BALTIMORE — Mayor Brandon Scott has declared the last Friday of National HBCU Week as Baltimore HBCU day.
Joined by school leaders, students, and city employees wearing HBCU apparel from their alma mater, Mayor Scott welcomed representatives from Baltimore's two historically Black colleges and universities, Coppin State University and Morgan State University where he presented both schools with proclamations.
Letitia Dzirasa, Baltimore City's Health Commissioner, tweeted a photo of herself holding a photo of the day she graduated from Meharry Medical College- one of 4 historically black medical schools in the country- with the caption "Happy #BmoreHBCU Day!"
Happy #BmoreHBCUday! I'm a 2007 graduate of @MeharryMedical, one of 4 historically black med schools in the country. Proud to be @MeharryMade! P.s. if you zoom in on the graduation pic, you'll see my eyes are closed. What can I say, sleep is a hot commodity for med students. pic.twitter.com/lS1A38UTY8
— Letitia Dzirasa, MD (@TheOfficialDocD) September 23, 2022
During the declaration, Scott also announced plans for Baltimore's first Masked Ball Fundraiser.
The Masked Ball event, is a popular black tie fundraiser hosted by the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) across the country in cities such as Atlanta, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia.
“We are extremely excited to work with the UNCF to bring this event to the City of Baltimore and support efforts to ensure that our students get access to resources to help with their academic pursuits,” said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. “I have heard great things about this event from my fellow mayors, and I’m committed to making sure that the Baltimore event is the best UNCF Mayor’s Masked Ball ever.”
During the 2020-2021 academic year, the UNCF awarded $1,689,733 in scholarships to 341 students from the state of Maryland who were studying at schools locally as well as throughout the country, including Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland at College Park, Morehouse, Morgan State University, Spelman College, Morehouse College and Howard University.
“We know that there are so many HBCU alumni in Baltimore and philanthropically-minded people who understand the importance of investing in the lives of young people,” said Christian. “We applaud Mayor Scott’s decision to not just host this historic event here in Baltimore, but to use his authority and position as mayor to galvanize the business, religious and community influencers in this city to come together to support HBCUs and the students they serve," said UNCF Development Director Harry Christian III.
The first Baltimore Mayor’s Masked Ball will take place at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor on Saturday, May 6, 2023.
