The Lion King
N O V . 1 6
This Tony Award-winning Broadway musical featuring music by Elton John,
striking scenery, and graceful dancers made up like lions, hyenas, and gazelles rolls
into Baltimores Hippodrome Theatre and stays until December. Its a totally differ-
ent feel than the animated classic that had you bawling in movie theatres back in
1994, but thats OK. At any rate, this should hold you over until the live-action version
of the 1994 filmstarring Beyonc as the voice of Nala among a star-studded cast
hits theaters in 2019. Through Dec. 10, Hippodrome Theater, 12 N. Eutaw St., (410)
837-7400, france-merrickpac.com, $81-$629. (Lisa Snowden-McCray)
Ashani Dances Five. Ashani Dances returns with their fifth annual concert fea-
turing choreography by Iyun Ashani Harrison and music by Marc Avon Evans. Nov.
17-19, Baltimore Theatre Project, 45 W. Preston St., (410) 752-8558, theatreproject.org,
$15-$25.
Flamenco: Aparicio Dance Company. Dancer and choreographer Edwin Aparicio
leads musicians and dancers in a showcase of Spanish dance. Nov. 17, 8 p.m., Creative
Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave., (410) 276-1651, creativealliance.org, $22-$28.
The Hallelujah Girls. Set in an abandoned church-turned-day-spa, this South-
ern musical finds a group of friends seeking better lives. Through Nov. 26, Arena Play-
ers, 801 McCulloh St., (410) 728-6500, arenaplayersinc.com, $15-$20.
Little Shop of Horrors. A flower shop assistant nurtures a bloodthirsty plant
in this acclaimed rock musical comedy. Through Nov. 25, Vagabond Players, 806 S.
Broadway, (410) 563-9135, vagabondplayers.org, $23-$25.
Mucking About. Stand-up from host Becca Lundberg and performances from
improv troupes Bandicoot, Toe Money Improv, Blood Pact, TT, and Thighmeat. Nov. 17,
8 p.m., Charm City Comedy Project at Zissimos Bar, 1023 W. 36th St., charmcitycome-
dyproject.com, $5.
Second Stoop: My Freaky Family. Stoop Storytelling presents an open mic night
for personal tales about Thanksgiving madness. Nov. 16, 8 p.m., Creative Alliance, 3134
Eastern Ave., (410) 276-1651, creativealliance.org, $9-$15.
Shakespeare In Love. In a stage adaption of the Academy Award-winning film,
the bard falls in love with an aspiring actress. Through Nov. 26, Baltimore Center Stage,
700 N. Charles St., (410) 332-0033, centerstage.org, $20-$84.

Photo Courtesy of Submersive Productions

H.T. Darlings Incredible Museaum Presents:

The Treasures of New Galapagos, Astonishing
Aquisitions from the Perisphere
N O V . 1 6
Even if you caught the debut run of Submersive Productions latest devised
work last spring, youd be remiss not to see it again. After all, no two experiences
of H.T. Darlings Incredible Musaeum are alike: The Peale Center (the first build-
ing constructed as a museum in the U.S.), transformed into a sci-fi cabinet of
wonders with multiple actors traversing its floors, offers multiple points of entry
and movement through the namesake explorers collection of oddities culled
from the fictional planet New Galapagosa choose-your-own-adventure of sorts.
Filled with convincing puppets, audience interaction from skilled performers, and
detailed set design filling the entire three-story building, the Museaum presents
more to unearth with each visit. Through Dec. 17, The Peale Center, 225 Holliday
St., submersiveproductions.com, $25-$75. (Maura Callahan)

BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
31 NOVEMBER 15, 2017
 Sympathy For The Underdog
Holiday comedy Planes, Trains and Automobiles
conjures solidarity, skewers rich dicks
By Adam Katzman
SCREENS
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Screencapture courtesy of Youtube
Like 1987s dystopian satire Robocop, John Hughes 1987
romp Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a late, Reagan-era
comedy about what happens when machines that were built
to make society run smoother (especially for people with mon-
ey) start breaking down. Not only do these inventions fail to
inoculate the upper class from general disrepair, they propel
them headfirst into scenarios left for the market to sort out.
After Neal Page (played by Steve Martin), a Manhattan ad-
vertising executive trying to make it home to Chicago for Thanks-
giving, loses his cab to Del Griffith (John Candy), an everyman
shower ring salesman, hes forced into a dependency on the lat-
ter when almost every mode of transportation conceivable mal-
functions and strands him way off route. Be it a plane landing in
another state due to inclement weather, a train stopping in its
tracks in the middle of nowhere, or a car exploding on a highway,
Hughes conceives of enough near-fatal scenarios for a follow-up
to Ralph Naders Unsafe At Any Speed.
Martin, usually playing a rubber-limbed goof put-upon by
disasters of his own creation (i.e. The Jerk), here stiffens up and
sharpens his energy into an insufferable force of condescen-
sion, getting him no further when he lets everyone in the world
know exactly what he was told by AppleCare. Every attempt to
pay his way out of interacting with the working class puts Neal
further into a zone of discomfort his income bracket is meant
to safeguard him from. Meanwhile, Candy, as a relentlessly hos-
pitable Midwesterner, creates a routine out of accidental impo-
sition. What could easily be a series of jokes about the inconve-
nience of his large frame is instead reconfigured to highlight
Neals entitled sense of discomfort, as Del is very much at home
in a world Neal does his best to avoid. Their dynamic suggests
NOVEMBER 15, 2017
32
Laurel and Hardy if they went through a body-swap comedy.
Unlike the casual racism of Hughes Sixteen Candles or
the blas attitude towards sexual assault in both The Breakfast
Club and Sixteen Candles, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
has aged surprisingly well, punching up more than it does
down. Even the gay-panic humor of a scene where, having had
to share a bed with each other, Neal realizes Dels hand isnt
between two pillows, the joke is more on the masculine rit-
uals required to distance homosocial bonding from any sex-
ual comfort, with both of them reflexively grunting platitudes
about sports afterward like, uhh you see that Bears game last
week? Hell of a game, hell of a game.
One running theme is the distance between Madison Ave-
nue and its customer base, for which Dels door-to-door plucki-
ness creates a proto-Scrooged foil for Neal. When Neal asks why
Dels hell-on-wheels cabbie friend Doobie (Larry Hankin) takes the
scenic route to a last-minute motel, Del answers that hes proud
of his town, thats a damn rare thing these days. Hughes sort of
has it both ways, populating every detour with cartoon charac-
ters one might have an understandable frustration withand yet,
to Hughes and Martins credit, each encounter only deepens our
sympathy for anyone who has to deal with Neal, hopefully leaving
the audience with a sense of mindfulness for the labor force work-
ing overtime to get anyone home for the holidays.
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, directed by John Hughes,
screens at the Parkway with Home For The Holidays,
directed by Jodie Foster (and shot in Baltimore, by the way), as
part of a double feature on Nov. 20 and on its own on Nov. 19.
BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
 CREATIVE ALLIANCE
UPCOMING EVENTS

NOVEMBER

THU 11.16 THE STOOP PRESENTS:

SECOND STOOP - MY FREAKY FAMILY
FRI 11.17 FLAMENCO APARICIO
DANCE COMPANY
SAT 11.18 THE QUEBE SISTERS
SUN 11.19 OUTSPOKEN: NEIGHBORHOOD VOICES
SAT 11.25 BALTIMORE PLAYS:
The Lady Eve screening at the Charles this week.
SONGS FROM THE WIZ
THU 11.30 SETH KIBEL & FRIENDS:
The Charles Theater SONGS OF SNARK & DESPAIR
1711 N. Charles St., (410) 727-3464, thecharles.com.
Angels Egg (Mamoru Oshii, Japan, 1985), Nov. 15.
DECEMBER
Suspiria (Dario Argento, Italy, 1977), Nov. 15.
The Florida Project (Sean Baker, U.S., 2017), now playing.
FRI 12.1 CALEB STINES
The Killing Of a Sacred Deer (Yorgos Lanthimos, U.S., 2017), now playing. ROUND THE MOUNTAIN
Loving Vincent (Dorota Kobiela & Hugh Welchma, Poland, 2017), now playing.
The Square (Ruben stlund, Sweden, 2017), now playing. SAT 12.2 JUDITH BERKSON
Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig, U.S., 2017), opens Nov. 17. WITH FRANK LONDON AND MICHAEL WINOGRAD
Last Flag Flying (Richard Linklater, U.S. 2017), opens Nov. 17.
Novitiate (Margaret Bretts, U.S., 2017), opens Nov. 17. SUN 12.3 MERRY MART
Met Opera: Exterminating Angel (music by Thomas Ads, libretto by Tom Cairns in col-
laboration with the composer, based on the screenplay by Luis Buuel and Luis Alcoriza),
HOLIDAY CRAFT FAIR FREE!
Nov. 18.
The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, U.S., 1941), Nov. 18, 20, 22. FRI 12.8 COMEDY NIGHT | AWKWARD SEX AND THE CITY
PRESENTS: JINGLE BALLS
The Parkway Theatre SAT 12.9 THE SHERMAN HOLMES PROJECT
4 W. North Ave., (410) 752-8083, mdfilmfest.com.
Dealt (Luke Korem, U.S., 2017), through Nov. 16.
FEAT. ROB ICKES AND TREY HENSLEY
Dina (Antonio Santini & Dan Sickles, U.S., 2017), through Nov. 16
Tragedy Girls (Tyler MacIntyre, U.S., 2017), through Nov. 16. FRI 12.15 DORI FREEMAN
Dont Break Down: A Film About Jawbreaker (Tim Irwin & Keith Schieron, U.S., 2017) W/ LETITIA VANSANT
presented by Celebrated Summer Records, Nov. 16.
Sweaty Eyeballs: 6th Annual Animation Invitational, Nov. 17. SAT 12.16 NAVASHA DAYA PRESENTS:
Paradise (Andrei Konchalovsky, Russia, 2017) opens Nov. 17.
Behind the Screens: An Open Conversation with Joe Swanberg, Nov. 18. A SOULFUL ROCK & ROLL TRIBUTE TO JIMI HENDRIX
Home For The Holidays (Jodie Foster, U.S., 1995), Nov. 19.
Popcorn (Mark Herrier, U.S., 1991), Nov. 19: The early 90s horror title plays, with a Q+A and SUN 12.17 CHARM CITY KLEZMER
autograph-signing by its star. HOLIDAY DANCE PARTY
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (John Hughes, U.S., 1987), Nov. 19.
Double Feature: Home For The Holidays and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Nov. 20. FRI 12.22 INTERACTIVE MOVIE NIGHT | DIE HARD
D.O.A.: A Rite Of Passage (Lech Kowalski, U.K., 1980), Nov. 21.
One Of Us (Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady, U.S., 2017), Nov. 22: Q&A with director Grady W/ HOSTS JENNIFER MARSH & HEATHER KEATING
after the screening.
THU 12.28 THE STRAY BIRDS
W/ THE BUMPER JACKSONS DUO
The Senator Theatre
5904 York Road, (410) 323-4424, senatortheatre.com. FRI 12.29 CHARLIE HUNTER TRIO
Saturday Night Fever: Directors Cut (John Badham, U.S., 1977), Nov. 15, 19, 20.
Marshall (Reginald Hudlin, U.S., 2017), through Nov. 16.
Blade Runner 2049 (Denis Villeneuve, U.S., 2017), now playing.
BPM (Beats Per Minute) (Robin Campillo, France, 2017), now playing.
Murder On The Orient Express (Kenneth Branagh, U.S., 2017), now playing.
Thor: Ragnarok (Taika Waititi, U.S., 2017), now playing.
Victoria and Abdul (Stephen Frears, U.K., 2017), now playing.
Justice League (Zack Snyder, U.S., 2017), opens Nov. 16.
The Dragon Lives Again (Kei Law, China, 1977), Nov. 22. 3134 EASTERN AVE
BALTIMORE MD 21224
CREATIVEALLIANCE.ORG
BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
33 NOVEMBER 15, 2017
Because It Tastes Good
An education in healthier eating at vegan soul food spot Land Of Kush
By Lisa Snowden-McCray lmccray@baltimorebeat.com
FOOD
Land Of Kushs Gregory Brown and Naijha Wright-Brown
Photo by J.M. Giordano
Sitting in the Land of Kush (840 N. Eutaw St., [410]
225-5874, landofkush.com) one morning just before the
Seton Hill vegan restaurant opens for the day, husband
and wife owners Naijha Wright-Brown and Gregory
Brown reflect on how people are clamoring for infor-
mation about vegetarian and vegan eating.
Their restaurant, which has been in business since
2008, specializes in plant-based soul food. They offer
things like collard greens, yams, and their own version
of macaroni and cheese.
A few weeks ago they pulled a day-long shift at the
Main Post Office, giving away samples of vegan food to
employees. Plant-based milk, vegan cream cheese, deli
sandwiches, and kale salad were all on the menu.
Oh my god, they were overwhelmed, Wright-
Brown says. They were so receptive and surprised.
Forbes magazine profiled Land Of Kush at the end
of October, pointing to the Land of Kush as inspiration
for vegan restaurants in Detroit and Harlem.
In August, Land Of Kush hosted an event at Jamal
Bryants megachurch Empowerment Temple, where
NOVEMBER 15, 2017
congregants, spurred on by the Netflix show What the
Health, took part in a month-long challenge to eat
more healthfully.
The couple says people now report to them when
they decide to change the way they eat for the better.
Wright-Brown recalls one dad at her daughters kara-
te class who practically talked her to death about the
changes in his life.
Hes been juicing, lost some weight, changing his
attitude, she says. He was giving me the whole low-
down and Im looking like, shes going to be late. It feels
good when you hear testimonies like that from individ-
uals.
They say they try to give everyone they come in
contact with a copy of a booklet simply named African
American Vegan Starter Guide, a vegan eating guide
authored by Tracye McQuirter, written especially for
black people.
When you look at vegan starter guides before . . .
they didnt represent us, Wright-Brown says. Great in-
formation . . . but [McQuirter] particularly came out with
34
one that focused on how do you deal with your family
that might not be vegan. She also interviewed a lot of
prominent black vegans who have been vegans for a
long time. You can look at it and say this is our world, its
not just a white world, its our world too.
Education in healthy eating is a big part of what
they do at Land of Kush, but another part is preparing
food that just tastes good. Wright-Brown and Brown say
coming up with menu items is a collaborative effort.
We do a vegan soul food cuisine, Brown says. So
its vegan barbecue rib tips, smoked collard greens, can-
died yams, vegan mac and cheese, vegan crab cakes . . .
We cant be in Baltimore, Maryland without some
version of crab cake, Wright Brown adds.
Land of Kush also offers smoothies, lentil burgers,
salads, and a variety of other locally produced products
like vegan donuts, baked goods, and kombucha.
Wright-Brown and Brown walk a line when it
comes to offering food that is similar to what patrons
may have grown up eating but is not necessarily the
same. For example: cauliflower buffalo wings. Brown
says its about convincing people to think differently
about food.
When I talk to people I tell them its cauliflower, its
not going to taste like a buffalo wing, Brown says. The
outside is seasoned similarly to it, but its a cauliflower.
Youve got to look at it as what it is. You can still enjoy it
even if youre a meat eater.
Theyve been working together since they first met
as employees for Verizon Wireless in 2008. They are
used to collaborating, and food is no different.
You get in where you fit in, and at any moment,
she might be stronger than me in a particular thing,
Brown says. She might have a great idea for food. She
might make something and I might say, OK, let me
tweak that . . . and put it in the restaurant.
Thats how we got the brunch, Wright-Brown
adds. I was a breakfast person when I wasnt vegan
and I was into my scrambled eggs and all that other
stuff, so we were eating all this vegan food and Im like,
where are the breakfast sides? Then once we opened
the restaurant we took that and said, you know what?
We gotta get the brunch popping off in here.
The two say they are looking to do more.
Were looking for a second location right now,
Brown says. Wed love to franchise the restaurant and
make it nationwide if not global, that would be a won-
derful thing.
He says theyd also like a bigger space than the one
they currently occupy so that they can offer entertain-
ment as well as food.
They have started a nonprofit called the Black Veg-
etarian Society of Maryland, which they say theyll use to
offer plant-based feasts to people in Baltimore.
The first thing we did once we were in operation,
we created the first Musical Meatless Monday and it
started at Northwestern High School, Wright-Brown
says.
Held last May, the event featured a plant-based
dinner alongside live music and attracted over 250 at-
tendees. Wright-Brown says another Musical Meatless
Monday is scheduled for this spring.
Its important that they get young people in the
city involved in healthier eating, she says, but in a way
thats attractive to them.
Make it fun, she says. It doesnt have to be about
rabbit food, you know, were making it really good.
Things that they like to eat.
BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
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MOVING OUT
Andre Mazelin makes the jump from The Room to Motor House
By Lisa Snowden-McCray lmccray@baltimorebeat.com
FOOD
Andre Mazelin
Photo by Kelvin Bulluck
Andre Mazelins laid-back Charles Village lounge
The Room didnt seem to doing badly. The place, which
he opened in 2016, quickly became a spot where peo-
ple in the area knew they could get light bites like sand-
wiches and bagels, or hang out with a laptop and a beer
or a glass of wine. So people may have been surprised
late last October when Mazelin announced that The
Room would be closingits last day was Halloween.
Mazelin, who accepted a position as managing di-
rector at Motor House in June and did that job while also
running The Room for a while, says that he realized fairly
NOVEMBER 15, 2017
quickly that The Room might not be a good fit for him.
After spending some time in The Room and re-
alizing that getting up early and serving coffee maybe
isnt what I wanted to do, I started looking for opportu-
nitieskinda lightly, nothing serious for over a year at
that point and decided to look around and see if theres
something else I could get into, he says. And thats
when I saw the job for Motor House.
Motor House, located in Station Northspecifically
in the location formerly known as the DIY space and
studio Load Of Fun, closed by the city in 2013is a com-
36
The Motorhouse Showroom
Photo by Emma Jo Shatto / Courtesy Motorhouse
bination performance space, gallery, and artists hub.
Mazelin, who has been working behind the scenes in
entertainment since college, and formerly worked as
operations director at Creative Alliance, said working for
Motor House is ideal. Now with more resources and the
responsibility of curating two stages, Mazeline will have
more freedom to book what he wants.
Im going to have performances and have import-
ant discussions, he says. I can show films now. I can
have proper music performances which I couldnt do at
The Room. Its really a graduation into a different type
of space thats going to allow me to do more of what I
enjoy doing.
Mazelin also hosted events at The Room (for exam-
ple, a panel on toxic masculinity that I moderated), but
the space was too small for anything on a larger scale.
Motor House also opened an eatery early last
month called Showroom Caf and Bar (120 W. North
Ave., [410] 637-8300, motorhousebaltimore.com/show-
room-cafe-bar). Run by chef Daniel Horwitz, the place
offers light fare such as salads, sandwiches, and small
snacks. Mazelin says plans were in the works for Show-
room before he came on board.
They had a chef that they had their eyes on, Daniel
Horwitz, who was going to come on and run the food
program and then I would have to come in and find
someone to run the bar and beverage program, Ma-
zelin says.
Mazelin notes that the fact that folks seem to miss
The Room already is a sign of its success: I was walking
down the street and people were like, Oh man, Im so sor-
ry youre gone. Hearing people say that is bittersweet but
it makes me feel good that people give a damn. You did
something that people care about. You provided a space
that people enjoy. Because that in itself is gratifying.
BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
 THROUGH JUNE 2018

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 WEED
Blue Frost
Photo by Brandon Soderberg/ Courtesy Democracy In Crisis
Blue Frost
Right after swallowing a big, unforgiving bong hit of Blue
Frost, an indica dominant strain that crosses Blue Monster and
Jack Frost thatalthough its 40 percent sativafeels almost en-
tirely like a lumbering indica, all kinds of confusion set in. About
the baffling 90s at first and eventually about everything else,
but then an elusive body and head high and a swell of kindness
that more than made up for the strains shaky ramp-up.
Begin with Blue Frosts cool, intense menthol smell and
taste that lightly numbs your mouth, which got me thinking
back to the 90s when I was a kid and there was a big deal ar-
rival of a new Kool-Aid subgenre called Kool-Aid Ice Cool that
was essentially menthol Kool-Aidwhich made it weird that
it was for kids but hey, the 90sbecause as Wikipedia says, it
gave the drinker a cooling sensation. Indulging some Proust-
like remembrances of 90s bullshit past, I went to YouTube and
watched a Kool-Aid Ice Cool commercial someone had upload-
ed where the Kool-Aid guy wearing um, giant khaki shorts for
some reason, concocts the cool Kool-Aid (in two flavors: Lemon
Ice, Arctic Green Apple) in his lab and hands it to a crew of kids
hes hanging out with. Somethings happening, one kid says.
Another one finishes the thought, In my mouth. Then I spotted,
below the video, a YouTube comment which reads, Kool-Aid is
a damn pedo, hanging with the kids, wearing only those shorts.
The internet felt especially weird right then and there,
though I truly admired this commenters scrappy, poetic syntax
and diction. I closed that tab in my browser. I pulled up Netflix.
I couldnt find my phone, which was a few feet from me as it
turned out. I went back to Netflix and minimized the already
full-screen browser instead of clicking play, then stared for a
NOVEMBER 15, 2017
38
few seconds baffled, not sure what to do or what I did, and
then finally reopened it to full-screen and began season two of
Stranger Things.
And then oh man, that around-your-eyeholes tingle and
an arms and legs and all the appendages lightness, and after
that tension flew right out of me, almost too fast. I wasnt full
of anxiety anymore and only the idea of anxiety stuck around:
Whatever was in my head that I was stressing about was still
there but now in concept only and all the worry, melancholy,
analysis, second-guessing, and so on (in other words, the hard
parts of caring and feeling) were absent. My Bloody Valentines
song I Can See It (But I Cant Feel It), came to mind. I had a
wide-eyed empathy for the characters of Stranger Things and
everybody else going through some things anywhere and it
was clear to me that sequels, almost always bigger and dumber
than the original, are also about us reliving trauma and watch-
ing characters we allegedly care about relive it too, which is
kind of perverse, and this whole second season cleverly, kindly,
makes that clearits overarching theme is PTSD and the ways
that we never really quite overcome. A stoner stoicism stirred
inside me, my menthol-ish mouth kept low-key vibrating for a
couple of hours, and I wanted to cry. (Brandon Soderberg)
Strength: 9
Nose: A far-too-hoppy new microbrew
Euphoria: 9
Existential dread: 2
Freaking out when a crazy person approaches you: 2
Drink pairing: Kool-Aid Ice Cool Lemon (some people sell the
discontinued packets on eBay)
Music pairing: Terry Riley, Rainbow In Curved Air
Rating: 7
BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
 WEED

Blue Mountain Durban

Photo by Baynard Woods/ Courtesy Democracy In Crisis

Blue Mountain Durban pleasant that I had a couple more, with really deep autumnal
undertones of dead damp morning grass covered with leaves.
And I had some more. And then there I was, back in that
Many of us would never make it through the day without holeas was the friend I was smoking with, who refuses to touch
weed, for whatever medical conditions we suffer from. And BMD again. But once you ride through the existential dread,
people who suffer from anxiety know what a relief a good toke you realize how useful a good ethical scouring and session of
can be. But it can also send you in an insane tailspin of self- self-loathing can be and you ease into a smooth body high that
doubt and crippling anxiety. Weve all been there, frozen in a is worth the terrors it takes to get there. (Baynard Woods)
corner over-analyzing every thought until you tweet out that
you think someone is stealing your dog, as my colleague Bran- Strength: 10
don Soderberg did one night with me in the Hutzler Building Nose: Wet leaves and mulch soaked in whiskey
for Michael Jones McKeans solo exhibition The Ground, which Euphoria: 7
we were attending after some particular angsty herb. Existential dread: 10
When you talk to older people who have quit smoking, Freaking out when a crazy person approaches you: 10
thats usually the reason the antisocial anxiety is just too Drink pairing: Bourbon, neat
much. Ive been smoking for 30 years so Im usually somewhat Music pairing: Albert Ayler, Love Cry
immune to the creeping crush of over-sensitive self-awareness Rating: 6
(also I am a white dude and, well, just look around, were not
known for self-awareness). Id learned long ago to deal with the
anxiety by telling myself that it is just chemicals in my brain, it
will pass, etc.
Blue Mountain Durban, a hybrid of the South African Sa-
tiva Durban Poison, Afghani 76, and the Indica Lavender, chal-
lenged that assumption a bit. It is the kind of weed that might
send you into one of these black holes of self-doubt and over-ex-
amination. It is a magnificent mojo, but if you are stressed by,
say, watching the president speak, you need to go for some-
thing else. I learned that the hard way. The angst of this year is
so great anyway that we need our weed to revive and relax, not
force us into a Heideggerian state of authenticity born of the
realization that we will die. But thats where I found myself after
a few hearty tokes of the gorgeously-scented BMD. It tasted so

BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
39 NOVEMBER 15, 2017

I love riding my bicycle. I love the
sense of freedom, of getting from place
to place unfettered by appalling bus
wait times or the worry about finding a
parking spot. I love the feel of the wind
on my face as I speed down hills and the
steady breath as I pedal back up. I love
riding a bicycle in Baltimore especially,
because I love saying how you doing? to
my neighbors, getting to most places in
30 minutes or less, and exploring this city
that changes block-by-block. If youre in
a car, these blocks are just the stuff that
gets between you and your freeway or
ramp. In a bike, the ride is a joy all in itself.
Usually. Ill admit this is a bit of pol-
Daniel Elder lyanna talking, because when youre on
a bicycle in Baltimore you are also dodg-
ing the drivers who wish you werent
Katie Elder there, the radical pedestrians engaged
in their own resistance to the rules of the
Bicycling in Baltimore
was hit and killed riding his bicycle out by
the airport. The driver faced no charges.
The MVA reports show an increase across
the state in crashes involving bicyclists
and pedestrians, and this mirrors national
increases. Traveling by bicycle or on foot is
dangerous, and its getting more danger-
ous. The dangerous part is the cars and
their drivers, and they are all less safe than
me, despite appearances.
So, what do we do? Well, we have to
start from the assumption that walking
and riding bicycles are both forms of trans-
portation we want to collectively support.
Thats a no brainer for me. A third of the city
doesnt have regular access to a car, and all
of us need to get places too. That means
we need support for alternative transpor-
tationpublic transit, walking, and biking.
Given the constant complaints I hear about
traffic and parking, Im guessing drivers

Vanessa Vale Unique Style. road, and fellow cyclists not as interest-
ed in a friendly bell ring and on your left
as I am. Riding a bicycle for me means
dont want the rest of us to get cars and
add our clog to the road either. And really,
are we all in this together, or not? We can

409 W. Coldspring Lane Personal Service. being constantly aware that I could be
maimed or killed at every intersection
say we arent, but we are, and the refusal
to prioritize the needs of others, even when
Baltimore, MD 21210 and driveway by someone whose mode they arent our own, lessens all of us.

Relaxing Setting. of travel does not demand and require

the same attention mine does.
Cars are an overwhelming priority
in transportation funding and planning.

410-646-8124 This might sound a bit paranoid, but

HAIR * ART * MUSIC
facebook.com/SoulLoveSalon
#WeAreSoulLove
its not. Baltimore is seeing increasing ca-
sualties on the roads. Just this year our
bicycling community has lost several folks
to cars. Aaron Laciny was hit and killed
while riding on Charles Avenue, and we
still dont know who hit him. Jeremy Pope
410-467-1754
nvsalonco.com NOVEMBER 15, 2017
40
The resources given over to automobiles
is mind boggling if you think about how
much of our region is asphalted over to se-
cure easy access for cars. We assume those
streets are shared resources, expect the
state to repair them, build more of them,
salt and plow them in winter. Sidewalks, on
BALTIMOREBEAT.COM

By Kate Drabinski
the other hand, are private property, each
square the responsibility of the homeown-
er whose stairs happen to end there. One
absentee landlord or vacant home and
the travel lane for pedestrians can be truly
fucked for weeks. Sidewalks are a shared
resource, and we should take care of them
as our collective responsibility.
Bicycles need bike lanes, and this is a
much harder argument to make to drivers
than pushing for better sidewalks. Thats
because the bike lane takes up room from
cars, and nobody likes giving up what
theyve already got, even if giving it up is
part of what justice looks like. Bike lanes
make us all safer, though. They slow traffic,
they encourage more bicyclists to get on
the roads, and if designed well, they make
a barrier between cars and bicyclists that
decreases the chance well get hit. Balti-
more is just getting started in the bike
lane game, with protected lanes on Falls-
way, Maryland Avenue, a few blocks on
Mulberry and Franklin, and most recently
Potomac Street. Other lanes are striped,
including the first east/west routes. Things
are getting better in many ways, thanks to
the work of Bikemore and other city advo-
cates for complete streets that enable all
of us to get where were going more safely.
All this movement has also given rise
to what advocates call bikelash. Peo-
ple dont like change. They dont want
to lose the parking spot in front of their
house or have to merge out of the bus/
bike lane heading downtown for work.
BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
41
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Our streets feel like common sense, like With Stefani | $25
theyve always been the way there are,
and always should be. But street design December 4th at 6:30pm
changes all the time. MLK Boulevard
feels like it has always been there, a free-
way in the city cutting West Baltimore
off from the rest of us. It opened in 1982,
a hiccup away, historically speaking. In a
few years our bike infrastructure will feel
like it has always been here, and for all
FREE LIBATIONS EVERY
the panic and anger that accompanies
new bike lanes, we will all be safer.
FRIDAY IN DECEMBER
But safety while riding a bike isnt
just about cars. In the past several weeks
there has been a huge increase in attacks
on cyclists on the citys bike paths and
routes. Its scary stuff, and its complicat-
FREE PELVIC PAIN
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But heres what I think as I pedal my way
through the city: Everyone should be safe
HOLIDAY KINKY
to walk or ride their bicycle to school and
work. If we built a politics around that ba-
sic argument, we would have to redesign
streets and sidewalks, support healthy
neighborhoods, make sure parents had
the time and resources to support their
COOKIE CONTEST
kids, and so much more. The world as it is
Turn on your sexy creative imagination
is not as it has to be, and redesigning our
infrastructure equitably can help make
December 8th at 6:30pm
all of us safer in the larger ways we imag-
ine safety. This, much more than roads,
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NOVEMBER 15, 2017
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 R E S E A R C H
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44 BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
 R E S E A R C H & W E L L N E S S

Are intrusive
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Do these thoughts lead to distress or fear?

If you suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) you may
qualify to participate in a clinical research study examining the use of
an investigational medication for people with OCD, not currently
satised with their SSRI (or clomipramine).

For information please call

410.602.1440

Desmond M. Kaplan, M.D. Alan M. Jonas, M.D. &

Principal Investigator Robert B. Lehman, M.D.,
pharmasiteresearch.com Sub-Investigators

BALTIMOREBEAT.COM
45 NOVEMBER 15, 2017
 R E S E A R C H & W E L L N E S S

410-602-1440
pharmasiteresearch.com
Alan M. Jonas, M.D.
Principal Investigator

Robert B. Lehman, M.D.

Sub-Investigator

BALTIMOREBEAT.COM 46 NOVEMBER 15, 2017

 R E S E A R C H & W E L L N E S S

Tried everything
ADVERTISE to quit smoking?
Researchers are studying a novel
IN THE approach to smoking cessation that
involves the use of a psychedelic in

BALTIMORE a safe, supportive setting.

BEAT
www.QuitSmokingBaltimore.org
Call 410-550-1972
baltimorebeat.com Volunteers will receive no monetary compensation.
Principal Investigator: Matthew W. Johnson, Ph.D.,
Protocol: NA_00016166

BALTIMOREBEAT.COM 47 NOVEMBER 15, 2017

 Hey Baltimoreyoure cool, but you can also be super self-deprecating.
Let your love for Baltimore shine bright by listening to our interviews with local people
doing awesome things in our city. Like Americas best-dressed green thumb, Hilton Carter;
professional ice cream flavor creator David Alima; the bleeding heart badasses
behind Station North Tool Library, and lots more.

GoDowntownBaltimore.com/HeyBaltimore