As the weather vacillates between the vestiges of winter and the beginnings of spring, we have begun 2026 on a high note! Last month’s Helena Hicks Speaker Series featured our BHCLA Artist in Residence Terry Thompson, bringing together new and familiar faces to the Eubie Blake Center to hear about Thompson’s inspirations across his career. We are excited for this month’s lecture by JHU Professor of Engineering Dr. Jude Phillip, “Engineering Approaches to the Biology of Aging and Disease.” More details are in the flyer below!
This month also sees The Associated Writing Programs Conference & Bookfair hosted here in Baltimore from March 4th-7th. Our Director, Dr. Lawrence Jackson, will be participating in a memorial event honoring the memory of enslaved people sold from Baltimore in the interstate slave trade from 1808 to 1864. We hope that you can join us for this important and monumental gathering.
Lastly, please mark your calendars for the 6th Annual Donald Bentley Memorial Lecture on the evening of Thursday, April 9th. The Freedom Bell: An Evening with Frances Ellen Watkins Harper at the Baltimore Museum of Art will host a riveting lecture, chorale performance, live cellist, pop up exhibition, and more!
Helena Hicks Lecture Series March 2026 – Professor Jude Phillip
Please Click Here for More Information.
Down River: Poet’s Remembering Baltimore’s Slave Trade
Please Click Here for More Information.
Before I Let Go: An Introductory Archiving and Legacy Preservation Series for Artists
Please Click Here for More Information.
Deferred No More: Advancing Reparations in Maryland
An Evening of Theater, Music & Presentations
Please Click Here for More Information.
BHCLA 6th Annual Donald Bentley Memorial Lecture
The Freedom Bell: An Evening Celebrating the Life of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
Please Click Here for More Information.
Partnership with Holmes Hydration
We are excited to announce this partnership with Holmes Hydration who graciously offered to support the Center and celebrate the legacy of Billie Holiday with the release of a new herbal tea blend ‘Billie’s Breath’.
Billie’s Breath is a vocal-care herbal blend created as an ode to Billie Holiday and her deep roots in Baltimore. Formulated with marshmallow root, plantain leaf, licorice root, and rose petals, this blend supports throat comfort, vocal clarity, and emotional ease for singers, speakers, and everyday voices.
This tea was created to honor Lady Day’s legacy in a tangible way. Holmes Hydration previously served as a vendor for an event in her honor with the Billie Holiday Center. Now, through this new partnership, a portion of all Billie’s Breath sales will support the Center’s ongoing work to preserve Billie Holiday’s history and cultural impact in Baltimore.
Holmes Hydration is a Black-owned wellness brand dedicated to reclaiming ancestral herbal knowledge through teas, tinctures, and infused honeys. Each blend is created in small batches to honor cultural lineage, lived experience, and the real needs of our community.
For more information, check out their website (www.holmeshydration.com) and instagram (@holmeshydration).
Fourth edition of the BHCLA Newsletter. Published on March 5th, 2026.
By Xavier Walker, Assistant Director