BGE Team Up With Students For Black History Month Project

BALTIMORE (WJZ)--BGE is celebrating its 200th anniversary with Art With a Heart, a non profit organization which brings art into the community.

Ron Matz reports on how they're combining their efforts to help celebrate Black History Month.

In Hampden students and BGE employees are creating mosaics, it's a Black History Month project from Exelon's African American Resource Alliance.

"BGE is turning 200 years old this year and we're really excited about that, said Kyle Carson, Vice President of Exelon's African American Resource Alliance. "We also have the great opportunity of tying in Black History Month with this mosaic that BGE is giving to the community."

It's happening at Art With a Heart, a nonprofit which brings art into the community.

"Art With a Heart is a community arts non-profit, our mission is to enhance the lives of people through visual art," said Jenny Hyle, community service and public art coordinator for Art With a Heart. "We do that mainly through our 10,000 classes a year that happen at city schools, shelters, hospitals, senior centers, group homes and rec centers."

All of the mosaics being created will go into schools and community organizations in the BGE service area.

"So today's mosaic is going to be focused on African American leaders of Baltimore past and present," said Rhea Marshall. "So we have names such as Billie Holiday and Elijah Cummings incorporated into the mosaic the volunteers are making today."

A commitment and a partnership for Black History Month.

"We're excited to put together some beautiful artwork for the community, it includes the names of historical people who came from Baltimore, including Benjamin Banneker, Irene Morgan, Frederick Douglass and others," said Carson.

The artwork being created today is the first of a yearlong project commemorating BGE's 200th anniversary.