M'Balu "Lu" Bangura
Chief of Equity and Fair PracticesM'Balu "Lu" Bangura is an acclaimed executive leader and civil rights advocate serving as the Chief of Equity and Fair Practices at the Enoch Pratt Free Library. With a profound commitment to integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion into all facets of the Library's operations and community engagement, Lu works diligently to significantly enhance both the workplace environment and user experience.
Under Lu's leadership the Pratt Free Market was launched, addressing food insecurity with innovative approaches such as a free grocery store, community refrigerators, and comprehensive educational programs. She spearheads impactful initiatives like the Amplified Voices Series, Money May, and Heal-a-thon, which provide crucial support and education to underserved and historically marginalized communities.
A holder of dual degrees in Criminal Justice, Lu champions social justice through Project ENCORE (Encouraging New Community Opportunity through Reentry and Empowerment), which assists justice-impacted individuals in gaining employment, personal development, and access to technology. Her professional journey includes significant roles such as creating the first Equity Report for Baltimore City as the city’s first Equity Specialist and pioneering discrimination investigations as a Civil Rights Investigator in Tacoma, where she contributed extensively to Tacoma's Relocation Assistance program, the Tacoma 2025 Equity Plan, and Tacoma's Gang Reduction Project.
Lu's leadership and initiatives have earned her numerous prestigious awards. She has been recognized by the International Human Rights Commission's 2019 Human Rights Defenders Almanac, The Daily Record's Maryland’s Top 40 VIPs and Leading Women lists, The Library Journal’s 2023 Movers and Shakers, The Baltimore Sun’s 2023 Top 25 Women to Watch, Black Girls Vote's Ladies & Politics, and The Baltimore Business Journal's Top 40 under 40 2024 list.
