Blog

Yelizaveta L Zakharova, a white woman with layered brown hair, stands in a library to the left of an exhibit case. She wears a patterned purple shirt and black slacks. Next to her, an exhibit case displays pictures and documents of and about John H. Bambacus.
Our Museum on Main Street tour of Voices and Votes: Democracy in America has launched: the tour kicked off Allegany Museum! For Museum on Main Street, a Smithsonian exhibition tours the state. Local host venues and their partners present companion exhibits and programs: this year, these exhibits explore our democracy, examine our civic responsibility, and reflect on how we lift voices in our communities. Frostburg State University, one of Allegany Museum’s partners, created an exhibit that features memorabilia and Western Maryland people in public service. We spoke to Yelizaveta L Zakharova, Librarian at Frostburg’s Lewis J. Ort Library, about the companion exhibit and her experience.
April 22, 2021Yelizaveta L Zakharova
An image of of Dr. Romuladus E. Azuine, a Black man. We see his head and the upper portion of his torso. He wears a Black suit jacket, a white button down shirt, and a tie with navy blue, purple, and light gray stripes. The background is off-white.
Global Health and Education Projects, Inc. (GHEP) is a recipient of one of Maryland Humanities’ Voices and Votes Electoral Engagement Project  Grants. The organization will use the grant to host a a one-day virtual voter education and community conversation titled “U.S. Elections 101." This workshop will educate participants on key aspects of U.S. elections, including the Electoral College, rules for voter eligibility, resources for voter registrations, and the differences between the U.S. electoral system and systems in other parts of the world. The event is geared toward Black citizens and immigrant groups, though all are welcome. We spoke to Romuladus Arzuine, GHEP’s Founder and Executive Director.
March 24, 2021
Bold Beautiful Brilliant Girls Youth Empowerment Group (BBBYEG) is a recipient of one of our Voices and Votes Electoral Engagement Project Grants.  As part of BBYEG’s mentorship program, youth have been learning learn about the processes used to suppress the votes of Black people, the Electoral College, and more. The mentees will then collaborate and create a webpage on the bbbyeg.org site for younger audiences to visit and explore. This page will be used to educate and empower the mentees’ peers to learn about and reflect on the current state of our democracy. We interviewed twelve-year-old Brooke, one of the BBYEG mentees, about her experience.
February 24, 2021
We delve into our top three contenders for One Maryland One Book 2020. This year's theme is "Hope."
February 5, 2021Eden Etzel, Maryland Humanities
We recently awarded a grant to Main Street Connect, a community-centered apartment complex and community center where 25% of the apartments are designated for adults with disabilities. We are funding  Conversations Matter, their free four-part series of events on racial justice that concludes on February 9. One session focused on disabled people of color. We interviewed founder Jillian Copeland about the project, and antiracist education for disabled people. 
February 3, 2021
A Black woman standing on a wooden floor wearing a yellow blazer and royal blue pants.
The Maryland Women's Heritage Center and Museum (MWHC) is one of is a recent recipient of one of Maryland Humanities’ Voices and Votes Electoral Engagement Project Grants. Today at 4:00 p.m., MWHC hosts a virtual panel, “The Next 100 Years: Continuing the Work of our Maryland Foremothers,” to explore issues and strategies for promoting a stronger, more equitable democratic process. Jean Thompson, Volunteer Researcher at MWHC, writes about women's current and past civic engagement.
January 26, 2021Jean Thompson
We announce our top ten contenders for One Maryland One Book 2021! The theme this year is "Hope."
January 11, 2021Eden Etzel, Maryland Humanities
A 1930 stylized image of 7 Black women in skirts and dresses a little lower than the knee, in various shades and low heels. The third from the right wears a hat. The image looks to be candid and some women are smiling slightly. Estelle Hall is third from the right and August Chessell is third from the left.
Preservation Maryland is a recent recipient of one of Maryland Humanities’ Voices and Votes Electoral Engagement Project Grants. The organization will use the grant to expand the organization’s Ballot & Beyond women’s history project to continue to tell the complex story of Maryland’s suffragists  - some of the country’s first voting rights activists – in an online multi-media website.  Project leader Meagan Baco, Director of Communications at Preservation Maryland, shares their experience in this guest blog post.
January 6, 2021Meagan Baco
In 2019-2020, we explored the human relationship to water in multiple programs in 2019-2020: Maryland H2O tied together this array of programming, and some of our partners' programs. As the year comes to a close, Maryland H2O officially ends. Theresa Worden, Traveling Exhibitions and Program Evaluation at Maryland Humanities, led the initiative: she reflects on it here.
November 24, 2020
This summer, we supported 100 Maryland nonprofit organizations with funding through our CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act Emergency Relief Grants Fund. One of our grantees was The Bayside History Museum in Calvert County. We spoke to Grace Mary Brady, the museum’s Founder and President, about the museum and the positive impact of the grant, used to pay teen employees. (Image from 2019.)
October 7, 2020