Morgan State University has long been committed to building connections with the Baltimore communities that it serves. These relationships provide the basis for supporting community-based efforts to assist local populations that have been grossly impacted by COVID-19. Along with Morgan students and faculty, the university’s Center for the Study of Religion and the City (CSRC) will work with community partners to address pressing needs around food, shelter, and health for Baltimore City residents.

“Religious communities have been routinely castigated for being ‘super spreaders’ during COVID-19, yet in cities like Baltimore, these same religious communities have historically played a pivotal role on the frontlines working with our most vulnerable populations. We aim to show solidarity with those who are suffering and help bridge the gap where deficiencies exist.”

Morgan State University (MSU) announced today that its James H. Gilliam, Jr. College of Liberal Arts (CLA) received a $150,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to advance community-based efforts and programs to address the critical challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Morgan grant comes as part of nearly $5 million that the Henry Luce Foundation has awarded nationwide to rapidly address COVID-19-related needs and relieve budget shortfalls during these unprecedented times.

The Center for the Study of Religion and the City (CSRC) at Morgan worked with the Black Church Food Security Network, BUILD Baltimore: Turnaround Tuesday workforce reentry program, and others to develop the successful grant proposal. The CSRC will steward the grant by tapping its existing network of community-based partnerships and alliances as a direct pipeline of access providing aid to Baltimore City communities that have been grossly impacted by COVID-19. Coinciding with other recently announced COVID-19 related relief awarded to Morgan, portions of this funding from the Luce Foundation will also be used to provide Morgan students with research stipends to help document and reflect on the work being executed through the CSRC.

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