By Josie Kalbfleisch
According to North American Moving Services, nearly 72% of Americans live in or close to the city where they grew up, and 58% percent of high school graduates attend college within 100 miles of their hometown. While people often seek out a change in environment, cultivating a love and appreciation for one's hometown can make a difference in both the individual's life and the lives of people where they live. Baltimore is home to remarkable and resilient communities that deserve to be uplifted and celebrated. Two Baltimore residents have agreed to share some of their love for the city.
Grace Calhoun is an alumna of Roland Park Country School, class of 2017. She spent her childhood in the city, returning back home to it after spending her college years in the south. She currently works as a licensed private investigator around Maryland. As a teenager, she took advantage of the delights the city had to offer, whether it was spending time with friends in local parks or making memories with close family members over food specialties.
Calhoun has a soft spot in her heart for Petite Louis, a French restaurant located on Roland Avenue just down the street from Roland Park. She reminisces about the place often, daydreaming about her return: “Every important family birthday, dinner, was there. I know the waiters well, and they know me. I can recite about 90% of the menu by heart, it's a place that holds a lot of meaning. The atmosphere is so comforting, mainly because it feels like a second family dining room. Even though other people are there, I just love to lay back and enjoy myself like I would if I was at home.” She has also become fond of many downtown areas and credits them for calming her mind: “I like the waterfront promenade a lot, the area around my house. It runs all the way around the inner harbor to which I don't even know where! You can watch all of the cruise ships and tanker ships come in, where everyone docks their boat. All the restaurants on it have outdoor seating so in the summer it's a very nice and social place, and everyone’s hanging out and happy. It has a very positive vibe to it.”
However, Calhoun loves the people most- specifically the unity of the community when it comes to sports pride: “I feel like everyone has pride in the Ravens, it’s something that really brings us together,” she says. Thinking back to her grade school years, Calhoun talks about her experience in 2012 after the team’s victory: “I remember I was in like 7th or 8th grade when the Ravens won the Super Bowl. And like, more than half my class skipped school that day to go to the parade. Probably a week after we won, everyone was still so happy and talking about it.. You could be driving down the street and scream 'Go Ravens!' and like 20 people would scream it back to you. This joy is something you can relate to everyone.”
Dion Cartwright has been the Director of Equitable Initiatives and Leadership Development for the Funder’s Network of Baltimore since 2016. She runs a fellowship program called PLACES (Professional Learning about Community, Equity, and Sustainability), which helps grantmakers develop their equity lenses in order to better interact with the communities they work with. This includes combating racial bias and incorporating diverse voices into problem solving and solutions. Though Cartwright is not a Baltimore native, her working experience has strengthened her relationship with the city.
Ms. Cartwright has a strong connection to the community of Mount Vernon, the place of her prior position at the Baltimore Community Foundation. Her 16 years spent holding an office in the vibrant neighborhood led her to become familiar with its many unique components. Mount Vernon hosts a large cultural history, along with its interactive art locations and green spaces. During her time, she had the chance to participate in the wide range of services and activities present in the community. One of her favorite spots in the neighborhood, and a spot she believes deserves more appreciation, is the Baltimore Center Stage. The gem on Calvert street is the largest producing theater in Baltimore, a non-profit focusing on bold and innovative plays. The theater has made itself more accessible to younger people in the city due to its cheap rates, drawing in a mixed crowd and Ms. Cartwright’s attention. Besides its artistic aspect, Mount Vernon is known to be a home and safe space for the LGBTQ+ community. As a lesbian, Cartwright holds this close to her heart. Other locations include Lake Montebello and Patterson Park, which she describes as melting pots that boast the culture and individuality of the city.
Like Calhoun, Cartwright has developed a deep love of the people. She commends their resilience in the face of challenge and admires their diverse background: “What is so beautiful is the fact that we are what is called a ‘welcoming city.’ A welcoming city is defined as a city that has created policies and programs reflecting a commitment to immigrant inclusion. Baltimore is welcoming to all people whether they are born in the US or not, whether they migrated here or joined their families here. Because of this, you find people who come to Baltimore from all over the world and create an amazing diverse culture in the city. We are a little over 60% African American, but you also see a very prominent Latinx community, Asian community, African community, etc. You also see very diverse representation when it comes to arts and culture in Baltimore, I just think it's become a very beautiful melting pot. I think that’s amazing because on the outside looking in you hear about all of the bad things. The people who don’t live here or don’t have family here don't know the good stuff about the city, they just know about the crime because that gets highlighted in the news. But when you are here, you get to experience the beauty of the people and the place in spite of all the headlines.”
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