50 years ago this month, the Catonsville 9 burned draft records in a suburban Baltimore parking lot.

Newspaper report on the Catonsville 9

What led a group of nine ordinary Americans—including an artist, a nurse, and three clergymen—to seize several hundred draft records from a Selective Service office in Maryland and burn them in a nearby parking lot?

Well, it was 1968 and many Americans had had enough of the Vietnam war. The nine Catholics, who came to be known as the Catonsville 9 took action. It was an action that they had been considering for some time.

According to the Maryland Historical Society, “[Their] act of civil disobedience intensified protest against the draft, prompted debate in households in Maryland and across the nation, and stirred angry reaction on the part of pro-war Americans. It also propelled the nine into the national spotlight. The Catonsville action reflected not only the nature of the Vietnam antiwar movement but also the larger context of social forces that were reshaping American culture in the 1960s.”

The Maryland Historical Society has tapped the legacy of the iconic Catonsville Nine protest as the subject for an exhibition opening May 12th. Here’s your invitation:

Join us on May 12th for the opening of the exhibit Activism & Art: the Catonsville Nine, 50 Years Later, an exhibit that will examine one of the most iconic and written-about acts of political protest in 20th century American history. This exhibit will explore their motivations, consider the consequences of their action, and contextualize this protest in our present turbulent political climate.

The opening events are free but reservations are required.

Investigation of Flame Film Screening and Community Discussion
May 12, 2018 – 5:00pm

Activism & Art: the Catonsville Nine, 50 Years Later, Exhibit Opening & Reception
May 12, 2018 – 7:00pm

You can learn more about the Catonsville 9 via the Enoch Pratt Library’s digital collection: c9.digitalmaryland.org

About the MdHS:

Founded in 1844, the Maryland Historical Society (MdHS) is the state’s oldest continuously operating cultural institution. In keeping with the founders’ commitment to preserve the remnants of Maryland’s past, MdHS remains the premier institution for state history. With over 350,000 objects and seven million books and documents, this institution now serves upward of 100,000 people through its museum, library, press, and educational programs.

The Maryland Historical Society
201 West Monument Street
Baltimore, MD 21201 410-685-3750

By Stephen Brockelman

As a Sr. Writer at T. Rowe Price, I work with a group of the best copywriters around. We belong to the broader creative team within Enterprise Creative, a part of Corporate Marketing Services. _____________________________________________ A long and winding road: My path to T. Rowe Price was more twisted than Fidelity’s green line. With scholarship in hand, I left Kansas at 18 to study theatre in New York. When my soap opera paychecks stopped coming from CBS and started coming from the show’s sponsor, Proctor & Gamble, I discovered the power of advertising and switched careers. Over the years I’ve owned an ad agency in San Francisco; worked for Norman Lear on All in the Family, Good Times, Sanford and Son, and the rest of his hit shows; and as a member of Directors Guild of America, I directed Desi Arnaz in his last television appearance— we remained friends until his death. In 1988 I began freelancing full time didn’t look back. In January 2012 my rep at Boss Group called and said, “I know you don’t want to commute and writing for the financial industry isn’t high on your wish list, but I have a gig with T. Rowe Price in Owings Mills…” I was a contractor for eight months, drank the corporate Kool-Aid, became a TRP associate that August, and today I find myself smiling more often than not.

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