The idea is to widen the perspective of the pre-election debate through the voices of a number of prominent Baltimore stakeholders who express their views about the state of Baltimore, the candidates, their preferences, sentiments, recommendations and suggestions for what should be done.
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| Activist Ralph Moore on the steps of the War Memorial (Photo: Peace X Peace) |
I will publish the responses in random order over the coming months on this blog. The interviews are not in any way intended to be representative.
Inter-dispersed with the interviews are the findings of a representative study about what Baltimoreans care about, conducted last fall by the Open Society Institute Baltimore published this Monday under the title "Blueprint for Baltimore". At the time I conducted the interviews the OSI report had not yet been released.
The below is from OSI's press release:
Open Society Institute-Baltimore and community partners including Baltimore Votes, Black Girls Vote, Black Leaders Organizing for Change, CASA, and the No Boundaries Coalition conducted the city-wide survey from mid-October to early December, recording more than 5,000 responses, mostly through on-the-ground canvassing, augmented by online outreach. Candidates for Mayor and City Council President will be asked to respond to the data collected in the survey at a series of forums. The first one, a mayoral forum, will be February 5th at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum (register here).
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| OSI report "Blueprint for Baltimore" |
Ralph Moore
1.
Are
you overall optimistic about Baltimore or pessimistic? Why?
Overall, I am optimistic about Baltimore
despite the reality of the difficult days we are in now in terms of the
violence in our city. Someday there will
be acknowledgement and consequent action that we have not done right by the
large communities of poor persons in Baltimore: not enough decent affordable
housing, too many low paying jobs, struggling schools and too many guns and
drugs while there is too little access to quality mental and physical
healthcare. But more and more citizens
are becoming aware of the disparities and disrespect of Baltimore’s poor
citizens and that will lead to more engagement and progress eventually. The 2020
election turnouts will tell us something but increasing citizen actions such as
Baltimore Ceasefire, the 1000 Men March during this year’s MLK Day parade etc.
are signs of an awakening.
2.
What
three issues do you suggest should be the top priority of the new Mayor?
The three issues that should be priorities for
the new Mayor, I think, are: More jobs that
pay a living wage with benefits, available access to jobs with more and better
public transportation and more decent, affordable housing in the city. Improving the city schools would be my fourth
issue…
3.
If
you were to advise a candidate for Mayor what would be your best suggestion?
I would urge the candidates for Mayor to get
to know the underserved areas of the city: their citizens, their lack of
commercial development and clean alleys and streets, the schools and the public
transportation in and out of the neighborhood.
And I would develop an individual neighborhood renaissance plan for
Sandtown, Park Heights, Westport, Oliver and other such areas east, west,
north, south and center in the city. The
models should be how we developed Canton and Remington for examples. They
should be models for predominantly poor Black and Brown areas of the city. But specific, timely plans and reorganization
of city government to make them happen sooner as opposed to later will help
save our city. WE screw poor people in Baltimore every day without thinking
twice about it: we reneged on the $15/hour
minimum wage. In criminal justice we let
the cops all go free after a man from one of the poorest neighborhoods died in
the Police Department’s custody, no officers were charged criminally and none
of the officers were reprimanded for violating Police Department policy , and
finally in political justice we let the establishment steal the last mayoral
election when most wanted a mayoral candidate more in touch with the whole
city, despite “gift card” issues. Let the people decide elections fairly.
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| Baltimore: Abandonment and glitter (Photo: Philipsen) |
4.
What
should the next US President should do for cities?
The next President should create an urban jobs
program that pays a living wages and good benefits for cities. Job training and readiness should be part of
the efforts. He/she should push for much
stronger gun control that would help decrease the number of guns and make it
harder to get guns and ammunition. Internet sales and gun show sales should be
eliminated. The President to encourage
manufacturers to return to inner-cities and should decrease the Defense
Department budget to pay for more human needs.
5.
What
recent local fact has given you hope for Baltimore?
I am a “dubious” Catholic so the new school the
Archdiocese of Baltimore is building in West Baltimore is a small, good sign of
progress and naming it for Mother Mary Lange, foundress of the Oblate Sisters
of Providence also moves in the right direction. The fact that the William Lori, Archbishop of
Baltimore, publically pledged his support of the Kirwan Commission
recommendations to the General Assembly to improve PUBLIC EDUCATION for even
the poorest of children of Maryland is a good statement. Lori made this statement at a Faith in
Baltimore event at Center Stage on Martin Luther King’s birthday.
6.
What
recent local fact has depressed you the most?
The homicide rate in the city is clearly the
most depressing fact in the City.
7.
Do
you support a particular candidate for Mayor and for City Council?
Because of my wife’s sensitive position as the
Deputy City Solicitor, I am not publicly acknowledging a favorite candidate for
Mayor. But I am not convinced someone
totally inexperienced in city government is what Baltimore needs now.
8.
What
personal contribution to Baltimore are you most proud of?
I just do the work I think is needed. Not interested in bragging on or
acknowledging myself.
Ralph Eugene Moore, Jr. was born in Baltimore City in the
Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood of West Baltimore in 1952. He grew up with seven
brothers and sisters who were members of St. Pius V Church. He attended St. Pius V Catholic Elementary
School and was educated by the Oblate Sisters of Providence from Kindergarten
through Eighth Grade. Ralph, Jr. attended Loyola High School in Towson, Md. on
a Carroll Scholarship, and graduated in the class of 1970.
He graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 1974 with a
degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences.
He married in February of 2002. Mr. Moore was chair
of the Transportation Committee for CPHA; chair of the City’s anti-poverty
agency, the Human Services Commission, and served on the boards of St. Ambrose
Housing Aid Center, The Job Opportunities Task Force and Sojourner Douglass
College. He was the director of the
Community Center at St. Frances Academy from January 2002 until June of 2012. He
taught pre-GED classes at the Healthy Start Center and the Reisterstown Plaza
campuses of the Baltimore City Community College until recently.
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| Ralph Moore at Peace Camp in 2018, a program of Strong City Baltimore he founded (Photo: Strong City Baltimore) |
Ralph Moore is formerly the Coordinator of Mentoring for
the Adult Resource Center of the Living Classrooms Foundation. He was Program Manager at Restoration
Gardens, a 43 unit apartment building and resource center for formerly homeless
youth in southern Park Heights. Moore currently teaches pre-GED students
part-time at the Healthy Start Center in the Middle East neighborhood in the
city.
He enjoys his family, politics, civil rights history,
movies, reading and all things Motown.
Other articles and interviews in this series:
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