Thursday, July 9, 2026 saw local community activists and residents of the Douglass Homes housing development pay tribute to Rev. Annie Chambers, who had transitioned to the Honored Ancestors the week before on July 2. Rev. Chambers was a strong voice for the less fortunate and the “voiceless” who suffered from the daily onslaught of racist and class oppression. A onetime member of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, she never lost the revolutionary spirit that made her a tireless champion for many and a fearsome opponent for others.
Rev. Chambers not only stood up to do battle against political corruption and repression against the poor and disenfranchised, she also organized giveaways of food and clothing on a regular basis. She clearly understood that survival was a key element of resistance, and she fought hard on both fronts.
The organizations We Stand Up For All, through its co-founder, Ian Schlakman, and the People’s Power Assembly shared the following statement on July 3 with several newspapers, including the Baltimore Afro and the Web site https://www.struggle-la-lucha.org.
It is with profound sadness that our organization, We Stand Up For All (part of the OCNA), announces the death of our beloved founder, Rev. Annie Chambers — legendary civil rights leader, community mother, and lifelong champion of the poor. Rev. Annie Chambers died the evening of July 2, 2026, shortly before midnight. She leaves behind an unparalleled legacy of grassroots activism and unconditional love for her people, her family, her community, and all those who struggle to survive.
Throughout her life, Rev. Chambers faced overwhelming odds and deep personal hardships. Yet she transformed every challenge she endured into a fierce, ordained mission to fight for the rights of everyone, especially the most vulnerable among us. From her early days with the Black Panther Party, Malcolm X, and the original 1960s Poor People’s Campaign, to her foundational work with the Baltimore and National Welfare Rights Organization, she never backed down from a fight for justice.
As a longtime resident and tenant leader at Baltimore’s Douglass Homes, Rev. Annie Chambers was the uncompromising voice of the poor, the working class, and those experiencing homelessness. Whether she was organizing food giveaways for her neighbors, ministering to the incarcerated, fighting against the privatization of public housing, or fighting to keep the electricity on for struggling families illegitimately billed by public housing, she firmly believed that the basic necessities of life belonged to the people.
Details regarding a memorial service and ways the public can continue to support her ongoing community initiatives will be announced in the coming days. Rev. Chambers often said she was ordained by God to stay in the battle for justice, and she spent every day of her life fulfilling that calling. If, upon hearing the news of her death, you feel compelled to give immediately, please reach out to one of the organizations listed below.
Reverend Chambers worked with hundreds of organizations over her lifetime in Baltimore and beyond. Here are just a few of the last organizations she worked with, recommended, and wholeheartedly supported to fulfill her work in Baltimore: the People’s Power Assembly, Struggle-La Lucha, the Ujima People’s Progress Party, and New Harvest Ministries. She also had her own organization, We Stand Up For All, which she founded with her longtime ally and protégé, Ian Schlakman.
Your thoughts, prayers, and continued dedication to Rev. Chambers’ mission are the greatest gifts. We strongly encourage those seeking to support or continue her work to reach out to any and all of the organizations above. If you feel especially moved to send flowers or tokens of remembrance, they may be sent to her local church of worship and service, New Harvest Ministries …
She is survived by her 25 children and hundreds of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her daughter, Dena Smith — a radio show host like her mother — also followed her mother, and her grandfather before her, into the ministry, serving God and fighting injustice in his name. …
The Baltimore Afro included a piece that shared the above announcement at https://afro.com/legacy-rev-annie-chambers/. The Afro had also done a profile of her on January 16, 2021, https://afro.com/rev-annie-chambers-mother-to-many-mother-of-the-movement-still-fighting/. The Baltimore Brew published an article mourning her passing here. And WMAR-TV Channel 2 shared an article here.
On Thursday, July 9, the memorial was held at the Douglass Homes, across Orleans Street from Johns Hopkins Hospital in downtown Baltimore. Rev. Chambers most recently was leading the fight for the tenants of Douglass Homes, who have suffered from broken infrastructure such as inoperable radiators during winter, as well as pest infestation and exorbitant electricity bills for what was termed “excess usage” by the Housing Authority of Baltimore City, most likely due to the increased use of electric space heaters ion the winters to replace the broken heating systems in the development. Residents of the Douglass Homes development gathered on this day to honor her, as well as organizers and activists from, notably, the Baltimore People’s Power Assembly and Ujima People’s Progress Party.
The memorial was organized in large part by local community activist Sis. Christina Flowers, who dedicated her WOLB radio show to Rev. Chambers’ memory the following day. Later this month, a Homegoing Service is to be held for family, friends and close comrades to honor her as she now takes her place among the Honored Ancestors. It will now be our responsibility, as those she fought alongside and on behalf of, to find ways to carry on her work and honor her memory.