25 BLACK MARYLANDERS TO WATCH IN 2022
74, CHAIRWOMAN, MARYLAND STATE ARTS COUNCIL
Welcome to The Baltimore Sun’s 25 Black Marylanders to Watch. To celebrate Black History Month, we’ve assembled a group of people whose fortitude, leadership, artistry and efforts to uplift Baltimore and the state of Maryland make them worth watching. In addition to these 25 on the rise, we’re naming five Living Legends, people who are still doing the work but who have been at the top of their game for some time. In addition to the Living Legends, this week we are highlighting two people in the field of religion. Next week’s honorees will be from the world of food and the legal system.
All of the profiles can be read at baltimoresun.com/features/newsmaker
JACQUELINE ‘JACKIE’ COPELAND,
It’s no coincidence that in one of its first moves with Jacqueline “Jackie” Copeland at the helm, the Maryland State Arts Council announced a program aimed at equitably distributing funding to cultural organizations run by minorities.
“We’ve leveled the playing field [to provide grants] to smaller institutions that could be led by people of color and which, historically, haven’t had that funding,” said Copeland.
A fierce and lifelong advocate for the arts, the Pikesville resident became chairwoman of the council last summer following a stint as head of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American
History & Culture.
“Art and community are my passions,” said Copeland, 74, an adjunct professor at Towson University is teaching a class on the Harlem Renaissance this spring.
“I love engaging with students of all ages, bringing African American history to life so people can understand the contributions of Blacks to our global culture.”
To that end, she said, “I’d like my tombstone to read: ‘She made a difference.’ ”
Baltimore Sun Media, in partnership with Loyola University’s Karson Institute for Race, Peace, & Social Justice, will present a series of virtual conversations as part of this series. The next event will be Wednesday at noon with Martha S. Jones, professor, The Johns Hopkins University, on the topic of“Toward an Intellectual History of Black Women.” Sign up to watch at https://www.loyola.edu/ join-us/karson-institute/upcoming-events