The community organizing, interfaith group BUILD celebrated its 35th anniversary last night at the Enoch Pratt Central Library, though the evening was also a victory party of sorts for BUILD’s success in this year’s General Assembly session. City officials and partners like BUILD successfully lobbied for a $1.1 billion financing plan to rehabilitate Baltimore city schools in the session that ended earlier this month.
Speaking after U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, (D-Baltimore), Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake thanked BUILD for giving her the “space” to work “behind the scenes” to get the school bill passed. Addressing Bishop Douglas Miles, BUILD’s co-chair emeritus, she said, “I don’t anticipate us always agreeing on everything [but]I know that BUILD has the best intentions of the people of Baltimore in mind.” Rawlings-Blake spoke before leaving to attend the retirement party of Judge Robert M. Bell.
Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development, founded in 1977, counts dozens of Baltimore faith and other organizations among its members. One of its many past campaigns includes securing a living wage standard for employees working under city service contracts. That bill passed the City Council in 1994.
After the program last night, BUILD lead organizer Ojeda Hall said that the key to keeping the school construction plan on track was parent engagement. "In a school of 500 kids [we need] at least 10% of parents engaged," she said. "It's a moment to organize and to sort out who we have."