MMUNITY THAT REFUSES TO BE A NEWS DESERT
MMUNITY THAT REFUSES TO BE A NEWS DESERT
and whatever discarded newspapers he can find.“ I get the city papers when somebody throws it away,” said Monroe.
He describes the information gap as generational and physical, as many older residents lack Internet access and are afraid to leave their homes due to poor street lighting and concerns about neighborhood safety. Because of this, flyers at food pantries and churches have become for many of them their main news.
“ The pantry is the hook, this is how we disperse information,” Monroe said.“ You get them in for the food, and they’ ll pick up a flyer while they’ re here.”
Another trusted news source in Park Heights is the Langston Hughes Community, Business & Resource Center. Founded in 2017, and currently led by Shymaine Davis, the center offers residents a community newsletter, food bank, intake surveys and referrals, and after school programs to connect them with resources.
Rather than waiting for outside media to pay more attention to Park Heights, the center has built its own communication infrastructure through social media, in-person coalition meetings, and an upcoming podcast project led by young people in the community. Staff and community partners work together to share updates on food access, healthcare, legal aid, and safety, often coordinating directly with city offices and public institutions.
“ We call that a coalition of effort,” said Dr. Everett X. Garnett, chief of staff of the Langston Hughes center. In the absence of mainstream news coverage, community members have stepped in to fill the void. So now, the people of Park Heights are not just residents, they are reporters, editors, fact-checkers, and truth-tellers.
Their work proves that local journalism is alive in Park Heights. Their newsroom sometimes is a food pantry, and their newspaper is often a flyer. For many of the area’ s residents, the narratives about life in Park Heights are being shaped by the stories their friends and neighbors tell – not by the fleeting coverage of Baltimore’ s mainstream media. •
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Photo by Morelys Urbano
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8. The podcast room at the Langston Hughes Community Business and Resource Center will be used for a youth-led media project aimed at empowering Baltimore’ s next generation of storytellers through community-driven conversations.
9. Flyers are delivered to residents during the food pantry, offering mental health resources and rehabilitation services to families and youth.
10. A volunteer labels computer parts during a hands-on tech literacy session at the Pop-Up STE( A) M Carnival, part of Pass IT On’ s digital inclusion programming.
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