Beloved Community Services Corp. (BCSC), a community development organization led by the Rev. Alvin C. Hathaway Sr., hosted a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony for the restored law office of civil rights trailblazer Juanita Jackson Mitchell in West Baltimore’s Upton neighborhood on June 26. Mitchell, who was the wife of NAACP lobbyist Clarence M. Mitchell Jr., was the first Black woman to practice law in the state of Maryland.
The building will soon house the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s Rebuild, Overcome and Rise (ROAR) Center, which offers free legal, case management and mental health services to survivors of crime—a mission Hathaway says reflects Juanita Jackson Mitchell’s legacy.
“When Beloved Community Services Corporation acquired the property, we knew of its history. We knew that it was Juanita Jackson Mitchell’s law office, and we knew the services and the strategic meaning of that space,” said Hathaway. “Our goal is to not only restore it but, in her spirit, provide legal services to that community once again.”…