Recorded at the Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture.
Part of the "Be Here: Baltimore" project created by the Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture and the MuseWeb Foundation, created to share stories about the people and places of the city.
Kay: My name is Kay. And you are?
Sheila Gaskins: Sheila Gaskins.
Kay: Sheila Gaskins. And I'm going to just ask you a series of questions. What is the one thing that you love about Baltimore?
Sheila Gaskins: Wow, that is such a great question. I loved Baltimore from the very beginning. So one of the things that I love about Baltimore is the people. Charm City is what we've been called back in the day and it's charming. I'm a product of the '70s, and Schaefer was mayor when I was growing up in Baltimore, had the city fair. It had all of these art components. As a matter of fact, Schaefer had it so that every high school was represented at the Civic Center and they had a big giant performance. And each person had to represent the high school and that was during 1976, I was in sixth grade. It was the first time I saw my name in a program and we had to rehearse. It was just a big beautiful celebration of the city. And so that's one of the things that I love about Baltimore.
Kay: What surprises you about Baltimore?
Sheila Gaskins: I'm surprised that we have not gotten it together yet. I'm surprised that... The litter on the streets, I'm surprised that. I'm surprised at how people from other cities can come in and other towns can come, transplant and pretty much take over. I'm surprised that we have not been able to really invest in our original people that are here, original institutions like the Arena Playhouse. I'm just surprised at the level of racism and exclusion that really still exist. There is still a have and have not atmosphere, and I'm surprised that that's still happening.
Kay: What is the one thing you would like to see happen in Baltimore?
Sheila Gaskins: One of the things I like to see happen is some real employment. I'm a certified ex-offender employment specialist, and so I know the beauty of having a job. I know how that really adds to your life and your lifestyle. And I don't see work. I don't see the jobs. I don't see people getting a second chance. I don't see people being able to provide for their families. And I just think that that's really unnecessary, and we don't need to struggle like that. I talked about earlier how for every 10 cents a black family has that a white family has a dollar. And nothing has changed in 50 years and that is not cool. So that is one of the things that I'd like to see happen.
Kay: How did you come to live in Baltimore?
Sheila Gaskins: Well, we lived here all our life. My mama and my daddy, they got together on the West coast, but we lived right in Turner Station. And so I have five siblings, and we moved to Northwest Baltimore, the Windsor Hills area when my older sister was a child. And so we've been here for a long time. My dad is from Falls Road and that's a prominent area in Baltimore. And my mother is originally from New Jersey by way of Florida. So I've been here, a product of Baltimore City Public Schools, went to HBCU, Hampton University. I've always loved being here. Again, I'm a product of the '70s where things were plentiful and pride was abundant. I went to school with Lucille Clifton kids. I'm from the Windsor Hills area. I'm familiar with the Arena Playhouse and all of these enclaves of just wealth and talent, and I'm proud of those places and those institutions, and I'm a definite product of them."
Asset ID: 8095
