Current Location

ROAR provides all our services from one location at 520 West Fayette St. in Baltimore City, Maryland 21201.

This “one-stop-shop” approach is the best way to coordinate support and avoid traumatizing our clients further by asking them to travel to multiple locations and share their details repeatedly with other offices. If you’d like to get in touch, please contact us.

New Offices Coming Soon

We’re delighted to announce that in late 2024 or early 2025 we plan to move into the restored offices of civil rights pioneer Juanita Jackson Mitchell on historic Druid Hill Avenue in the Upton neighborhood of West Baltimore City.

The Upton neighborhood has suffered from decades of redlining, underinvestment, and the ravages of racism. It was once a true “mecca” for Black professionals and civil rights leaders of the 1950s and 60s—and it will be again. As active members of the community, ROAR is participating in the renaissance of the Upton neighborhood in collaboration with the Rev. Dr. Al Hathaway, Senior Pastor, Union Baptist Church of West Baltimore.

ROAR’s new office will be housed in a historic building where many landmark civil rights achievements took place. It was once the legal offices for Juanita Jackson Mitchell and Clarence M. Mitchell, as well as meeting space for the Baltimore chapter of the NAACP and, later, offices for the Lillie Mae Carroll Jackson Museum.

Who was Juanita Jackson Mitchell?

Juanita Jackson Mitchell broke barriers as the first Black woman to attend the University of Maryland School of Law, and the first Black woman to practice law in Maryland.

• In 1931, Mitchell co-founded the Baltimore Citywide Young People’s Forum to promote civil rights and help find jobs for Black people during the Depression. She became involved with the NAACP the following year.
• In 1942, Mitchell directed a march on Annapolis with 2,000 citizens demanding legal reform and repeal of Maryland’s Jim Crow laws. That same year, she led the first city-wide “Register and Vote” campaign, which resulted in 11,000 new voter registrations. 
• In 1958, she brought in over 20,000 new voter registrations with the NAACP’s “Register to Vote” campaign.
• Michell fought segregation in the courts and legally represented Black community members seeking protection after police shootings, domestic violence, and discrimination.
• Together with Thurgood Marshall and other ground-breaking attorneys, Mitchell filed the lawsuit that resulted in Maryland being the first state to desegregate its public schools after the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Mitchell frequently hosted Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme Court justice, at her Baltimore City office.
• Mitchell hosted Eleanor Roosevelt for lunch in her home just a few doors away from her office because no restaurant would serve them together—the First Lady of the United States, who was white, and an illustrious civil rights woman lawyer, who was Black.
• In 1987, she was inducted into the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame.
• In 1990, the Maryland Women’s Bar Association honored her with their first and only honorary membership.

Many of Mitchell’s extended family also became civic leaders. Her son, Michael Mitchell, became City Councilman in Baltimore City and later served on the Maryland State House of Delegates. Her grandson also served on the Maryland State House of Delegates and ran for Mayor of Baltimore City in 2007. Her grandniece and great-granddaughter are also pursuing careers in the law. Many of her relatives’ campaigns were launched from her offices on Druid Hill Avenue.

Juanita Jackson Mitchell was a pioneer and a role model for tomorrow’s leaders. We encourage everyone to learn about her contributions to the civil rights movement and the other inspiring people and events of the Upton neighborhood. It’s truly an honor to share this historic space and promote its revitalization.