Rooted & Rising: Baltimore
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RSVPs closed Thu, Aug 27th
Rooted & Rising: Baltimore
Across Generations. Across Difference. Building Community.
Baltimore is a city I’ve known and loved since the 1990s—a place whose creativity, complexity, history, and people have shaped how I think about community and change. Rooted & Rising: Baltimore brings together different generations and perspectives for a conversation about what becomes possible when we refuse to remain in our silos and instead choose curiosity, connection, and community.
The setting for this gathering carries special meaning. Bayard Rustin was raised in the Quaker tradition, whose commitments to nonviolence, equality, conscience, and the inherent worth of every person profoundly shaped his approach to organizing and social change. Gathering in a Friends Meeting space allows Rooted & Rising to return, in some sense, to those roots—creating room for reflection, principled disagreement, deep listening, and the belief that justice is built not only through protest, but through relationships and community.
The conversation brings together Me. Tenecia A. Brown, Adjunct Professor, Chemistry, CCBC, & Baltimore Peace Movement, Global Leadership Ambassador; Ajay Khanna, a member of the inaugural NYAC cohort and Masters student in Psychology at NYU; Alex Coon, a member of the NYAC 2026–27 Cohort and high school junior; and Sydney Sims, Managing Director of Black Girl Democracy and a Rustin Institute Summer Intern starting at Howard University.
Together, they represent different generations, experiences, and pathways into leadership—and an opportunity to explore what we can learn when those perspectives share the same table.
Inspired by Bayard Rustin’s belief that “we need, in every community, a group of angelic troublemakers,” we’ll explore how mentorship, joy, justice, and relationships across generations can strengthen both our individual leadership and the communities we call home. We’ll also ask a practical question: Who are the people willing to build that community together in Baltimore?
This gathering is more than a panel. It is an invitation to deepen the Rustin Institute’s roots in Baltimore and grow the Baltimore Chapter of the Bayard Rustin Society—connecting people across generations who believe in justice, belonging, mentorship, and the power of showing up for one another.
Our goal is to leave with new relationships, new possibilities, and at least 10 new Bayard Rustin Society members ready to help Baltimore become an even stronger part of this growing intergenerational movement.
Guest List
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