FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 27, 2016
CONTACT: Priya Bhayana, pbhayana@baltimoreactionlegal.org or 443-370-4687
Baltimore, MD – On October 1, 2016, Baltimore Action Legal Team (BALT) will host the first ever Lightning BALT at Coppin State University. In collaboration with Out For Justice, Black Worker Center and Coppin State University’s Urban Studies Program, the daylong workshop provides a space for Baltimore residents, community activists, and legal workers to come together to develop a collective action plan focused on how to improve access to quality jobs and uproot sentencing disparities in Baltimore. The event is free and open to the public.
“We must shift the narrative away from lawyers as “the experts” serving communities, and instead to lift up the voices of Baltimore City residents and their daily, lived experiences,” said BALT co-founder Dorcas Gilmore. “BALT uses a community lawyering approach because we believe that communities’ organizing efforts should drive legal advocacy. We hope that by creating this dedicated space for people to narrow in on specific challenges and solutions, residents will be able to come up with community-driven action items that we can all tackle together.”
BALT was founded during the Baltimore Uprising in April 2015 in response to a call from the Baltimore United for Change coalition asking for lawyers and legal support of their work. Since then, BALT has provided support via legal observation, jail/court support, community education, and most recently, release of a list of comprehensive recommendations for the consent decree between the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division (DOJ) and the Baltimore Police Department (BPD). With support from an Open Society Institute grant, BALT is hosting Lightning BALT to develop an action plan that responds directly to community-identified needs and can be addressed collectively.