Mayor Scott marks AFRAM’s 50th anniversary as Baltimore celebrates Black heritage
A Saturday-night fight and assaults on two officers interrupted AFRAM’s 50th anniversary, even as Scott touted Baltimore’s lowest homicide totals in decades.
Two officers were assaulted during a large fight involving juveniles Saturday night at AFRAM’s 50th anniversary, Baltimore police said. The disturbance came as thousands packed Druid Hill Park for the city’s biggest Juneteenth celebration.
AFRAM returned to the 745-acre park in West Baltimore from June 19 through June 21, with free admission and hours from noon to 9 p.m. each day. AFRAM is a family-oriented celebration of African American heritage and one of the largest African American cultural arts festivals on the East Coast. The 2026 lineup included Paula Campbell, Ultra Naté, Brandon Woody, J. Brown, Lil’ Mo, PJ Morton, Tamia, The Lox, Mario and Charlie Wilson. City organizers also brought back Podcast Patio with DTLR for live tapings and community conversations.
He called AFRAM “a homecoming, an economic engine for our local businesses and artists, and most importantly: a celebration of Black excellence.” He also said Baltimore has a responsibility to tell its own story and protect Black history and culture. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who first attended AFRAM as a teen, returned again for the 50th anniversary.
The festival’s history stretches back to August 1976, when the inaugural Afro-American Exposition was held at Charles Center and Hopkins Plaza. Norman E. Ross, then director of Baltimore’s Urban Services Cultural Arts Project, helped produce that first event, which later moved before settling into AFRAM.
Baltimore ended 2025 with 133 homicides, the fewest in nearly 50 years, and Maryland state reporting put the city at the lowest total homicides ever recorded through May 2026. City officials also said the year-to-date trend showed major drops in homicides, nonfatal shootings and carjackings. But after the Saturday-night fight, police required anyone under 18 to be accompanied by a parent, guardian or responsible adult for the remainder of the festival.
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