Nearly 75 people gathered Wednesday night at the intersection of Wyman Park Drive and Remington Avenue to urge the Johns Hopkins University to address its policing and tax practices, and stop building its AI Institute.
“These demands are not radical. They’re about fairness, transparency — something Hopkins knows nothing about, and what our city officials even often struggle with — and justice. They’re about building a Baltimore where institutions serve the people, not profit off of them,” Johns Hopkins alum Christianne Marguerite said.
The rally, organized by the With Us For Us (WUFU) Coalition, brought together several advocates and labor unions — including the Baltimore Abolition Movement, Baltimore Against DSAI and the JHU-Labor Roundtable — for their first coordinated effort to press the university on longstanding issues. The coalition is a network of more than 20 Baltimore-based unions and social justice groups.
Marguerite, a member of the WUFU Coalition and Progress Maryland, was the first of nearly 10 speakers at the rally. The meeting place is the planned site of the university’s controversial Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (DSAI) Institute.
Between speakers, protesters joined in one of eight chants, including “Big endowment, tiny tax, time to give the city back!” and “Show me what democracy looks like — this is what democracy looks like!” As they held signs facing the street, more than two dozen passing drivers honked in support, some raising their fists out of car windows as they drove by.
In a Wednesday statement following the rally, a university spokesperson said, “Johns Hopkins is proud of our relationship with Baltimore, including the recent [PILOT] agreement that will double the annual voluntary contribution that we make to support city services in addition to the more than $19 million Hopkins pays in taxes every year.”
The spokesperson also referred The Sun to a recent university analysis showing the university and its health systems’ economic impact, which includes representing one out of every five jobs in the city.
Push to renegotiate city tax deal
The WUFU coalition has pushed for legislation to create a task force of residents, union members and nonprofit representatives to advise on tax payment negotiations with the city’s 14 largest nonprofit hospitals and universities, including Hopkins, on an agreement known as the payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) deal.
Since 2016, those institutions have paid a collective $1.4 million to $6 million annually instead of property taxes. Earlier this month, Scott announced a $48 million PILOT agreement covering fiscal years 2027 through 2031, in which the annual investment will increase from $6 million in fiscal 2027 to $8 million in 2028, $10 million in 2029, and $12 million in 2030 and 2031, respectively.
WUFU has since denounced what they call a “backroom” deal, saying the process lacked transparency and excluded community input.
“The increases are very marginal, and the people still burdened are everyday Baltimoreans,” said Loraine Arikat, a rally organizer and WUFU founding member.
Halt construction of new AI building
Although BMore Against DSAI was originally promoted as a lead organizer, the group told The Baltimore Sun on Tuesday it would not have formal representation at the rally, citing personal health concerns and planning miscommunication.
The group represents one of the rally’s four core demands and has been outspoken since March about Hopkins’ proposed DSAI Institute, which is expected to open in summer 2029. Founder Hillary Gonzalez confirmed Wednesday the group is especially concerned about the project’s potential environmental impact on the neighboring Remington community.
But environmental concerns about the project aren’t new. Since viewing the phased construction plans earlier this year, Remington residents have raised alarms about potential tree loss, water contamination and increased noise and energy costs.
“I just live right up the street, so I’ve been paying attention to Hopkins for 30 years … I definitely don’t want them cutting any more trees or building right on the creek,” protester Ellen Varfield said.
Pressure to end campus-wide private policing
In a Wednesday statement to The Sun, the Baltimore Abolition Movement (BAM) said the protest was a reminder to Hopkins that “Baltimore belongs to the people” and to the City Council that “overreach into our communities cannot stand.”
“Hopkins has armed their own police force without even a single public hearing in the City Council,” a BAM spokesperson wrote. “They avoid public forums because they know that the residents of Baltimore oppose their invasive force and want fewer cops in our neighborhoods.”
Johns Hopkins Police Department has been at the forefront of public debate since the university first announced its plans to create a private police force in 2018, with students, union members and advocates staging protests, sit-ins and marches across the university’s campus and the city to showcase their opposition.
The group urged the City Council on Wednesday to make ending the Hopkins police department an urgent priority and to “take any and all necessary action towards that goal, starting with an immediate City Council hearing.”
Moves to end union-busting
The Sun could not reach the JHU-Labor Roundtable, an unofficial coalition representing all of Hopkins’ unions, by Wednesday’s deadline. In a Monday press release and on social media, the group called for an end to union-busting and for Johns Hopkins to respect the rights of unionized workers to organize and bargain collectively.
Several unfair labor practices charges have been filed against the university in recent years, including by the Teachers and Researchers United, the graduate student workers’ union and National Nurses United.
Among the unions represented at Wednesday’s rally were UNITE HERE Local 7, which represents Baltimore hospitality workers, Teachers and Researchers United, and the newly formed Postdoctoral Workers Union.
“We know that throughout history, unions have been at the front line of fighting fascism and fighting for a truly democratic open society. And Hopkins needs to recognize that and recognize that workers respecting workers collective voice to be able to bargain is imperative,” Tracy Lingo of Unite HERE Local 7 said.
Organizers said Wednesday’s rally would not be the last, urging demonstrators to continue pressing city officials and Johns Hopkins to include community voices in major decisions and meet their four demands.
Have a news tip? Contact Mennatalla Ibrahim at mibrahim@baltsun.com.