Police: Man missing after 4 men raid apartment

Anne Arundel County police believe a 20-year-old Baltimore man may have been abducted after four men armed with handguns entered an Odenton apartment through a back door and held him and three other people at gunpoint.

Officers responded around 10 p.m. to the 300 block of Baldwin Road in Odenton. Three occupants of the apartment told police four unknown men entered the apartment through a rear sliding glass door, ransacked the apartment and fled. Darius Owens was reported missing and may have been abducted by the suspects, police said.

The three victims said they didn’t realize Owens was no longer in the apartment until the suspects fled. It’s unclear if Owens went with the suspects or left on his own. He was last seen wearing a red jacket, black hat and black pants.

One of the victim’s blue 2004 Acura TSX with a Texas license plate 97681G3 was also taken from the scene.

Officers were unable to locate the suspects, the missing victim or the missing vehicle. Western District detectives and the Missing Persons Unit are investigating and ask anyone with information to contact 410-222-6155. Callers wishing to remain anonymous can contact the Tip Line at 410-222-4700. Police ask anyone who comes in contact with or sees Owens, or the Acura, to call 911.

Every February, this newspaper and others like it around the United States make an extra effort to delve into the history of Black Americans.

It hasn’t always been this way.

The tradition of taking time to recognize the contributions of Black Americans to our country began in 1926, the brainchild of historian and author Carter Woodson. He and others settled on February because of two significant birthdays that month, that of Abraham Lincoln and the date chosen by Frederick Douglass to celebrate his birth — born into slavery on the Eastern Shore — because he did not know the actual date.

The first reference in this newspaper came in 1942 when Woodson’s idea was still called Negro History Week. It was a small notice that reported the segregated high school in Annapolis was holding some events to mark the occasion.

Over the week, students were treated to a speech by “Prince P. Eket Inyang Udah of West Africa” on their ancestral roots and got to watch the 1933 movie “Emperor Jones” starring Paul Robeson.

“Yesterday the accomplishments of the colored race in literature and history were reviewed by the history class, while today the musical contributions of the colored race were discussed,” The Evening Capital reported.

It was oddly placed next to a story on a newly condensed book on the myths around Lincoln and his assassination. As stories go, the item on Negro History Week wasn’t much.

Yet, the activities that week at Wiley Bates High School, now a cultural and youth center, were clearly aimed at Woodson’s purpose in creating what would become Black History Month. It was recognized in 1976 by President Gerald Ford to demonstrate to all Americans that Black citizens of this country have value.

This month-long focus reminds us all of the struggles Black Americans have shared, but also of their successes. The history of enslavement and emancipation is not the only story worth sharing.

That focus remains an incredibly important tool to validate the truth that Black history is American history.

The first recognition of Black History Month reported by The Evening Capital came in February 1976, a calendar listing. The 80-Boy Gospel Choir of Delaware State College in Dover was to perform in a Sunday afternoon performance at the

Naval Academy. It wasn’t much, but it was a beginning this newspaper has built on ever since.

We’ve told many stories this year and shared the work of others with you. We’ve explored efforts to restore a historic cemetery in Deale, where a member of the state commission on African American history is working to share her family’s legacy. We’ve written about a temporary success by Jim Crow Maryland lawmakers to block Black Annapolitans from serving in elected office and the century-plus of service on the City Council that followed its reversal.

We’ve written about the search for the story of Black contributions to the construction of the Maryland State House, an enduring symbol of American freedom. We’ve shared stories about one of this nation’s earliest Black professional golfers and the call to action on climate change by one of the nation’s most successful Black professional sailors.

We have a few more stories to share this weekend.

The intent of our coverage is the same ideal as Carter Woodson’s, retelling the American story so that it includes all of us.

Happy Black History Month.