Baltimore’s Black maritime history is the subject of a new documentary film from the Living Classrooms Foundation.
The nonprofit has unveiled their first-ever mini film, a 23-minute production titled “Bread Upon the Waters: Baltimore’s Black Maritime Legacy.”
Supporters had the opportunity to view the short just a few weeks ago, but the film’s process began more than three years ago.
During 2020 Fleet Week, which was virtual at the time, the Living Classrooms started interviewing crew and captains to produce five-minute clips about ships and the history of the Dry Dock Company, a shipbuilding company founded in 1920.
“After the Fleet Week clips we realized there was a lot of interest so we thought, how can we tell this story better?” said Julia Muller, the film’s executive producer.
Muller, who was working with Living Classrooms’ maritime education program at the time, said the nonprofit wanted to create the documentary to inspire the next generation of martime professionals.
“This film was a way to encourage Baltimore City youth to explore careers on the water,” she said. “We wanted to get the information to schools and make it engaging.”
Muller continued, “It started to be a snowball effect. The more information we found the more interesting things became to everyone.”
Filmmakers focused on specific locations like Fells Point using the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park, a shipyard that has now turned into a gallery of maritime exhibits. Additional locations included the Chesapeake Marine Railway and the Dry Dock Company.
Film research began by seeking out current African American mariners, maritime trades workers, and local historical organizations.
“We were hoping we could listen to their story and be a platform to tell their story,” Muller said. “And that’s when we found The Ship Caulkers Houses.”
In Fells Point, 612 and 614 S. Wolfe St. are the home of the local historical organization The Ship Caulkers Houses.
There were four Black men who were ship caulkers, who have been identified as having lived in these homes on Wolfe Street with their families in the 1800s. The homes were neglected for 30 years until The Ship Caulkers Houses organization was able to restore them. During that process, they conducted an archeological dig and found artifacts that tell the caulkers’ stories.
Free Black caulkers were among the most prominent figures of the caulking trade in Baltimore during this period. On the water they worked together on ships to seal gaps between the planks, which kept water out. But at their homes they worked together for so much more, including promoting education and trade.
The film additionally shed light on Project SERVE (Service, Empowerment, Revitalization, Validation, Employment training), a Living Classrooms program that provides hands-on training and employment for incarcerated individuals who will soon be returning home. Five participants spent months working on the USS Constellation, a national historic landmark and museum ship.
The warship was built by the United States Navy, launched in the 1850s, and ultimately became a ship that freed captured slaves and returned them to Africa. According to the film, the Constellation is the largest example of Chesapeake Bay shipbuilding in existence.
The Living Classrooms Foundation received major support from The Oprah Winfrey Foundation. The former Baltimore news anchor and entrepreneur, Oprah Winfrey donated funding to several non-profits that were providing access to workforce development and education programs that were lost during the pandemic. Living Classrooms Foundation received $1 million from Winfrey, including $55,000 for the film’s production and development to be used as an educational resource.
“The long-term goal is that Living Classrooms will partner with The Port of Baltimore and various maritime industries to create pipelines for community members and help with workforce development initiatives,” Muller said.
She continued, “So much of what Baltimore is, has to do with our connection to the water. There are so many opportunities exist within the maritime trades and Living Classrooms as well as the Baltimore community has a lot of resources available.”
For additional information on Living Classrooms and their work, visit their website here.
The film is not yet available for public viewing, but the Living Classrooms Foundation will be distributing it to schools throughout Baltimore and gauging community interest.
Would like to add that the Ship Caulkers’ House project is a project that is sponsored by the Society for the Preservation of Federal Hill and Fell’s Point, Inc., owner of the houses, and the Friends of the Ship Caulkers’ Houses. David Gleason, FAIA, President/Preservation Society