2020: Year In Review

In January, a team of Johns Hopkins University engineers started tracking the novel coronavirus as it began its initial spread around the globe. Lauren Gardner, an infectious disease specialist and co-director of the school’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering, led a tiny team of PhD students to build an online, real-time dashboard to document the data, which quickly went viral itself. This summer, it garnered more than 4.5 billion hits a day from public health authorities, researchers, and the general public. Gardner’s impressive work landed her on Time magazine’s list of “The 100 Most Influential People of 2020,” in which Baltimore’s own former health commissioner Dr. Leana Wen declared the dashboard an “indispensable resource” and its inventor a hero in her own right. “In the face of an existential threat, Lauren took action,” wrote Wen. “She didn’t wait for others—she stepped up first. She democratized data and filled a void of public-health leadership. Lives will be saved because of her proactive work.” Photography by Mike Morgan

Restaurants have always been the lifeblood of our city, so when they were forced to close in mid-March due to the pandemic and then, over many months, re-opened at varying rates of capacity, we feared that this could spell the end of dining out as we know it. And while only time will tell, for now, something stirring has happened, as signs of reinvention and resilience abound. We could go on and on, but the pivots we appreciate most include outdoor parklets and streeteries, heated tents complete with swinging chandeliers, individual greenhouses, QR codes in place of paper menus, temperature checks, and contact lists, ad-hoc pantries, and soup kitchens feeding not only the hungry and the homeless but health care workers, too. While we mourn the ones we’ve lost (we will miss you Lobo and The Milton Inn), new spots—from Nihao to Café Dear Leon and Ovenbird Bakery—have sprung up, too. Clearly, the scene—however changed—is here to stay. We are smiling beneath our masks. Photography by Scott Suchman

High-tech aerial surveillance—some would say Orwellian—planes flew over Baltimore this past year, which city residents no doubt saw and heard day after day. A U.S. District Court judge gave the go-ahead in April to the civil liberties-challenged and privately funded Baltimore Police Department pilot program known as Aerial Investigation Research (AIR). The first of its kind in the country, the initiative collected images of vehicle and pedestrian movements across 90 percent of the city, up to 12 hours daily, for six months from May through the end of October after former Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young greenlit the experiment without a vote by the City Council. Newly elected Mayor Brandon Scott has said he does not support the surveillance program, or “spy planes” as the effort is often derided, so its future remains unclear. One recent follow-up study showed the aerial surveillance indicated a slight benefit—an increase of 3.6 percent—in “provisionally” closed cases with an arrest, but the question remains at what cost to Baltimoreans’ civil liberties. Meanwhile, the Ohio-based Persistent Surveillance Systems, which owns the technology, is pitching its eerie aerial program in St. Louis. Shutterstock

In the weeks following the death of George Floyd, an outpouring of rage and grief swept across the United States, including here in Baltimore, just one month after the five-year anniversary of the death of Freddie Gray. From downtown to the county, dozens of peaceful protests popped up, with Baltimoreans of every age and race, including then mayoral candidate—now incumbent mayor—Brandon Scott, taking to the streets with colorful signs and calls for action. Youth activists demanded more inclusive curriculum in public schools, while transgender organizers reminded the community of their particular plight within broader systemic racism, with a photograph from the latter march by local photographer Devin Allen landing on the cover of Time magazine. Meanwhile, residents used art installations in their local parks and murals on the asphalt of their neighborhoods to declare solidarity with Black Lives Matter—three simple words that have become a clarion call for justice in 2020. Photography by Lorann Cocca

A collective sense of heartbreak was felt among players, fans, and the entire city as the Orioles took the field for their home opener at Camden Yards on July 29. But it wasn’t because the birds would be playing to an empty stadium, or because the start to their season had been delayed due to the effects of the pandemic. It was because, one day prior, the city lost perhaps the most beloved fan in local sports history. Hours before 14-year-old Baltimore sports superfan Mo Gaba lost his lifelong battle with cancer on July 28, it was announced that he had been awarded the Wild Bill Hagy Award and elected into the Orioles Hall of Fame. Since his passing, the city has continued to honor Gaba—a shining light who inspired us all with his infectious smile, gentleness, and positivity—in thoughtful ways. The Ravens filled sections, dubbed “Mo’s Rows,” with cardboard cutouts of Gaba and painted “BaltiMOre” in the endzone at M&T Bank Stadium. And a street near both of the stadiums will soon be dedicated as Mo Gaba Way. All are but small reminders of the massive mark Gaba left on the world. Photo courtesy of Baltimore Orioles

In a year filled with so much loss, the closing of Trohv felt like a pile-on. The beloved shop on The Avenue—always filled with the best gifts, home goods, and cards—was no match for the pandemic and unforgiving rent due. Despite a groundswell of support for the store and its gem of an owner Carmen Brock, Trohv closed its doors in August. A Hampden mainstay for almost 14 years, the shop was the true heart and soul of the community. People came out in droves the last four weeks of business, their sad faces hidden behind masks, telling Brock with tears in their eyes, “this was my favorite shop” or “I had my first kiss here.” It all felt like a bad dream that could have been avoided if small businesses were given a lifeline during an impossible situation. But in true Carmen fashion, she was focused on the sunshine. “It has been the joy of my life to have a small business in Baltimore,” she told us before the closure. “For me, Trohv felt like a laboratory that sort of became a personal love story, and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to have worked, hustled, lived, and loved the many creative people in this beautiful town.” Photography by Mike Morgan

One year after picket lines and protest signs were a daily sight at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra finally reached a period of healing—with both the organization’s musicians and management agreeing to their first long-term contract since 2016. It ended years of contentious negotiations, and marked a new chapter for the 104-year-old arts institution. The agreement included gradual pay increases for artists, the restoration of 10 full-time positions over the next five years, and the formation of a task force to address diversity, inclusion, and equity within the organization. To that end, in early September, assistant conductor Jonathan Rush and artistic partner Wordsmith were appointed to the BSO’s artistic team, joining cellist Esther Mellon as the orchestra’s only African-American artists, and serving as advisors on original programming. Amidst these changes, maestra Marin Alsop will also step down from her podium in 2021, leaving behind a legacy as the first female conductor to ever lead a major North American orchestra and the founder of the organization’s vital OrchKids program, which she will continue to oversee as music director laureate. Meanwhile, the LA Opera’s James Conlon will come on as artistic advisor in 2021 while the search for her replacement gets underway. Photo courtesy of the BSO

There was really only one safe thing to do when quarantine fatigue started: Take to the trails. And Marylanders did, in record numbers. In October, Governor Larry Hogan announced that the Park Service had already recorded 17.1 million visitors, compared to 14.9 million for all of 2019. In July alone, 3.4 million visitors hit places like Sandy Point, Elk Neck, Patapsco Valley, and Gunpowder Falls—almost one million more than the previous July. (That also meant some parks closed on busy weekends after reaching maximum capacity, and others like Calvert Cliffs imposed a residents-only rule.) But there were still plenty of parks to go around, and families, friends, and solo hikers were rewarded with waterfalls, swimming holes, swinging bridges, and changing foliage. Bike sales skyrocketed and camp sites quickly filled up, as folks took to the great outdoors—mask and water bottle in hand. Shutterstock

When it was announced that the Baltimore Museum of Art would deaccession works by Andy Warhol, Clyfford Still, and Brice Marden in order to fund a $65-million “Endowment for the Future,” objections came from both within the BMA and far beyond its walls, garnering criticism from the likes of the Los Angeles Times’ Christopher Knight and Pergamon Art Group’s Martin Gammon in addition to letters penned by members of the BMA board. Though the endowment itself would be designated for care of the BMA’s collection, equitable pay for its staff, diversity programs, establishing evening hours, and extending free admission to special exhibitions, concerns were raised over the implications of using the museum’s collection like chips to cash in for funding initiatives beyond the collection. Whether the sale will eventually go through remains in the air. On Oct. 28, the original date of the sale, the BMA announced that it would be paused to allow for “further, necessary conversations” about their intentions, but the museum also reaffirmed its dedication to the Endowment for the Future, saying, “Our vision and our goals have not changed. It will take us longer to achieve them, but we will do so through all means at our disposal.” Photo courtesy of Mike Steele via Flickr Commons

After a tense few days counting mail-in ballots during the Democratic primary for mayor in June, 36-year-old City Council President Brandon Scott rallied and pulled out a close victory over former Mayor Sheila Dixon. In a crowded field with 24 candidates receiving votes, Scott won 29.6 percent of the tally. Dixon claimed 27.5 percent of the ballots cast—a margin of slightly more than 3,000 votes. (Perhaps the most surprising result was that Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young, who had assumed office in the wake of former Mayor Catherine Pugh’s criminal plea, received just 6.2 percent of the vote.) Earlier this month, Scott—the youngest person to become mayor of Baltimore in at least the past century—was officially inaugurated as Baltimore’s 52nd mayor in a small ceremony at City Hall, which was broadcast online. “I am not a savior for our city,” the Park Heights native said afterward. “No one is coming to save us. We have the ability to save ourselves. But we can only do that together.” Photography by Meredith Herzing

After two-plus decades out of elected office—and tenures leading the NAACP and his alma mater Morgan State University—72-year-old Kweisi Mfume’s return to Capitol Hill this year is a remarkable full circle moment. Overcoming a troubled youth, Mfume was elected to the Baltimore City Council in 1978. Eight years later, he went to Washington, filling the historic seat previously held by Parren Mitchell. Following the death of Elijah Cummings—who like Mitchell had become not just a Baltimore but national civil rights leader—Mfume returned to his former House seat in May of 2020 after winning a special election. He replicated the victory with another win in November, easily defeating Republican challenger Kimberly Klacik. Mfume has vowed to help those “struggling at this hour to fight off the terrible disease of coronavirus” as well as those struggling to meet their basic economic demands in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. He has pledged to work to improve the city’s public transportation and school infrastructure woes as well as advocate for stricter gun-control measures, including a renewal of the federal assault weapons ban, which he had pushed when he previously held the seat. Shutterstock