Linda Grace Morris: Baltimore Boomer Tales from the Hood

Send us Fan Mail I was introduced to the Montford Point Marines three years ago around Veteran's Day when I attended one of their awards ceremonies at the War Memorial in Baltimore. I didn't know their story before going. Fast forward to February of this year when one of my high school classmates, Eugene (Dobie) Gillis, a retired Marine who lives in California, forwarded me an email in F...

Send us Fan Mail Reverend Hunter's calling is to saving souls. His life of activism reminds us that we are our brother's keeper. Even in retirement from his Presiding Elder capacity, he continues to work to bring the next generation to God and to remind them of their anointing.  Make every moment count! E-mail me at Lindagracemorris@gmail.com and tell me in 25 words or less why I should...

Send us Fan Mail Nobody believes me when I tell them how wonderful life was in Cherry Hill except others of my generation who grew up in this brand new, state of the art, first planned community built for African Americans by the Federal Government. We were more or less an experiment and boy did we succeed. There are enough witnesses on this podcast from Cherry Hill for you to know that this is ou...

Send us Fan Mail Yes! There really is a club of Lindas, and you are getting ready to meet the club President. This Linda was born and raised in Chicago--a few blocks from the slaughter yards. She is a very positive person, and of course as a Linda, she has to be personable. If you are feeling a little down, this episode will pick you up and change the course of your day. Listen as Linda shares her...

Send us Fan Mail If that doesn't describe Dr. JakyB, I don't know what else will. A child of Maryland's Lower Eastern Shore, she has always been a force of nature. At a young age, she made it her mission to meet her parents' expectations of her, and she took off on her quest for education. That quest has taken her on a lot of twists and turns and made her the first in many area...

Send us Fan Mail Jamaal Moses was born in what was then, Baltimore City Hospitals--now Johns Hopkins Bayview Campus, and lived a few blocks from what is now called the Inner Harbor until he was about 10 years old. Then he and his family moved to Cherry Hill and experienced the unique sense of community offered there. Jamaal has an outstanding record of service as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker...

Send us Fan Mail Growing up, Aaron Condon wanted to be an archeologist just like Indian Jones. However, instead of finding buried treasure, he is mining the nuggets of history made at the National Institutes of Health for evidence of the contributions of minorities and women. For every Nobel Laureate, there are dozens of NIHers contributing to the research--ranging from the animal caretakers and g...

Send us Fan Mail Selena and I became acquainted through a direct sales opportunity doing jewelry parties. It was a fun way to test our entrepreneurial spirit and meet like-minded women and men. That was 20 years ago, and we have remained friends. Selena is 20 years younger than I, and she has a joy for life and bringing people together. Most recently, she has established a women's network, an...

Send us Fan Mail Mattie Butler gives us a glimpse of what life was like in early Cherry Hill. She was 14 when she and her mother, Ms. Frances Jones, moved from Vine Street near Fremont Avenue to Cherry Hill. Cherry Hill was a dream come true for her and the other families fortunate enough to be accepted into the community. Listen to how her life unfolded. Make every moment count! E-mail me at Lind...

Send us Fan Mail Those of you with subscriptions to Ancestry.com know that from time to time you might receive a message suggesting family members who share portions of your DNA. So far, I have found four cousins this way. The other three are related on my mother's side from the Eastern Shore of Virginia. So I assumed that Mark was too. No matter how hard we have tried, we have not confirmed...

Send us Fan Mail You will remember Michael burnside as the subject of Season 1, Episodes 31 and 32. He grew up in East Baltimore and Cherry Hill and later went into the service. However, his is an unconventional journey that ultimately led him to his purpose.  You can just listen to this episode and extract some nuggets of Michael's folksy wisdom. However, if you have not listened to Michael&...

Send us Fan Mail Growing up in Cherry Hill in mid-20th century America was a privilege. The message you received from your neighbors, your educators, and your church congregation was that you mattered. That's the message that Adrienne Warren received that carried her through her very successful life. What is a successful life, you ask? Listen and hear it defined in Adrienne's journey. Ma...

Send us Fan Mail Just like Ava Gabor on the sitcom, "Green Acres," farm life was not for Levon Parker. Levon could not wait to leave the farm, and he ran straight from the arms of his doting grandmother to those of a drill sergeant in the early 1950s--not long after President Truman desegregated the Armed Forces. It amazes me to hear these stories of individual triumph in times that were...

Send us Fan Mail Joy Thomas Moore is a very unassuming woman with a powerful story to share. As I sat across from her, I could not help but smile because she flashes the same smile that Marylanders have become accustomed to seeing on the Governor. Her story is one of a truly liberated woman of our time. Not that she chose to be liberated, but it was thrust upon her as the widowed single mother of...

Send us Fan Mail If you didn't catch my hint, Alice is the daughter of the late Maryland Senator, Troy Brailey who served in Maryland's General Assembly from the mid 1960s until the mid 1990s. While Alice stood in her father's shadow growing up, she has managed to cast a pretty big shadow of her own involving education, politics and activism. Alice shares a lot of stories in this ep...

Send us Fan Mail When I met Fandreia Bowman working on the Bob Wallace for Mayor campaign, I was impressed with her drive. She tackled every task--large or small--with the same level of determination. After interviewing her for this episode, I understand where that drive comes from. It is in her DNA. Fandreia comes from a long line of doers who have molded her into the compassionate educator who t...

Send us Fan Mail Tone Robin contacted me two or three years ago to ask me to be on his podcast to discuss my book, Cherry Hill: Raising Successful Black Children in Jim Crow Baltimore. He came to my home with just an iPhone, and we had a delightful conversation. I was impressed because this person who wasn't even from Baltimore had an appreciation for the city I love so much--and particularly...

Send us Fan Mail Shirley Brown has been a light to others her entire life. In this episode, she shares with us some of the positivity she exudes as she continues her journey leading young people to God. Make every moment count! E-mail me at Lindagracemorris@gmail.com and tell me in 25 words or less why I should interview you.

Send us Fan Mail We usually see lawyers publicly in terms of the cases they are representing. This episode reflects the thinking and lessons learned over the course of a lifetime in the legal profession for these two Baltimore lawyers. Observe them today as two African American men who came of age in mid-20th century America with more than 100 years of legal experience between them.  Make every mo...

Send us Fan Mail The Pikes Theater has been a landmark on Reisterstown Road since forever. It has gone through several iterations, the most recent being as a very intimate setting for viewing your favorite movies with food you choose to order from one of the nearby restaurants delivered right to your seat; or, as a unique venue for your next fundraiser when you rent one or both of the 45-seat thea...

Send us Fan Mail Bobby Maith, the oldest child of Mrs. Dorothy Maith of Episode 22, once said that growing up in Cherry Hill was like living in the Garden of Eden with all the lush foliage, fruit trees, and wooded areas that we had. Mr. Maith, Bobby's dad, provided well for his family in that he worked for Bethlehem Steel in Sparrows Point--the highest paying employer in Baltimore at that tim...

Send us Fan Mail Mrs. Dorothy Maith is 102 years old. She was born in the Rossville area of Baltimore County and was a member of the first class to graduate from Baltimore City's Dunbar High School in 1941. She and her husband, Robert, Sr., bought a house in Cherry Hill after he returned from the war. Their sons, Robert, Jr., and Ronald lived in this home, Ronald having been delivered there b...

Send us Fan Mail Some people you meet, and you click right away. That's how it was when I met Mary Tolbert. I think it was the Spring of 2021 when things were starting to reopen after the COVID pandemic. We were going to a casino in Charles Town, WV, on it's opening day. On the ride up we had a glorious time talking about the music acts we had seen in concert when she dropped what I cons...

Send us Fan Mail The picture I use for my podcast cover was taken by Mr. Carlton Simmons. He chronicled Cherry Hill families with his black and white photography. If it was a family event, he captured it with his camera. He took all the school class photos until the advent of color photography when the photo studios got the school photo business.  I Have been trying to find Mr. Simmons's chil...

Send us Fan Mail Sometimes you have to take a long road to find your dream. For Carl David, that road started in Chicago, went to Los Angeles, came back to Harvey, IL, and then here to the DMV. Hear this Boomer talk about how he has pursued his love for jazz while working full-time jobs. Make every moment count! E-mail me at Lindagracemorris@gmail.com and tell me in 25 words or less why I should i...