Baltimore Community Fellowships
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Baltimore, Maryland
2007
To most people, starting a newspaper would seem a daunting venture. But cabinet-maker Nicholas Petr is, at heart, a muckraker. Petr used his fellowship to support The Indypendent Reader, which he and a group of community artists started three years ago with members of the Baltimore Independent Media Center.
The Indypendent Reader is a free, quarterly, news-print and web-based tabloid currently distributed in barber shops, coffee shops, community organizations and other locales. The intent behind The Reader is to build a grassroots media outlet that provides visibility for marginalized communities in Baltimore. "Working people didn't have a strong media outlet on their side," says Petr, who has a master's degree in sculptural studies from the Maryland Institute College of Art. "But visibility is needed to change policy. We didn't think we could become The Baltimore Sun. But we thought if we started a small media project that would help people become the media, it would give marginalized communities a voice."
The Reader's contributors ranged from business owners to death row inmates. Writers submitted articles that were important to them, such as articles about neighborhood disputes, local politics, and environmental concerns. Over the 18 months, contributions grew.
Now that his Fellowship is over, Petr has gone back to his love of carpentry and is also working with The Reader part-time, as well as delving into other projects.
But he is proud of what The Reader accomplished during the time he was supported by OSI-Baltimore.
"The Indypendent Reader Collective grew in members significantly. We helped organize an international conference here in Baltimore called the City From Below, and followed it with a national initiative by the same title," Petr says.
The goal of the Baltimore conference was to focus on the city from an organizing perspective, particularly regarding such issues as labor struggles, foreclosures and housing, education and use of public spaces.
The grassroots conference was organized by The Indypendent Reader, and a group of organizers and activists, including Red Emma's, a worker-owned and collectively-managed bookstore and coffeehouse, The Baltimore Development Cooperative, campbaltimore, and the Campaign for a Better Baltimore.
Petr found tremendous support from his grassroots peers over the course of his fellowship, and encourages free thinkers who want to go against the grain to build a community of "allies."
"Organizations trying to make radical changes in this system-social, governmental, economic-should not rely too heavily on foundations or the nonprofit model," he says he learned. "Self-sustainability and solidarity with one's allies should be the focus of this type of organization."
As it turns out, some of Petr's allies are current and past fellows who share his desire for social change.
"The Indypendent Reader offered many fellows the opportunity to write and publish articles about their work," Petr says. "This was a good opportunity to learn more about the fellows and build relationships. It also helped promote some great projects. Prior to my fellowship, I had met a few fellows that I quickly developed working relationships with. They have always been very good friends and extremely resourceful allies.
