CHARM: Voices of Baltimore Youth unveils new book

By Meira Berlow | December 20, 2022

Despite Baltimore taking the crown for the most populous city in Maryland, its turbulent reputation seems to dwarf most of its accomplishments. To change the narrative on Baltimore, CHARM: Voices of Baltimore Youth (CHARM), a literary arts organization founded on the belief that youth voices matter, released the anthology piece “Homegrown: a Message to Baltimore by Baltimore.

The project was jump-started by Baltimore Teacher of the Year winners Sidney Thomas and Wyatt Oroke, who worked together with CHARM’s youth editorial board to collect a myriad of influential Baltimore creatives. 

“We saw how the narrative of Baltimore was impacting our students, and we wanted to create Homegrown so they are able to get better perspectives about the beauty of it,” said Thomas. 

Homegrown was released on Oct. 18 with a launch event at Baltimore Unity Hall where contributors such as local activist Errika Bridgeford, poet Victor Frantz Rodgers 2nd  “Slangston Hughes” and Baltimore native and New York Times reporter Erica L. Green read their pieces to the audience. 

The homegrown visionaries that contributed to the book spotlight Baltimore’s camouflaged strengths in the form of poetry, writing and art pieces. The book is an optimistic blend of all of Baltimore’s positives through the lens of the people who know it the most and showcases a more uplifting narrative than is usually expected from the city.

“It brings a lot of community that you don’t usually see,” Kam Rogers, one of the student voices of CHARM said.  “ Homegrown is special because it addresses those negative stereotypes about Baltimore.” He also delivered a heartfelt speech during the launch event to commemorate all the work done by the collaborators. 

Anybody can purchase a copy for $25 on the CHARM official website or from local bookstores like Charm City Books, The Ivy Bookshop, Greedy Reads and much more.