This post was written by Kara Kauffman, diversity and international services coordinator and MFA in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts student.
Sometimes small things, with big impact, get overlooked. Like a little alley, tucked away in the heart of Baltimore.
Rewind five years, during the height of COVID-19 shutdowns, when all of us were disconnected and feeling... some kind of way. I had taken to running, and one fall morning, on my daily jog, I passed by the campus I hadn’t set foot on in over a year. Inclusion Alley delighted me in a way I hadn’t felt in weeks amidst the isolation of that time. Here was my University, doing something bright, and hopeful, in a time of darkness.
Fast forward to 2023, a friend of mine hopped off a train at Penn Station, someone I hadn’t seen in years, and I took him to get a coffee to enjoy in that bright little alley. Pride swelled again when he couldn’t stop commenting on how unique and cool this little project was; just a small corner of open, unapologetic support for a campus and its larger community.
As we reflect on the theme of Baltimore’s Pride celebrations this June, “Homecoming: Pride Lives Here,” and gather for our own celebration, as we face increasing challenges to that kind of open, unapologetic support for our LGBTQIA+ family and friends, I am reminded of The University of Baltimore’s quiet, stubborn resilience: to support its community, no matter what. In a city known for its graffiti artists, I also wonder how, with its tacit approval, the community spoke back, without saying (or spraying) much of anything over the years.
“Yes,” it said, “Pride does live here; this is our home, and how lucky we are to have it.”
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We hope you will join us in a celebration of this pride in our community, in our friends and neighbors. Join UBalt's Pride Brunch and Open Mic on Saturday, June 13 at 11:30 a.m. in Inclusion Alley, located between the Business Center and Liberal Arts and Policy Building off Charles Street.