The Office of Civil Rights and Wage Enforcement (OCRWE) is a Baltimore City agency that is devoted to upholding federal and local civil rights and wage laws. The overarching mission of the OCRWE is to carry out activities to eliminate discrimination and protect individual civil rights. There are three commissions and one board housed within the OCRWE: The Community Relations Commission, the Mayor's Commission on Disabilities, the Wage Commission, and the Civilian Review Board.
The OCRWE will host Civil Rights Week. The theme of the week is B.I.A.S: Bringing Inherent Assumptions to Surface. The week of events will bring individuals of various backgrounds together to address, educate, and inform individuals on issues surrounding Civil Rights locally and nationally. Our hope is to spark continuous conversations on equity, build partnerships, and create advocates for social justice within the city and greater Baltimore region.
Related to Highlandtown
Community Day
Location: Patterson Park
28 Sep 2019
11:00 am - 4:00pm
Given the current climate between law enforcement and certain communities, the idea of a Community Block Party, featuring law enforcement entities across Baltimore City as well as community organizations interacting outside of a policing setting was born (from thought-leadership between OCRWE and formerly IAD). In order to restore trust in law enforcement, not just with BPD, but all law enforcement entities, “positive interactions” and “designated intentional moments” need to frequently occur. Our collaborative hope is for this event to be the “kick-off” of a new era of Police/Community relations.
We expect that this day reflect hope, better communication, trust-building and ideal fun. Let this day be the start of transparency, communication and positive interaction. The past can’t be changed or altered, but the present can change the future. So, let’s start to rebuild this city – one relationship at a time!
Below are logistics of the Community Block Party:
• The event is part of Civil Rights Week, and is in Patterson Park on Saturday, September 28th, 2019. This will be an outdoor event.
• The event itself will go from 11AM to 5PM, however, set up begins at 9AM and cleanup will end at 6PM.
• We are anticipating about 150 to 200 people at this event, mostly families, young adults, and children. However, there may be up to 300 to 500 people in the park because the 3rd Annual Patterson Park Brew Fest will be celebrated too [in the park]. Therefore, this is a great opportunity to engage multigenerational, multiethnic as well as a diverse group of people. Let’s do it great!
• There are vendor opportunities for non-profit organizations.
We expect to have a variety of food, drink, and dessert vendors who will be operating out of food trucks, and other forms of mobile food service. There will be food vendors who will provide healthy options, halal food, vegetarian food, and more. Games and activities will also be present for entertainment, along with performers from different backgrounds whose dancing, singing, and poetry will represent their communities. Additionally, Baltimore City agencies, state department agencies, and local non-profit organizations will have representatives tabling at the event, to raise awareness on the array of services they provide. We expect that individuals from every facet of the community will attend our event, seeking to gain knowledge as to what is offered here in Baltimore City, while having fun.