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The Moore-Miller administration established the Just Communities Designation in 2024 to address policies that have disenfranchised generations of families, such as redlining and exclusionary zoning.

“We wanted to hold it in one of the communities that rose to the top tier of places that had experienced the most harm and from which, the least improvement has occurred,� said Secretary of Housing and Community Development Jake Day of the Juneteenth event.

The initiative is the result of work by The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Division of Just Communities. Day said he has worked closely with Division of Just Communities Assistant Secretary Cat Goughnour.

Day said the Just Communities Act not only acknowledges past harms but returns resources to those communities. As part of the initiative, Day said Cambridge residents will see community-nominated projects for revitalization, such as facilities, housing and economic developments.

“We want to make sure that we understand what the community wants and not show up with development when people aren’t asking for it,� he said.

According to Day, early indicators of success for the Just Communities Act would be more project activity in neighborhoods with visible scars, like the Pine Street corridor of Cambridge, formerly known as Black Wall Street.

This could include more home repairs for legacy homeowners, increased homeownership, new homes on vacant lots, new community buildings and more businesses. Long term outcomes include improved public health and reduced criminal justice involvement, Day said.

Cambridge Mayor Lajan Cephas said she feels this is a framework for justice. With Cambridge’s history of slavery, Jim Crow, discriminatory policies and segregation among wards, Cephas is hopeful the Just Communities designation will begin to rectify past harms.

“It’s being unwound,� Cephas said. “It’s just great to finally address, you know, the financial instabilities and other opportunities that were held back in communities just like Cambridge.�

Cephas said along with the investments made in the community, the Just Communities initiative pushes grant requests to the front of the line.

“I say, Gov. Moore, it’s like you gave us platform shoes,� she said. “It’s very difficult competing against these other municipalities. They have better grant writers, better budgets. You know, they have comprehensive plans that they’ve been working on for years, and we’re just now getting caught up.�

Cephas wants to make it clear that these initiatives will not solely benefit Black residents, but will benefit all residents who have been affected by discriminatory policies and live within the Just Communities designated area, which encompasses much of downtown Cambridge and surrounding neighborhoods.

The Just Communities Act has faced pushback from Maryland Republican lawmakers, who called the initiative an unproductive government handout and unfair to Maryland taxpayers, according to a statement issued to the Baltimore Sun.

In a statement to the Star Democrat Friday morning, Maryland Senate Minority Leader Stephen Hershey (R-Kent, Queen Anne’s, Cecil, Caroline) said, "Does anyone really believe pumping hundreds of millions into handpicked areas will build generational wealth?� 

“This is wealth redistribution dressed up in equity language — it’s socialism, plain and simple,� the statement said.

But the initiative’s proponents contend the Just Communities designations aim to ensure fairness among Maryland residents.

“It’s the very picture of fairness as I was raised and taught to understand fairness,� Day said. “Again, take something from somebody and you return it.�

Cephas echoed Day’s sentiments, pointing to the “unfair� practices that have held Cambridge back.

The community can check on updates for the Just Communities Designation at , where residents can sign up for public alerts via text or email.

This report has been updated to include comments from Sen. Stephen Hershey.