Associated Black Charities outlines programs, events and funding at commission meeting

Bernard Sims, senior director of culture and community at Associated Black Charities, told the Baltimore County commission that ABC is a 41-year-old race-equity organization focused on upstream, systems-level work to address institutional racism.

"We are a 41 year old organization," Sims said, describing ABC as "an educator, advocator, and a supporter and convener to address and eliminate the various causes of institutional structural racism." He said ABC's work targets racial wealth gaps, workplace discrimination, health inequities, housing and educational disparities.

Sims outlined several ABC programs: the ABC Academy board pipeline leadership development program (more than 1,000 leaders trained since 2011), a young leaders pipeline for people ages 16 to 24, a workforce collaborative of about 50 providers, monthly equity-at-work webinars, and community listening sessions the group calls "community combos." He described ABC's approach as going "upstream" to identify root causes rather than treating symptoms.

Sims also promoted upcoming events. He said ABC's Financial Literacy Summit at Towson University is a free, one-day workshop that has registered more than 800 young people and families and that the program has grown substantially since its first year. He described the event as running "from 9 to 3" and said the summit provides services such as free checking accounts funded by the State Employees' Credit Union; he also noted ABC's annual gala and other community festivals.

When a commissioner asked about funding sources, Sims said, "Mostly corporate funding, and philanthropic organizations. No federal funding," and that ABC's donor base has been supportive over the years. He said ABC started in Baltimore City but has expanded into Baltimore County and Anne Arundel County and is looking to reach Howard County.

Commissioners asked follow-up questions about event timing, vendor waivers and panel questions; Sims said ABC runs listening sessions in different neighborhoods monthly and invites elected officials and community groups to participate. Sims left the meeting early for an emergency, and commissioners thanked him for the presentation.

The transcript records a few timing references that are not clearly aligned (Sims mentioned both a June 13 date and the summit as "this Saturday" with hours listed elsewhere as 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.); the meeting did not provide a single definitive posting for the summit hours in this record, so event times should be confirmed with ABC before publication or redistribution.