Unity Hall and its dreams of the future

By Amir Muhammad | March 6, 2023

Unity Hall is a fairly new non-profit community-building space in Baltimore. Opening its doors on July 17, 2022. Creating a safe space for the people and organizations in Baltimore is important to what Unity Hall really is and hopes to be.

Petula Caesar as the founding executive director of Unity Hall is setting the stage for what the reformed Union Hall for the Amalgamated Clothing & Textile Workers can be. A place where you can host baby showers, birthday parties, or any other things you could think of. A base of operations for the people who need one. A hub for diversity and inclusion which is something that the city of Baltimore really needs right now and has needed for a while.

“It is meant to be a place where people can gather and share community,” Caesar said about Unity Hall. “Especially as the pandemic is less intense than it used to be. I think people are valuing gathering in person more because of that. So we're here at a time when people really want to be in the presence of others, and that's what we do we provide a home.”

Caesar is building this home not just as a figurehead but by being hands-on with the community events in Unity Hall. When a community member is having issues storing items for any particular event, Caesar will be there to provide options and even offer Unity Hall's employees to cater and help with the event. 

The organizations that live within Unity Hall’s walls include No Boundaries Coalition, Equality Equation, Baltimore Music Box, CHARM: Voices of Baltimore Youth, Arts Every Day, and The Community Builders. Six artists are in residence and coworking areas.

Baltimore City faces many problems and Unity Hall is a part of solving the forever-growing list of problems this city has such as the 14,989 vacant properties in the city. Safety is something that all people have the right to have and experience in a city like Baltimore. However, that is not easy to obtain. Baltimore’s overall murder rate increased by 9 percent from 2018 to 2021 but a recent report from youth violence intervention nonprofit ROCA has shown homicides among young people under 25 dropped by 7 percent, homicide victims under 25 years old dropped by 8 percent and non-fatal shooting victims under 25 dropped 3 percent.

Unity Hall is trying to mend the bridge of safety that has been broken over so many years of consistent hurt dealt to the city we live in. It’s also a place that should inspire change, not only within Baltimore but extending to many other areas around the world. 

“It is important to me that I make sure this place continues to be welcoming and continues to be in operation,” Caesar said. “Especially for a lot of the people who are in Baltimore, there isn't really a place where they feel comfortable. For a lot of people in Baltimore, they don't necessarily feel safe all day, every day. So it’s important to me that people feel comfortable here. They feel safe here. They have a good time here. And I need to work to make sure all that continues to happen. ”