Heritage
from CHARM: Voices of Baltimore Youth
Baltimore Unity Hall | 1505 Eutaw Place | Baltimore, MD 21217
https://charmlitmag.org
Cover Art: Carson Jones, Nathaniel King, Magnolia Neal, Geneva DeVos, Maximus Smith
Book Design: Lexi K. Nilson, Yifan Luo © CHARM & authors, 2024
featuring writing and art by Baltimore Montessori Public Charter School students + faculty
from CHARM: Voices of Baltimore Youth
1. property that is or may be inherited; an inheritance.: “they had stolen his grandfather’s heritage”.
synonyms: inheritance, birthright, patrimony, legacy, bequest, endowment, estate, bequeathal, devise, hereditament
It took a while for us to nail down our theme of heritage, but we ultimately decided on this theme for the following reasons.
First and foremost, our school, BMPCS, serves students from a majority of the zipcodes in Baltimore city, making it a very diverse place to be! With such a vast array of characters in the building, we wanted to know about everyone’s history in the school. We also thought it would be a chance for everyone to connect with their families to learn something more about themselves and where they came from. It’s incredibly important to know yourself, something that our CHARM staff quickly realized.
Lastly, it’s a relatable concept. Everyone has a different lens in which they see the world, and we thought it’d be a great idea to give everyone the space to share a little bit about them and where they come from. Everyone is important and so is their art.
Thank you for reading. We hope you enjoy and reflect! By the end of your read, you should be able to start thinking about the questions:
Who are you and where do YOU come from?
A piece of me is a piece of heritage Everyone has some, so why not share it?
You see my heritage in different ways.
You can see it in the curls, whirls, and fancy swirls on my head from my people and our roots where they like to dance and sway.
You see my heritage in my skin, so smooth and beautiful; in the sun, it glistens.
You see my heritage in my button nose; In the sun it also glows.
A piece of heritage is a piece of me. I shared mine. Yours, we will see.
SPINACH INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup onions (cubed)
1/3 bell peppers (cubed)
½ cup oil
2 tablespoons salt
Chopped spinach
A pot or pan
Wooden spoon
Stove Plate
SPINACH DIRECTIONS:
1. Put stove on high
2. Add oil, bell pepper, and onion to pot
3. Add spinach
4. Mix, then let rest for 2 min
5. Take off stove
BEEF DIRECTIONS:
1. Put stove on high
2. Add beef, oil, and salt
3. Cook through
BEEF INGREDIENTS:
Ground beef
1/3 cup oil
2 tablespoons salt
A pan
Wooden spoon
Stove
Plate
After both are finished, mix spinach and beef and enjoy!
Plagues, the ten plagues.
Afikoman, matzah that the youngest child finds. Sedar, the meal on the first and second night. Seven days, seven days of eating matzah. Olive oil, to light the lamps
Visitor, invite Elijah as a visitor in your house. Egypt, the place the jewish escaped from slavery. Red sea, Moses parted the red sea.
I live in a house full of singing and acting.
My father has played guitar since he was 7 years old. His guitar playing made my family fall in love with music. He plays music at restaurants.
Because of him I wanted to perform as well so I chose to do musical theater. Ever since then I have done musicals every month.
1/3 cup of cocoa powder
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1/3 cup of water
1 cup of almond milk (original, unsweeten)
2 tablespoons white chocolate syrup or 1/3 cups of white chocolate chips
INSTRUCTIONS:
2 tablespoons of cinnamon dolce syrup
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Dash of nutmeg
Optional 1 snickerdoodle cookie crushed into crumbs
1. In a small saucepan, combine the cocoa powder, sugar, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and water (*white chocolate chips).
2. Bring to a boil and make sure to press out any lumps.
3. Reduce heat to low and simmer for a minute or two, or until the mixture is smooth and warm.
4. Add milk and vanilla extract to the chocolate mixture and heat through.
5. Add white chocolate syrup (if you are not using white chocolate chips) and cinnamon dolce syrup in a mug.
6. Pour in the hot chocolate and stir.
7. Optional: top with whipped cream and snickerdoodle cookie crumbs.
8. Allow to cool slightly and enjoy!
The first time I had snickerdoodle hot chocolate was on a cold winter day while shopping at the outlets with my mom. We stopped at Starbucks because they were giving out free samples. Ever since then, I beg my mom to order it for me. She told me it was too expensive and started making her homemade version of snickerdoodle hot chocolate just for me. I hope you love it as much as I do since they no longer sell it in the store.
In the morning light so bright,
A black girl’s beauty shining, oh so right. Through thick and thin, she stands tall, Facing struggles, she never falls. Her skin glows like golden rays of sun, Unique and fun, second to none. Each day she blooms, like a flower in May, Empowered and strong, in her own special way.
Her spirit full of fire and grace, In a world where love should have no race.
So let’s embrace the beauty she brings, A black girl shining, like sun’s sweet kiss on wings.
(Next page)
A Heritage of Spirit
Strong Like the Mountains
Proud as our Beautiful Guacamayas
And our History with Mayas
A Culture of Rich History and Traditions
A Heritage to hold and Cherish
Bearing a Legacy that the Next Generation will carry
From Delectable Food to Beautiful Dances
Proud we are of our Heritage and Beautiful land
Pride and Strength in our Culture
A Heritage, I Cherish.
I come from a long lineage of People who know the meaning of Struggle and hard work
I come from a long lineage of people Who, because of society, don’t understand How much they’re worth
I come from a long lineage of people who Are like rocks, sure they may be strong But even rocks can always be put under
Pressure, but pressure doesn’t always Have to be a bad thing, sometimes That pressure can form you into a diamond
I come from a long lineage of Diamonds I come from a long lineage of beautiful black Diamonds
(Image on previous page)
We are from people, People who want us in their life. We are from people who have been looking and waiting to have a better friend. We fly away from homes Left to find a new dome of hope.
To make friends and family proud. As they embrace in a loving shroud.
A soulful heritage dish, and yup… it’s vegan.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 69 calories
INGREDIENTS:
1 bunch collard greens (about 16oz) washed, destemmed and cut into strips
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic minced
1/4 tsp salt plus more to taste
INSTRUCTIONS:
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp mirin (rice wine vinegar) (or use apple cider vinegar or another “sweet” tasting vinegar)
1. Warm the olive oil in a wide skillet. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 90 seconds. Add the spices (salt through red pepper flakes), stir, and cook for 30 seconds more until toasted.
2. Stir in the collard greens, stirring well to coat with the spices, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until softened and reduced in size by about half. Add the mirin or other liquid, stir in well, and quickly cover the pan with a lid. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let steam, covered, for about 5 minutes.
3. Remove the lid and stir well. If needed, continue cooking until desired softness is reached. Serve warm.
Victoria Spriggs (She/Her) is a self proclaimed artist who currently attends BMPCS as a student. Victoria has hopes of to one day write and publish a story or to produce her own show but will realistically strive to become a doctor. Victoria joined CHARM mainly to further her writing and visual art career.
Taylor Henson (she/her) is from Ohio but currently lives in Baltimore. Taylor’s favorite insect is a butterfly. Taylor is in 7th grade and goes to BMPCS. Taylor wants to be a real estate agent when she grows up.
Bailey Smith is in 7th grade. She loves art and stories. She also plays volleyball and gymnastics. Her dream job is to become an entrepreneur.
Alex Johnson is 13 years old, born and raised in Baltimore, Maryand. She’s always wanted to live in Europe. In her free time, she likes to watch TikTok on her phone. She joined CHARM because she wants to design things. When she grows up, she wants to be a singer or actor.
Olga Garcia is from Honduras but came to Baltimore. She’s currently in 7th grade. She’s 13 years old. She joined CHARM because she saw it as an opportunity. She loves to listen to music, sleep, and spend time with family. She wants to become a cosmetologist or dermatologist.
Magnolia Neal (she/her) is a BMPCS student who is working in CHARM to spread art around the school . She loves dogs and animals in general. She enjoys being outside and playing sports. She lives in Baltimore, MD, with her sister, parents, and cat named Lunar. She dreams of becoming a teacher.
Dariyan Hudson is a creative teenager from BMPCS. She is in the 8th grade and loves to write, read, and hang out with friends in her free time. She lives in Maryland and wants to travel when she grows up.
Amariona Hassan (she/her) is a 14-year-old from Baltimore, MD, who wants to be a real estate agent and businesswoman. Her favorite color is pink, and she joined CHARM because she was interested in working on a magazine.
McKenzie Spriggs (she/her) is an 11-year-old 6th grader. One of her favorite places she’s been to is New York, and one thing she likes to do in her free time is styling her hair. When she grows up, she wants to be a makeup artist.
Rylee Breeden is a 7th grader at BMPCS who is interested in sports and has multiple hobbies. Her favorite color is purple. Rylee joined CHARM to join a school club and work on a magazine.
Thank you to...
Ms. Lexi Nilson for aiding with graphic design. You have brought us as scholars a true insight into some of the behind-the-scenes work that has gone into some of our favorite books and websites.
Ms. Ashley for giving students the opportunity to be artists and thinkers—and for giving up your lunches so we could thrive as the CHARM board.
The students of BMPCS for their submissions.
Whitney Birenbaum for giving us this amazing opportunity by creating CHARM for Baltimore city scholars to be heard in and out of the classroom.
CHARM members Taylor, Bailey, Victoria, Olga, Magnolia, Rylee, Amariona, Alex, Dariyan, and McKenzie for helping make CHARM possible and doing the leg work or running a magazine.
We recognize also that the land that Baltimore Montessori Public Charter School sits on is the land of the Susquehannocks and the Piscataways. We hope to honor them through our work.
CHARM: Voices of Baltimore Youth is a literary-arts organization founded on the belief that kids’ voices matter. We are on a mission to support young people as they develop as writers, and provide a platform to amplify their voices through publication.
CHARM magazine was founded by a group of teachers and their students in 2014, and has since published 20 publications that feature the poetry, fiction, essays, and artwork of over 1,000 students from more than 50 public schools in Baltimore City.
We are proud to support this school-based literary magazine. We also offer a host of other programming designed to support young writers and amplify student voices.
Want to get involved? Want to support our work? Check us out at www.charmlitmag.org for more information, and follow us on social media @charmlitmag.
