On an early spring visit to Power52 headquarters in Howard County, Cherie Brooks offers me a tour of the nonprofit organization she co-founded in 2015, which is dedicated to training at-risk individuals for careers in the clean energy industry.

We pass framed articles and photos on the walls of Power52 graduates, of Brooks and co-founder Ray Lewis in business suits, of staff and students out in the community. We peek into a classroom where a few students are working on computers. With wraparound services that include résumé building, headshots, career coaching, and financial literacy, students leave Power52 empowered to succeed.

“It’s a quiet day today,” says Brooks, dressed in jeans, Uggs, and a bright pink cardigan. We step into a studio where the “Testimonial Tuesdays” and “Solar Sidebar” episodes, which can be viewed on Power52Official’s YouTube channel, are recorded by students and staff. Then we settle into her office to talk about solar.

Chatting with Brooks in her office, where stacks of paper mix with photos of her children—three, plus a nephew who lives with the family and works at Power52—and one of her dog, feels like catching up with an old friend. She is lively in conversation, all bright eyes, warm smile, and infectious enthusiasm. We’re interrupted by a call from her daughter’s pediatrician. “Excuse me for just a second,” she says, then gets a call from her son’s school. With family business quickly tended to, we get back to the matter at hand. No one multi-tasks like a working mom. But she gets right down to business.

“The core of our curriculum is entry level construction, but our sweet spot is solar PV installation,” says Brooks, referring to the process of setting up a solar photovoltaic (PV) system to generate electricity from sunlight. She says that PV installation “offers numerous benefits, including reduced electricity bills, decreased reliance on fossil fuels, and environmental sustainability.”

It’s also a great career path. Power52 Energy Institute’s 16-week training program totals 320 hours taught in cohorts—groups of roughly 20 students, mostly male. Upon graduation, attendees are career ready. Power52 boasts an employment rate of 81 percent with an average starting wage of $18.50 per hour. And the training translates to college credits through newly established partnerships with Pittsburgh Technical College, Howard County Community College, and Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi. Once a student graduates from the Energy Institute, they are qualified for the Power Pathways program, which offers additional training and stackable credentials.

Power52’s graduates are much needed in today’s workforce. The solar industry is one of the fastest-growing employment sectors in the United States. In Maryland alone, the Clean Energy Jobs Act of 2019 (HB1158), which aims for a 50-percent renewable energy goal by 2030, will bring 20,000 jobs to the state. That number will grow with a goal of 100 percent renewable energy statewide by 2040.

Further, the Justice40 Initiative, established by President Joe Biden in January 2021, will send 40 percent of all federal climate funding to disadvantaged communities—those overburdened by environmental pollution and outdated infrastructure—to focus on everything from investments in clean energy and efficiency to training and workforce development. Power52 is perfectly positioned to ride this surging wave of interest in renewable energy.

But Brooks had the vision for community transformation through clean energy development long before these federal and state programs were formed. It was in 2015, after the uprising resulting from the death of Freddie Gray, that Power52’s foundation was laid. Raised in West Baltimore, Brooks felt the impact of Gray’s death, and the riots, deeply.

“Growing up in the trenches, inserted in the mayhem, life can go either way,” she explains. As a teenager, Brooks experienced that mayhem, with the loss of three girlfriends, all to gun violence, and others who became addicted to drugs. “You go to a party and end up ducking and dodging bullets. That’s just how it was.”

Brooks was determined her own journey would be different. “I held onto a steadfast belief I was meant to serve the people, to make a difference in their lives through some sort of ministry,” she says. “To make it out, unscathed, that’s a really big deal. The Lord saw fit to bless me in that way, so I need to pull someone else up, by any means necessary.”

At the time of the uprising, Brooks, who had a background in radio, real estate, and the telecom industry, was working in the solar industry with her then-husband, Rob Wallace (the couple divorced in 2020). She hosted “Solar Summits,” bringing awareness of renewable energy innovations to nonprofits. “Clean and renewable energy was still in its infancy,” she says. “There was a significant demand for skilled workers in the burgeoning field.” And she knew a workforce could be developed in Baltimore communities.

“There was an untapped pool of talented individuals who had the potential to thrive,” she says, “if only they were given the right training and opportunity to showcase their abilities.”

To her it was clear: Creating jobs in the clean energy sector could provide needed relief for the city. “I needed to get the opportunity to individuals from these marginalized communities,” she says. “They’re looking for careers that can be fast-tracked. How do we do this?”

Knowing she and Wallace needed a strong advocacy partner, Brooks reached out to NFL Hall of Famer Lewis, who had recently retired from the Ravens. “I knew he was passionate about creating opportunities in the city,” she says. “The timing was perfect.”

By September 2015, Power52 Foundation—named for Lewis’ number and 52 weeks of the year because, says Brooks, “People need jobs every day, every week, all year”—was approved with nonprofit status, and Brooks named CEO.

Lewis and Wallace developed a for-profit solar venture, the profits of which would support the foundation. With Lewis’ support, Brooks’ vision quickly gained attention. “We positioned ourselves well and brought the right players onboard,” Brooks says.

A 2017 partnership with Living Classrooms Foundation’s POWER House created immediate impact. With funding from the Ravens and Under Armour, POWER House (formerly the Carmelo Anthony Center), included an indoor training field and adult education center. The solar-powered community center, or Resiliency Hub, the first of its kind in the country, would serve as a safe space for the public housing community during power outages and weather-related emergencies.

“We started our first training sessions at POWER House,” Brooks says of the program that became the Power52 Energy Institute. “With Living Classrooms taking the lead, we found our footing and received two grants”—the first, from the Institute for Sustainable Communities; the second from the State of Maryland’s Higher Education Commission, which invited Power52 Energy Institute to apply for designation as the first private career school in the state.

The process was daunting. “Imagine an application this thick,” Brooks says, holding her thumb and index finger a couple of inches apart. “I stared at it with a tear rolling down my cheek, feeling defeated—how can I get this done? But it was our chance to be the first. It set a fire in me. I thought, ‘I can do this; I’m built for this.’”

The application was approved. “With grant funding and a new designation, we were off to the races,” Brooks recalls.

After the POWER House grant was complete, Power52’s structure evolved. The foundation became independent of Lewis and Wallace’s for-profit venture. Though neither man is engaged in operations, Lewis continues to support Power52 through public advocacy and its annual golf outing, LIVE! On the Green, which he co-chairs. More changes were necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw POWER House close and the foundation move to remote instruction.

Today, 80 percent of training takes place online, with the remaining 20 percent—hands-on building instruction—in person at Power52 headquarters. To date, more than 200 participants have graduated from Power52 Energy Institute, benefiting not only from learning a new trade, but soft skills to carry them forward.

“We have Professional Tuesdays, where we hold 30-minute career-building workshops,” says Power52’s junior operations manager, Lorielle Moore. “How to prepare a résumé, how to answer difficult questions, nonverbal cues and gestures, how to deal with a difficult co-worker. We leave it open to discussion as well. Our students come from different backgrounds and have different perspectives, and we don’t want them to lose their uniqueness.”

Some students, looking to learn a new trade, find Power52 on their own. Others are led there for a second chance through relationships with parole officers and judges, while others discover the opportunity through community engagement. Whatever the route, Brooks is ready to meet them.

“Ms. Brooks is very hands on. If we are out in the community doing outreach, she will go around finding people and bring them to me for information,” says Moore. “She’s kind, she trusts her staff, and she’s here at Power52 every day, ready to give 1,000 percent,” she continues. “She fights for Power52, and fights for the individuals we serve.”

Brooks not only fights for the program’s participants, she also holds them—and her staff and herself—to high standards. “The culture here at Power52 is based on authenticity,” Brooks says. “Being resilient. Being true.” Her goal? To deliver on every promise made to the institute’s students. “We put everything in place for you to get there; now the onus is on you, the student…you do your part. We are not going to fall short on our part, period.”

She continues, “What drives us is the results, the impact. The change we see.”

Power52 alumnus Rainey Stewart, 43, confirms that Brooks’ word is her bond. After a 15-year career in the biotech industry, Stewart, father of three young children, was unemployed and homeless in the summer of 2018. Working part-time in construction, he discovered Power52 doing promotion in a Baltimore park while playing basketball with his brother. He decided to give it a try and signed up and took the test the next day.

A graduate of Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, Stewart was confident he had the skills to succeed, but nervous. “It was my last hope,” he says. “They called and welcomed me to the program and I just thought, ‘This is awesome.’”

Stewart found that Brooks, and the program, delivered on every promise, and then some. “While in the program I was offered an internship with Pivot Energy. Power52 has a policy of providing a stipend to students with internships lasting up to four weeks,” he explains, “but mine was a three-month internship. I couldn’t afford to leave my construction job, stay in the program, and keep the internship. So I went to Cherie…and was offered a paid position at Power52 until Pivot hired me. Without their resources, I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in today,” he says. “I’m eternally grateful.”

Since completing Power52’s training in 2019, Stewart has been with Pivot Energy for four years. He helped bring solar power to Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., and is now an analyst in project development. He’s working to make his department more efficient and has helped create a pipeline between Power52 and Pivot Energy. “I’m an example of how it works,” he says.

While not a religious organization, the power behind Power52’s mission is all about faith. The granddaughter of a bishop, Brooks says, “I’m a church girl, I like to say ‘GPK’—GrandPreacher’s Kid,” she says. Her family church, McKinney’s Memorial Holiness Church in Sandtown, was built by her grandfather. It stands just a few paces from the site of Freddie Gray’s passing. That GPK upbringing guides Brooks’ purpose.

“There’s not a thing I can’t do,” she says, “but it’s not me, it’s the Lord. Being in prayer and having faith in what you can’t see, that’s everything for me,” she continues. “Every day when I wake up, I ask the Lord to order my steps, to give me wisdom. And that’s what I give all of my success to.”

Whether steered by divine guidance or her own momentum, Brooks’ steps have steadily increased Power52’s reach. “It’s all about bringing people from disinvested communities an opportunity for livelihood, for a better quality of life,” says Pradnya Haldipur, vice president of development and communications for the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC). “Cherie is always homing in on what’s the best way to get this done, to get the results we want.”

Haldipur first met Brooks in 2022, when Brooks was a guest speaker at an ISC board meeting. “Cherie has amazing energy, she’s thoughtful and ambitious, and lacks ego,” Haldipur continues. “It’s like she has that thought in her head at all times: ‘What opportunity can we create?’”

“If I had one word to describe Cherie, it would be ‘Powerhouse,’” says Stacey Grant, a program navigator with Justice40 Accelerator (or J40 Accelerator), an organization that was founded in response to President Biden’s Justice40 executive order. J40 Accelerator partners with workforce and community development concerns like Power52, guiding them through complex federal grants and other philanthropic funding opportunities.

Generous with both community and technical expertise, “Cherie is an amazing leader,” Grant continues. “She raises questions, frames solutions…she’s willing to democratize what she knows with her peers.”

What’s unique about Brooks, ISC’s Haldipur says, is her humility. “I have rarely come across someone like her who works at making it not about her.” She continues, “This is what we need. More powerful women, more women of color like Cherie, who are going to push forward, and do it because they’re looking to make their corner of the universe better. And her corner of the universe has gotten better through her effort.”

For Brooks, the beauty in the work is bearing witness to human transformation.

“Many individuals come to us with a skewed or jaded perception, not ready to trust, especially our students who are returning citizens [from the adjudication system]. We have hard conversations. It’s our job to remove the barriers,” she says. “We reside on the front lines of environmental justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion—we’re right there. It’s just part of our DNA at Power52.”

“Ultimately, Cherie has been a boon to the city of Baltimore,” says ISC’s Haldipur. “She’s not going to be satisfied until she’s helped as many people as she can.”

Providing a platform for human transformation is hard, tiring, emotional work, but Brooks wouldn’t have it any other way. “My mother says ever since I could talk, I would say ‘I can do it, Mommy, I can do it.’ I always wanted more. At a family reunion, I was voted In Charge of Being in Charge,’” she laughs. “But as our staff says, ‘If not us, then who?’ We love what we do. I really love what I do.”

Sports tend to be a great outlet for a city to express its collective id. And while Baltimore has had plenty of modest, lunch-pail, grind-it-out sports heroes (Johnny Unitas and Cal Ripken, Jr. being the obvious examples), it’s also had more than its fair share of larger-than-life characters.

One of our first great sports celebrities was the Colts’ Artie Donovan, a funny, irreverent raconteur who was as comfortable on The Tonight Show couch as he was on the gridiron. We also had the Orioles’ famously pugnacious Earl Weaver, whose nose-to-nose, spittle-flying, profanity-laced confrontations with umpires, pictured, were the stuff of legends. Weaver often clashed with his gifted right-handed pitcher Jim Palmer, who with his perfect teeth and off-field polish made him a perfect foil to his manager.

The rowdiness of Weaver extended to the fans in the stands, who exuberantly took it upon themselves to improve the National Anthem by inserting a raucous “O!” before “Does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave?”—a tradition that continues to this day. Meanwhile, at Memorial Stadium, Wild Bill Hagy became an icon for donning that ubiquitous cowboy hat and leading the cheap seats in a pantomimed chant of O-R-I-O-L-E-S. (We also like to think that Hagy is the one responsible for “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” emerging as the official song of the seventh-inning stretch.)

Our tradition of eccentric athletes continues into the 21st century with the preacher-warrior linebacker Ray Lewis and his unforgettable “Hot in Herre” pre-game dance; our delightfully geeky, opera-singing, Royal-Farms-pitching kicker Justin Tucker; and the bubble-blowing, food-loving, do-gooding Adam Jones.

Each of our sports heroes tell us a little something about ourselves—what we value, what makes us laugh and cheer, how we choose to be perceived by the rest of the country. And while there will never be another Donovan, Hagy, or Jones, we’ll undoubtedly find another endearingly oddball athlete to idolize. It’s what we do.

A 13-time Pro Bowler, two-time defensive player of the year, Super Bowl 35 MVP, and the only player in NFL history to produce at least 40 sacks and 30 interceptions is none other than Baltimore Ravens’ Ray Lewis. He also holds a Ravens’ franchise-record of 2,643 career tackles, including a single-season best of 225 stops in 2003. With a resume like that, it’s only fitting to celebrate his induction into the 2018 NFL Hall of Fame with a parade through the city.

“For 17 years, we could point to No. 52 and tell the other players, ‘Follow his lead,” said Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome, who drafted Lewis. “It was our privilege to have him as a Raven. We are all better for having him here. His play on game days speaks for itself. When you talk about the great players of all time, no matter the position, he is among the greatest of the great.”

On Saturday, September 22, Mayor Catherine Pugh will hold a parade to honor the Ravens’ latest inductee. Beginning at 10 a.m. on Key Highway near Rash Field, the parade will travel through downtown and end at City Hall where both Pugh and Lewis will speak.

The team that Lewis called home for nearly 20 years will honor him during Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos. Prior to the game, too, fans will get the chance to snap a few pics with his Hall of Fame bust on RavensWalk. There’s also a giveaway of a commemorative Ray Lewis Hall of Fame coin upon entry.

Just before kickoff and after player intros, Lewis will take the field—perhaps we will get to see the squirrel dance at M&T Bank Stadium one last time? At halftime, Lewis will be presented with his Hall of Fame ring in an on-field ceremony. No long speeches this time though, the game must go on.

The only thing that would make this weekend better is if the Ravens get a win. After last week’s game—they struggled on both sides, especially defensively when linebacker C.J. Mosley was carted off the field—the fans could use a W. An iconic, inspirational locker room speech from Lewis might just do the trick.

EAT

Sept. 22: Charm City Night Market

200 Park Ave. 4-11 p.m. Free.

Baltimore’s once-booming Chinatown on the 200 block of Park Ave in Bolton Hill will come alive on Saturday with this first-ever night market dedicated to celebrating the city’s Asian-American communities. Starting at Lexington Market, the outdoor block party will feature wares by area makers, a performance by hip-hop group Baltimore Dance Crews Project, and festive drinks at the soju/sake/beer garden. Don’t miss out on the chance to chow down on authentic eats from local vendors like steamed buns from Ekiben, pad thai from Thai Street, and Hawaiian-style poké at Ono Poké.

DRINK

Sept. 21-23: German Fest

Max’s Taphouse, 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Free.

Don your dirndls and lederhosen and raise a giant stein of beer to the official start of Oktoberfest. All weekend long, this Fells Point beer mecca will be serving up more than 60 authentic German drafts, bottles, and cans, including pours from local favorites like Heavy Seas Beer, Diamondback Brewing, and Monument City. Snack on eats from a German-inspired menu and celebrate one of the world’s biggest beer holidays with plenty of Kolsch and Hefeweizen beers to go around.

SEE

Sept. 22: Ray Lewis Day Hall of Fame Parade

Key Hwy. and Light St. 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Free.

Baltimore has commemorated Baltimore Raven Ray Lewis’ dedication to his adopted city with his own statue at M&T Bank Stadium and a street on North Avenue, and on Saturday, the city will rally together for a parade to honor the former linebacker’s induction into the NFL Hall of Fame. Join thousands of purple-clad fans along the parade route that starts at Key Highway and Light Street and winds around to the War Memorial Plaza, and then stick around for an all-out fan fest and the chance to hear from Lewis before he accepts his Hall of Fame ring during Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos.

HEAR

Sept. 22: Trillectro Music Festival

Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Pkwy. 1-11 p.m. $60-199.

Before you hit up our Music Festival on Saturday, make the quick trip to Columbia for this can’t-miss lineup of hip-hop and electronic acts, including big-name artists like R&B star SZA, rapper 2 Chainz, and internationally renowned DJ Carnage. In between performances by these famous players, show some hometown love to local performers, including the inimitable Abdu Ali, rising rappers Lor Choc and Butch Dawson, and locally-loved DJ Trillnatured during a set curated by Lawrence Burney of Baltimore arts publication True Laurels.

DO

Sept. 22: Pigtown Festival

700-900 blocks of Washington Blvd. 12-7 p.m. Free.

One of Baltimore’s most anticipated races of the year is finally here—no, not the Preakness Stakes—it’s “Squeakness,” aka Pigtown’s annual contest that sends piglets running around a ring on Washington Boulevard. Aside from this crowd-favorite tradition, the Southwest Baltimore festival boasts plenty of family-friendly fun, including live music by regional acts The Players Band and Terry ‘Big T’ Williams, local food trucks, and an arts and crafts zone.

Cal Ripken Jr., Michael Phelps, and Ray Lewis are arguably Baltimore’s most recognizable sports figures. They all have appeared in hundreds of commercials between them, but Lewis is taking his acting career to the next level. The former Ravens linebacker will be making a cameo in an upcoming film shot and based in Baltimore.

Potential was created by Maryland-based writer and director Jason Slawson and funded by local production company SNM Global Holdings. According to IMDb, it’s a dramatic comedy about life choices and “adulting” in a fast-paced society.

“Potential follows the lives of four thirty-somethings trying to jump-start their respective futures,” as it reads on IMDb. “Broke and struggling, they fight to make ends meet and gain forward momentum in their lives, all the while dealing with dead-end jobs, faltering relationships, and the successes of their friends.”

During a Q&A between the producer Grant Slawson and CEO of SNM Global Troy Lowman, the two discussed Lewis’ role in the upcoming film. Lowman says that Lewis showed interest in the production company and thought giving him a cameo was a great idea.

“He’s not just a Baltimore icon—he’s a national icon,” Lowman said. “I think it would give the movie some exposure it wouldn’t otherwise get. He’s also a pretty funny guy. I won’t spoil it for everybody, but I think it will be one of the highlights of the movie.”

Although Lewis has never been in a movie—we aren’t counting his 2014 cameo in Draft Day—and the producers thought including him would bring a wider demographic in to see the film. The fact that the movie is set in Baltimore didn’t hurt either. Lewis was in the city last week for the film’s casting call at Jimmy’s Seafood in Dundalk—which will also make a cameo.

There’s no word yet on when the film will be released or the character Lewis is playing, but pre-production is set to begin in August. And the jury is still out on whether or not the legendary linebacker will perform his signature squirrel dance.

“I’m really excited about the movie, especially the comedy side of it,” Lewis said in a January interview. “There’s this thing about me always being so tough, but there’s another side of me that’s just pure laughter. This is my first time behind the camera, but I can also say it won’t be my last.”

From his first days as Ravens head coach, Brian Billick knew there was something different about Ray Lewis.

It wasn’t the way this 6-foot-1, 240-pound freak of nature could roam gracefully from sideline to sideline, then focus like a laser on his target and deliver a bone-rattling hit. No, Billick had already seen Lewis do that. Billick had been the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings when they played against Lewis and the Ravens in 1998. Billick had already studied Lewis and devised a game plan to account for him.

But upon joining the Ravens in 1999, Billick was most struck by something that never showed up in the box score.

“It was shocking to me,” Billick said, “coming to the Ravens and seeing again and again how readily the veterans, and I’m talking guys like Rod Woodson, future Hall of Famer . . . how readily they gave themselves over to Ray’s leadership.”

Other contributors include O.J. Brigance, Haloti Ngata, Jonathan Ogden, Ed Reed, Chuck Pagano, Rex Ryan, Jerome Bettis, Eddie George, and many more. Read all 52 memories of No. 52 at PressBoxOnline.com/Ray.

Hard hits and motivational speeches are what recent Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Ray Lewis was known for. Baltimore’s 1996 first-round draft pick becomes the second homegrown Raven to earn the honors (aside from left tackle Jonathan Ogden in 2013). When it came time to discuss Lewis’s candidacy, there wasn’t much to say—his talent and natural born leadership speak for themselves.

During his nearly two-decade career, he was a 13-time Pro Bowler, two-time defensive player of the year, and Super Bowl 35 MVP. He is also the only player in NFL history to produce at least 40 sacks and 30 interceptions. Lewis also holds a Ravens’ franchise-record of 2,643 career tackles, including a single-season best of 225 stops in 2003.

“For 17 years, we could point to No. 52 and tell the other players, ‘Follow his lead,” said Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome, who drafted Lewis. “It was our privilege to have him as a Raven. We are all better for having him here. His play on game days speaks for itself. When you talk about the great players of all time, no matter the position, he is among the greatest of the great.” 

Here are some Lewis highlights, from memorable sacks to the patented squirrel dance, that made him a shoe-in for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Lewis was one of the hardest hitting linebackers.
“In the first half of his career, when the run game was the most prominent, he was a beast,” said former Raven Shannon Sharpe. “He singlehandedly shut down great backs like Jerome Bettis, Eddie George, and Fred Taylor. No inside linebacker in the history of the game has the résumé of the man I call ‘Suga.'”

He was an entertainer.
Although Lewis was the on-field hypeman, he was also the main attraction before the coin was even tossed with his famous tunnel dance to Nelly’s “Hot in Herre.” Fans and opponents alike made sure to watch—and even imitate—his signature moves before he hit the field. 

He will forever be the best at motivational pep talks, on and off the field.
“What needs to be said about a guy who was, by far, the best leader I witnessed in my 17 years of play?” said former teammate Rod Woodson. “Not only a great leader to the whole team, but a mentor to teammates and players on other teams—so unselfish and so selfless.”

On Tuesday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced 27 semifinalists for induction in 2018, with former Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis and former Viking and Patriot wide receiver Randy Moss topping the list.

Lewis, of course, who already has a statue outside M&T Bank Stadium, led the Ravens to two Super Bowl titles while earning selection to 13 Pro Bowl squads. If he makes it into Canton this year, as expected, he’ll join Jonathan Ogden (HOF Class of 2013) as the second Ravens star named to the Hall. Ogden and Lewis, as any serious Ravens fan knows, were the fledging team’s first two draft picks ever in 1996. 

Also making the list in their first year of eligibility are former Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, former Seahawk and Viking guard Steve Hutchinson, former Tampa Bay cornerback Ronde Barber, and former Patriot and Raider defensive tackle Richard Seymour.

The often-controversial Lewis was in the news for other reasons as well this week. He was sued recently, according to multiple reports, for allegedly failing to come though with promised cash and bourbon after a marketing deal struck with the owner of the Kentucky Derby-winning racehorse California Chrome. Lewis is involved with a bourbon label called Ray’s Reserve. 

Earlier this year, Lewis also generated some controversy when he said the Ravens were ready to sign activist/quarterback Colin Kaepernick until a pointed tweet by the former 49er quarterback’s girlfriend involving Lewis hugging Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti. He also received some negative fan reaction after kneeling—albeit on two knees in prayer—during the national anthem before a game with a number of Baltimore Ravens this season.

Lewis infamously pled guilty to obstruction of justice in the death of two men who were allegedly stabbed to death by two of his friends during a fight after the 2000 Super Bowl in Atlanta.

The minimum criteria for nominating a player is pretty simple: he has to have played at least five seasons, got named to at least one Pro Bowl or All-Pro roster, and has been out of the game for five seasons. 

It is interesting that anyone—yes, even a fan—can nominate a qualified ex-ballplayer. It is also worth noting perhaps that the Pro Football Hall of Fame—unlike the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum—has no character clause in its rules.

Ravens announce $120 million renovations to M&T Bank Stadium.
So, here we are thinking that HD is the best quality picture. But, the Ravens are way ahead of us as they plan to install super-fancy 4K ultra high-def video displays as a part of a three-year, $120 million improvement plan for M&T Bank Stadium. The displays, which will double the width of the stadium’s current screens, are just one of many upgrades—including adding escalators and elevators to the 500 level, new suites in the stadium’s upper bowl, a brand new kitchen, and improved concession stands, restrooms, and bar/lounge areas.

“You’re trying to get people to leave their home and come here and enjoy the stadium experience,” Ravens president Dick Cass said at a press conference. “And we have to keep improving the stadium experience because it is a constant battle, and we have to keep fighting to win it.”

Surprise guest joins Ray Lewis on stage for Lip Sync Battle.
For years, Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis came out of the tunnel ferociously dancing to Nelly’s “Hot in Here.” Well last night on Spike TV’s Lip Sync Battle, Lewis gave us his most memorable performance to date.

Ray Lewis releases controversial Black Lives Matter video.
This past Saturday, Ray Lewis put a video out on Facebook condemning the Black Lives Matter movement for ignoring black-on-black crime. Not surprisingly, the video quickly went viral and, as of Friday morning, had been viewed 4.4 million times. “I’m trying to figure out if black lives really matter,” Lewis said. “The March murder rate rose by 29 percent, but we’re not rioting in the streets over black-on-black crime . . . I know black lives matter, because I’m a black man, but man, stop killing each other. Man, we got to put these guns down in Chicago, Baltimore, Miami, man it ain’t that hard . . . If we don’t change what we’re doing, not only will our kids not have a future, but we might find ourselves extinct.” You can watch the full video below.

Wal-Mart needs a geography lesson.
Though it was first pointed out this past summer, the issue came to a head this week. Wal-Mart has been putting out “Terps” t-shirts, but using the state shape of Massachusetts instead of Maryland. They both start with M, right? Probably the worst part was when a customer called them out this past week, the store’s initial response was, essentially, actually your state is shaped like that because it dips down. Finally, another store representative got it right, issuing a formal—and pretty creative—apology: “We’re so embarrassed we may never stick our head out of our shell again! Thanks for guiding this lost Terrapin back to MD! -Sonny” We’re not sure who Sonny is, but we’d offer him beer at a tailgate any day.

On Walnut Hill: The Evolution of a Garden
Kathy Hudson (Hillside Press)

There’s just something about a good coffee-table book—the luscious photos, the poetic words, the feel of the thick, shiny pages. At a time of year when hostess gifts are in high demand, this chronicle of the Hubbard family’s five-decade quest to turn their two-acre property in Ruxton into a garden might be just the ticket. This isn’t just any garden, mind you, but a lush, pleasingly designed masterpiece that melds foliage and flowers with architectural elements such as rock walls and sculptures. But it’s the Hubbard’s story, paired with depictions of the garden throughout the year, that makes this book a pleasure for all seasons.

I Feel Like Going On: Life, Game, and Glory
Ray Lewis, with Daniel Paisner (Touchstone)

Ray Lewis’s memoir provides a gridiron view of life, showing how football shaped his formative years in Lakeland, FL, and allowed him to lead the Ravens to two Super Bowl victories. Lewis writes in an engaging way—though this is very much his version of events—about turning the anger and pain caused by an absent father into motivation on the football field, being a murder suspect in the stabbing deaths of two men in Atlanta, and the injury that caused him to sit out much of the 2012 season. Fans will enjoy this inside peek.

During week five’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, Ray Lewis
suffered torn triceps and ESPN commentators began using those dreaded
three words: “season-ending injury.”

In Lewis’s case, those words were even worse than usual because
“season ending” meant “career ending.” Several weeks later, the veteran
linebacker—the marquee star of the Ravens roster since the team’s 1996
inception—announced he would be retiring from the game. But never doubt
the will of a champion.

Lewis battled back from his injury and played in his final home game
against the Indianapolis Colts—a 24-9 win—and Coach John Harbaugh sent
Lewis onto the field to be the last line of defense in the victory
formation.

After Joe Flacco took a knee to end the game, Lewis got one last
opportunity to do his signature pre-game “squirrel dance” in the middle
of the field at M&T Bank Stadium.

Of course, as it turned out, this wouldn’t be Lewis’s last hoorah
moment, as he helped lead his team to a Super Bowl victory and was able
to parade through the streets of Baltimore, Lombardi Trophy held high.

“And now, I get to ride off into the sunset with my second ring.”—Ray Lewis

Even Ray Lewis’s displays of affection are physical. As he roams from station to station at his youth fitness clinic on a Saturday morning in June, he’s constantly reaching out—patting one boy’s back, rubbing another’s head, gently tugging a little girl’s ear. As the children scamper from one activity to another, Lewis reaches down and scoops up 8-year-old Nyeema Harrison with the same cat-like quickness he’s exhibited through one of the greatest careers in NFL history. A few whispered words from the linebacker, a quick peck planted on her cheek, and Nyeema’s smile beams as brightly as the white beads in her hair.

A muddy field has moved the event inside the DiPietro Family Ice Skating Rink in Patterson Park, but the rain hasn’t dampened the kids’ enthusiasm—or Ray’s. Floating among the groups, he executes running, jumping, and cutting drills at half-speed but with a distinct sense of purpose.

“You want to be really good at something? Anything? Watch the way Ray does it,” says Ravens head coach John Harbaugh. “He is relentlessly obsessed with improvement in everything he does in his life.”

Leading by example. It’s been the Ray Lewis way throughout his remarkable 13-year career on the field, and—for anyone who’s bothered to look since that dark night in Atlanta nearly a decade ago—off it as well.

Indeed, if there is one theme to the 34-year-old’s life right now, it’s this: The drama is over. The indictment in Atlanta? Ancient history. The contract disputes? Resolved. Controversy over the famous pregame warrior dance? In the past. (The dance stayed, as if there was ever any doubt.) Rumors that Lewis was ever seriously thinking of leaving Baltimore? Greatly exaggerated.

“Very few guys get a chance to finish their career in the same place,” says Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti. “When we grew up, guys stayed with you their whole career. I think from the fan perspective, people are still not used to losing people that they’ve fallen in love with. It didn’t used to happen. Thankfully, it’s not going to happen with Ray.”

His connection to the people of the city and their bond with him is a major reason Lewis says he never really considered leaving the Ravens this offseason, despite “flirting” with other teams.

“I flirt when I pass a beautiful woman on the street, that doesn’t mean I talk to her,” he says. “I would never leave my city. I would never go put on another uniform and go play for another year. It’s just not worth it. What I give back to my city, and what my city gives back to me, there’s no greater reward. I love Baltimore.”

By the end of the free clinic, a ring of sweat has soaked the neck of Lewis’s gray T-shirt, which has the words “Heart of a Lion” scripted across the back. The children sit on the floor in a semicircle surrounding their hero: It’s story time.

“Don’t ever let no one in life tell you who and what you can or cannot be,” Lewis tells them, as they listen in rapt attention. “Somebody has the same dream you have. Somebody has that dream to be the next great linebacker, the next great cheerleader, the next great lawyer, the next great doctor. Everybody here has the opportunity to be whatever they want to be.”

Lewis is rolling now, that familiar preacher’s cadence emerging in his voice: “At the age of nine I decided I want to be here. It was a dream, but I chased that dream. I promise you to this day, I don’t believe there’s a man living that can flat-out outwork me. I’m not the biggest, I’m not the fastest, not the strongest. Never have been. But when it comes to working, you can wake up in the morning and be a better person because you want to be a better person.”

It’s that drive to greet every day as an opportunity to better himself and those around him, and most of all, to serve God, that has propelled Lewis to the highest echelon of sports and what can only be called “Ripkenesque” status in Baltimore. It’s what motivates him to train three times a day, five days a week during the offseason, a regimen that includes everything from backpedaling up the big hill at Oregon Ridge Park wearing a 40-pound weight vest to swimming through waves in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Miami.

While every offseason is packed with such physical challenges for Lewis, few have been as emotionally tumultuous as the past one. A free agent for the first time, it was far from certain that Lewis would end his career where it was born, a place he refers to as “my city.” There was talk of “hometown discounts” (that is, Lewis taking a pay cut to stay in Baltimore), rumblings he had lost a step, reports of him bolting to the Big Apple, or even worse, Big D (Dallas).

Lewis, now 34, ultimately signed a new seven-year contract in March worth more than $40 million that will enable the last original Raven to end his career wearing purple and black.

But then, in July, friend and former teammate Steve McNair was murdered in his sleep.

“All of our days, whether we want to face it or not, will come,” he testified during a rousing eulogy he delivered to 4,500 mourners at a memorial service for McNair. “One day all of our eyes will close. What will your legacy be? If I had to hear two great words from the Great King, if he could just whisper to me, ‘Well done, well done,’ then I’m okay to keep fighting.”

As always, there’s plenty of fight left in Ray Lewis.

Only a few weeks after the funeral, Lewis plays with regular season intensity during the first Friday of training camp. He barks instructions in the defensive huddle as if it’s January, not July, and as if he’s facing the Steelers, not his own teammates, on the other side of the field.

“They don’t have a chance to move the ball on us!” he screams.

He’s right.

Speaking to the media after practice, Lewis is asked if he’s the same player today as he once was.

“I think I’m probably better now,” he says. “I’m just wiser. Wisdom overrides talent. Wisdom never leaves, wisdom grows. I’m a better player because I can make my [teammates] better. Influencing them is what my job is today.”

Neither Ray Lewis’s father nor his mother carried the surname Lewis. When he was born to 16-year-old Sunseria Smith on May 15, 1975, his dad was nowhere in sight.

“My father and I have a relationship now, but he was not in my life,” Lewis says. “He left me and my mom in the hospital. My mom was very poor. We couldn’t afford medical bills. She had a friend who was in the military named Ray Lewis, so she called him up and she asked him would he lend me his name.” Smith often worked multiple jobs to put food on the table for Lewis and his four younger brothers and sisters while the family was struggling in Lakeland, FL. There wasn’t even enough money for little Ray to play pee-wee football.

“I used to play football all the time in the streets or the backyard. I enjoyed the physical contact,” Lewis says. “I lived right across the street from the first place I started playing. I went to my mom and said ‘I want to play football.’ She was like, ‘I don’t have no money to sign you up for football.’ So I used to stand and watch practice. One day one of the coaches walked over to me and said, ‘Why aren’t you playing?’”

Impressed by the young man’s obvious love for the sport, the coach forked over the fee and convinced Smith to let her baby play ball. From the second he joined the Lakeland Lumberjacks, Lewis was determined to achieve greatness.

“Football became my bread and butter,” he says. “That was my way to deal with all the things I was going through.”

With no extra money floating around, Lewis was resourceful in gathering training tools. His first was a deck of cards, which he used to dictate how many push-ups and sit-ups to do. Face cards counted for 10, aces 20, jokers 25. A two would provide a welcome rest, yet Lewis yearned for kings and queens. It’s an exercise he continues today, only now he uses three decks at once.

Despite his resolve, not many big-time colleges recruited Lewis, a running back and kick returner at Kathleen High School. (Hard as it is to fathom, Lewis has always been considered “undersized” in football terms.)

“We were the only ones that offered him a scholarship,” says Pete Garcia, then a recruiter at the University of Miami. “I went to a playoff game to see another player. I didn’t even know about Ray Lewis.”

But he was totally wowed by the intense young man on the field. “He had athletic ability, speed, instincts, nastiness,” Garcia says. “He had it all.”

Lewis accepted a scholarship to become a Hurricane without even visiting the school. But he wasn’t content just to make the team—he wanted to be immortal.

“From the day he stepped foot on campus he was a leader,” Garcia says. “He started his first game against Colorado. I came into the locker room afterwards and I saw him addressing the media. He said, ‘I am going to be the greatest linebacker in University of Miami history.’ I called him over and said, ‘Ray, maybe you better slow down.’ He said, ‘Pete, you don’t believe in me?’ Some kids talk and they can’t back it up. Ray backed it up.”

Butch Davis was Miami’s head coach during Lewis’s junior year.

“We were winning a game that first year on the road at Pittsburgh,” recalls Davis. “It was hard fought, back and forth. We finally took the lead late in the fourth quarter. He basically took the defense on his back that last possession. I could see he was gassed. He said, ‘We’re not about to lose this game.’ Ray was famous for challenging people to make a play, well, he made the play. He made the interception to clinch the win.”

Lewis left school after his junior year to enter the NFL draft. The Ravens, gearing up for their inaugural season, used a first-round pick to snag him. A star from the moment he fastened his chinstrap, Lewis has won two NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards and gone to 10 Pro Bowls. He was named MVP of the Ravens’ Super Bowl XXXV victory, capping a surreal year that began with his very freedom in jeopardy, and ended with him reaching the mountaintop.

In the early hours of Jan. 31, 2000, Lewis was present at an altercation outside an Atlanta nightclub that left two men dead. Lewis has always maintained his innocence, and murder charges against him quickly were dropped. He pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of obstruction of justice and was sentenced to a year’s probation.

“I pray about it,” says Lewis. “Nobody has ever walked this earth and been perfect, so you have to ask yourself a question: What will you do to make yourself a better person? Will you dwell on yesterday?”

Some do. In chat rooms and opposing stadiums, the mere mention of his name still occasionally elicits venom.

“Human nature is such that I don’t think people will forget,” says James T. Brown, studio host of CBS’s NFL Today and Showtime’s Inside the NFL. “As time goes on, I think it gets relegated to the background, especially if one is actively engaged in doing the things he’s doing.”

Whether the incident served as a catalyst for Lewis to change his life only he knows, but it’s clear it altered the trajectory of it. In 2001, he launched his foundation and began the work of lifting the spirits of Baltimore’s underprivileged. Each year, the Ray Lewis 52 Foundation provides back-to-school backpacks filled with supplies to 500 kids, gives Christmas presents to hundreds more, and hands out Thanksgiving baskets to nearly 1,000 needy families.

Brown took notice. In 2006, he awarded Lewis a JB Act of Kindness Award, given to an NFL player who exemplifies leadership, dedication, and commitment to team and community.

“His teammates had nominated him, and that spoke volumes,” Brown says. “When I was doing radio that year, I interviewed him. He shared some of the things he was involved with in terms of helping children in the Baltimore area, and he got truly excited about it. He definitely stood out head and shoulders above.”

Wade Brown, executive director of Diakon Kathryn’s Kloset, a community ministry in West Baltimore, has worked closely with Lewis’s foundation since its inception.

“For him, it’s about the kids,” he says. “It’s not about Ray Lewis.”

Last November, East Baltimore’s Maxine Freeman, who’s raising her grandchildren—Tylil, 10, and Dennis, 3—on her own, received a basket of Thanksgiving goodies thanks to Lewis’s foundation.

“There’s a lot of people out here who need food,” Freeman says. “It was a long wait and I’m on a cane, but I was very fortunate. We had a fabulous Thanksgiving. If I hadn’t gotten a basket, I would have made some kind of dinner. It might not have been what [my grandchildren] wanted, but I would not have let them go hungry. The baskets made it special.”

Lewis’s influence reaches beyond the walls of his own locker room. Players from around the league routinely seek him out in search of advice and inspiration.

“You can just talk to him, and he can motivate you to do something you didn’t even know you could do,” says Redskins wide receiver Santana Moss. “When I got into the league, my first game against him, the first thing he said was, ‘I love you. Have a good game.’ Just to see that he had that much respect for a guy on the opposing team, it touched me in a different way. I’ll always remember that.”

Steve Bisciotti feels that Lewis is a natural-born leader of men. “Leadership is like beauty. You know it when you see it,” he says.

Nonetheless, the Ravens’ decision to re-sign Lewis was far from a no-brainer. Ninety-nine percent of linebackers are on the downward spiral of their career at age 34. Is Lewis?

“He’s lost a step as far as speed, but he ain’t lost anything with hittin’,” says Redskins running back Clinton Portis.

“If he’s lost a step or two, that means he’s now probably just as fast as every other linebacker in the league,” says Adam Schefter, an NFL reporter for ESPN. “How many teams in the NFL have a defensive player as the face of the franchise? Most teams make sure their quarterback doesn’t get away. This team had to make sure its quarterback, who happens to be a linebacker, didn’t get away.”

Ray Lewis isn’t going anywhere. He’s engaged to be married and is more involved than ever in the lives of his six kids (two of whom live with him at his Baltimore County home). He’s recording a spoken-word album that’s scheduled to be released by December and says acting and motivational speaking are in his future, when retirement beckons. Just when that will be, God only knows.

“Only He can tell me that,” Lewis says. “When I’m done, I won’t go back and forth. Right now, I’m having too much fun. I’m going to keep leading these men.”

After practice Lewis jogs toward the throng waiting for his autograph. As he walks down the line signing, thousands of fans and a mass of reporters, team employees, a few teammates—all of Baltimore, it seems—follow behind.