A Pristine Dream: André De Shields Made It To the Top With Patience, Grace—And a Whole Lot of Talent

Lawrence Burney, Baltimore magazine — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 20:00:00 +0000

Around this time last year, the 1800 block of Division Street in the city’s Upton neighborhood looked a little different than it would on a regular day. For one, the street was blocked off, which would typically be a significant inconvenience for Westside residents trying to cheat the steady traffic flow going up and down Pennsylvania Avenue. Secondly, there was a podium set up in the middle of the street, prepped for city officials like Mayor Brandon Scott and City Council President Nick Mosby to speak.

In Baltimore, scenes like this, unfortunately, are often associated with responses to tragedy in which politicians show up to assure folks of how they’ll do everything in their power to guide the city to a place of healing and restoration. But luckily, on this day, all of the commotion—students dancing, news cameras everywhere, and community members passing by—was in celebration of André De Shields, the 78-year-old theater virtuoso whose formative years were spent on this very street, which was now being named after him.

Lawrence Burney, Baltimore magazine, Author at Baltimore Fishbowl

A Pristine Dream: André De Shields Made It To the Top With Patience, Grace—And a Whole Lot of Talent