One Book Baltimore
One Book Baltimore provides opportunities for Baltimore City 7th and 8th graders, their families, and community members to connect through literature by reading the same book.
One Book Baltimore is a collaboration among several local organizations to provide opportunities for Baltimore City 7th and 8th graders, their families, and community members to connect through literature by reading the same book. Discussions and programming will be held across the city this fall to spark conversations focused on peace and how to promote change in our community.
Thank You for Participating!
The 2020 One Book Baltimore program has successfully come to an end.
Virtual Museum of Writing & Artwork
Check out the showcase of writing and artwork by Baltimore City Public School students inspired by author D. Watkins and One Book Baltimore, hosted by CHARM: Voices of Baltimore Youth.
Authors & Students in Conversation
This virtual event centered on the importance of youth voices was held and recorded on January 15, 2021. One Book Baltimore welcomed its featured authors Nic Stone, Jason Reynolds, and D. Watkins in conversation with Wes Moore and Baltimore City middle school students.
Watch: One Book Baltimore Youth Speak!2020 Selection: We Speak For Ourselves by D. Watkins
From the row houses of Baltimore to the stoops of Brooklyn, New York Times bestselling author D. Watkins lays bare the voices of the most vulnerable and allows their raw, intimate stories to uncover the systematic injustice threaded within our society. Honest and eye-opening, We Speak for Ourselves makes us listen, feel, and create a course toward change that starts right where we are.
Watkins introduces you to Down Bottom, the storied community of East Baltimore that holds a mirror to America's poor black neighborhoods β "hoods" that could just as easily be in Chicago, Detroit, Oakland, or Atlanta. We Speak for Ourselves offers an in-depth analysis of inner-city hurdles and honors the stories therein. Watkins shares the lessons he has learned while navigating through two very distinct worlds β the hood and the elite sanctums of prominent black thinkers and public figures β serving hope to fellow Americans who are too often ignored and calling on others to examine what it means to be a model activist in today's world. We Speak for Ourselves is a must-read for all who are committed to social change.
Once you have a copy of the book, download the One Book Baltimore Discussion Guide (PDF).
Check out this visual illustration of Chapter 15, "Don't Make It Out, Make It Better" from We Speak for Ourselves.
A Community Collaboration
One Book Baltimore is a collaboration between the T. Rowe Price Foundation, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore City Public Schools, Maryland Humanities, Baltimore Ceasefire 365, Maryland Book Bank, the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, Johns Hopkins University Brain Science Institute, and WBAL-TV11.
