To honor the memory and legacy of its namesake, the Elijah Cummings Youth Program in Israel unveiled a mosaic artwork at the Cummings Courthouse, at 111 N. Calvert Street, on Monday afternoon, Aug. 9. More than 45 people attended the event.
The 3-by-5-foot “Living Messages” mosaic — which features the likeness of the late Rep. Elijah E. Cummings bearing his quote, “Our children are the living message we send to a future we will never see” — was commissioned by the ECYP’s alumni and created by the local nonprofit Art with a Heart. It will be permanently installed in the courthouse.
A Baltimore native and Democrat, Cummings represented the 7th District until his death in October of 2019 at the age of 68.
Created in 1998, the ECYP was a joint effort between Cummings and the Baltimore Jewish Council, an agency of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore.
The two-year ECYP fellowship includes leadership and diversity training and community service in the greater Baltimore and Washington, D.C., areas, as well as an Israel excursion. While in Israel, the fellows — who are students who either live in or attend high school in Maryland’s 7th Congressional District — reside at Yemin Orde Youth Village in Haifa, a home for at-risk and immigrant youth from around the world.
The ECYP has produced more than 200 alumni, many of whom have led successful careers in an array of fields.
“All of our young people have graduated from high school, and 99 percent have graduated from college,” Cummings told Jmore in 2017. “Some have become lawyers, doctors, millionaires. Some of them are on our board. When they come back from Israel [after a month-long cross-cultural immersion experience], they have established strong bonds with people in Israel. Many return to Israel to see their friends.
“We are helping our children to become more worldly, and at the same time establishing stronger relations between African-Americans and Jews.”
Speakers at Monday’s ceremony included Mayor Brandon M. Scott; Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-7th); Jennifer Cummings, daughter of Elijah Cummings and an ECYP board member; Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Karen “Chaya” Friedman, an ECYP board member; Randi Pupkin, founder and CEO of Art with a Heart and an ECYP board member; Chief and Administrative Judge Audrey J.S. Carrión of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City; and Nadia West, an ECYP alumnus and Art with a Heart staff member.
ECYP alumni and board members, judges and other courthouse employees also attended the unveiling ceremony as well. Also in attendance was Dr. Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, widow of the congressman.
On Facebook, the Baltimore Jewish Council posted, “We were honored to join with leadership from The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore to celebrate the unveiling of a beautiful mosaic to honor Congressman Cummings. The mosaic, commissioned by the Elijah Cummings Youth Program in Israel (ECYP), now hangs in the lobby of the Baltimore City courthouse named in his honor. A special thanks to Congressman Kweisi Mfume and Mayor Brandon M. Scott for joining Monday’s ceremony.”
In her remarks, Judge Friedman, who emceed the gathering, spoke of Cummings’ impact on her life and career.
“Congressman Cummings was committed to truth and justice,” she said. Friedman said she hopes the mosaic will serve as a “daily reminder” to courthouse workers and visitors about being committed to justice, equality and community.
Pupkin called the mosaic “a true testament to the congressman’s legacy. … The core of the project is grounded in positive intentions and kindness, much like the congressman.”
For information about the program, visit ecyp.org/.
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