Our first year in existence, 2021 has been quite a year for Forge Equity. We now have over 130 people on our email list, many of whom have participated in our Zoom meetings or in planning and attending events, such as the first ever Pride event in Rodgers Forge and our Fall Fest. In collaboration with the Rodgers Forge Community Association, Forge Equity members helped to build a Little Free Library in a nearby neighborhood, and we ran our first Book Study, reading Austin Channing Brown's I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness. Many of us are now actively engaged in making sure the Baltimore County Council does its job in the redistricting process, creating maps that are consistent with the Voting Rights Act and the County Charter and that adequately represent the county's growing non-white population.

Plans for 2022 are still in the works, of course, but we are hoping to hold an art walk, perhaps a craft bazaar/bake sale, and to hire a consultant to help us refine our mission and structure and focus our activities, including a Town Hall we plan to hold.

Stay tuned -- and thank you for your support, which will enable us to work with consultants, bring in speakers, and host more events!