Commentary

The strongest communities are built on a surprisingly simple concept: a willingness to step up and give back. That’s the heart of what “Maryland Strong” means to me: the simple act of showing up. As Director of Community Initiatives under former Gov. Larry Hogan (R), it was my honor and privilege to witness what’s possible when our friends and neighbors commit to showing up for the communities we call home.

Maryland’s shortfall in affordable housing is well documented. One statewide study concluded that for every 100 extremely low-income Maryland households, there are only about 33 housing units available. The crisis isn’t isolated to Maryland or the Mid-Atlantic. Nationally, the United States faces a similar deficit affecting millions of families, a disproportionate number of them Black and Latino households.

We both grew up attending predominantly white public schools. As minority students, we felt isolated in classrooms with few other students who looked like us. Sometimes it seemed like we were living through a single lens — and it became clear that we were missing a variety of perspectives, and suffering for it. That’s why over many other schools, we each chose the University of Maryland, where minority students make up more than 50% of the undergraduate population. Our campus is a rare example of diversity among higher education institutions.

There’s no doubt that polarization dominates today’s headlines. Despite the focus on contentiousness, however, the fact remains that, even today, big things happen when we work together. President Joe Biden visited Baltimore in late January to kick off the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel replacement project for the city’s Howard Street Tunnel.

In the spirit of the July 4th holiday, we take a break from the daily grind to focus on the past and Marylands’s historic role on the country’s road to independence. Within months of the first shots of what was to become America’s Revolutionary War, Maryland mustered troops to join the Continental Army and help newly appointed general George Washington drive the British from Boston.

Lately, a variety of media outlets and political leaders (here and here, for example) have spread misinformation about the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future’s statewide education reforms. These attempts to undermine the Blueprint only serve to undermine the people of the Eastern Shore and will leave our counties poorly prepared for the opportunity to improve everyone’s quality of life.

A recent poll appears to show that many Marylanders are more scared by the misleading word “ban” in the poll question than by persistently unhealthy air when it comes to gas-powered vehicles. At stake is Gov. Wes Moore’s commitment to reaching Maryland’s climate and clean air goals by adopting the Advanced Clean Cars (ACC) II rule.

Vice Adm. Sean Buck looked over the sea of white uniforms Thursday — 1,200 young men and women freshly shorn and remade over the course of a single day into the style of an incoming class of Naval Academy plebes. Then he gave them a look that only admirals can give and told them about how tough the weeks ahead would be.