James Baldwin said: “I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” Just as Baldwin feels about America is how I feel about Baltimore. There’s a lot that can be said about Baltimore. We are the charm city, home to the Wire, the Baltimore Ravens, and the Orioles. We’re the city who riots over police brutality; RIP Freddie Gray. The city with disastrous mayoral results; #firecatherinepugh. And the fifth city with the highest murder rate in the United States #continueceasefire. But none of these quite fit the Baltimore that I know and have come to love very much. This is not going to be an article about what’s wrong with Baltimore. This is a story about struggle, family and most of all, love as a foundation for life, transformation and success.