Leslie Gray Streeter

Leslie Gray

Leslie Gray Streeter is a columnist excited about telling Baltimore stories — about us and the things that we care about, that touch us, that tickle us and that make us tick, from parenting to pop culture to the perfect crab cake. She is especially psyched about discussions, no matter how big or small, that we don't usually have. Open mind and a sense of humor required. When she was a sophomore at Baltimore City College High School in the 80s, she met her first newspaper columnist, and thought ""Wait? They'll pay you to write about your opinions? Sign me up!"" And since then, that's all she has wanted to do, and mostly all she has done. She went from City to the University of Maryland and then up and down the east coast until she found herself here as the lifestyle columnist for the Baltimore Banner. It's a perfect circle and honestly she's directing the emotional movie montage in her head right now. There's a lot of Janet Jackson in it. At the Banner, she wants to build on the expertise she has gained as a staffer at The Miami Times (weekly), York Dispatch and the Palm Beach Post, with freelance gigs including writing about for The Washington Post, opining about grief for O, The Oprah Magazine, to weekly recaps of ""The Bachelorette"" for the Seattle Times. That's a lot of ground to cover, but as a Features writer and columnist for almost 30 years she has learned that we, as humans, cover a lot of ground, too, so what we read should, too. We are what we care about, eat, watch, listen to and gab over Twitter about, and it means even more when it's about where we live. And that's what her column is going to be. She is the author of one book, the memoir ""Black Widow"" (Little Brown), and an international speaker about grief, culture, parenting and a lot of other stuff. She is also a widowed single mom of one son named Brooks Robinson, because as she said, they're really really really from Baltimore, which they returned to in July 2020. She is a very slow run-walker, a fan of true crime documentaries and podcasts, and a bad guitarist who sings loud over the chords she can't reach.

The latest from Leslie Gray Streeter

A Titanic tale of gay love and history comes to Baltimore
Writer and entertainment journalist Nelson Aspen's interest in the Titanic goes beyond his new book, "Kindred Spirits." One word: reincarnation.
The book cover for Nelson Aspen's "Kindred Spirits: A Titanic Tale," which uses a real-life Titanic passenger to tell a modern gay romance.
Is owning a home better than renting? It’s complicated.
Past generations were led to believe that buying a home vs. renting was the ultimate sign of adulthood. Now, that line of thinking is shakier.
Coco Gauff serves Maryland sisters a tennis dream they can chase
Even though tennis player Coco Gauff lost Wimbledon in London this week, one Maryland family will continue to be inspired by her, from Reisterstown to Paris.
United States' Coco Gauff celebrate after winning the final match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus n Paris, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Black women with cancer die at higher rates. To heal them, we have to hear them.
The American Cancer Society’s VOICES of Black Women survey is seeking 100,000 participants' stories and experiences to close disparities.
Dr. Tonya Webb, left, is a part of the American Cancer Society's VOICES of Black Women project, which hopes to survey 100,000 Black women about their medical and life experiences in hopes of eliminating disparities.
Commentary: Supreme Court’s ruling on LGBTQIA+ books is a slippery, hateful slope
The Supreme Court’s decision to let Montgomery County parents exempt their children from public school lessons using LGBTQIA+ books is a subtle tool of hate.
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 22: Protesters in support of LGBTQ+ rights and against book bans demonstrate outside of the U.S. Supreme Court Building on April 22, 2025 in Washington, DC. U.S. Supreme Court Justices heard arguments for the case of Mahmoud v. Taylor where a coalition of parents from Montgomery County, Maryland, say that a school requiring their children to participate in classes that include LGBTQ themes violates their religious beliefs and thus their First Amendment right to freely exercise their religion.
Olympic and civil rights icon John Carlos welcomes you to the revolution
Carlos accepts his role as an icon and a pioneer, but refuses to believe it makes him different or more significant in spirit than others.
At left, John Carlos speaks at the 50th anniversary of his Olympics experience in San Jose, California, in 2018. At right, Peter Norman, Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City in 1968.
Juneteenth is a celebration of everyone knowing the truth. We need that desperately.
Juneteenth is the commemoration of when the last enslaved Black people in Texas found out they were free. But, like now, the truth was irrevelevant without the knowledge.
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 19: Members of the U.S. Colored Troops and Buffalo Soldiers, living historians and re-enactors from Maryland, Georgia, Massachusetts and other states, prepare to march in the Juneteenth People's Parade on June 19, 2024 in Washington, DC. The first federal holiday to be established in almost 40 years, the Juneteenth National Independence Day marks the day in 1865 when the last enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas, learned that they had been freed two years earlier by the Emancipation Proclamation.
The Write Woman Book Fest celebrates the power of literary ladies
The sixth and final Write Woman Book Fest in Bowie is ending in its current form, but its founders say they’ll never stop supporting fellow female creators.
Cardyn Brooks, left, and Heather Brooks co-run The Write Women Book Fest, which was founded to support and give exposure for female writers and readers alike.
God only knows what we lost with Brian Wilson
One of the things I loved most about former Beach Boy Brian Wilson was that he was weird. I mean that as a compliment.
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 12:  Musician Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys performs onstage at the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards held at Staples Center on February 12, 2012 in Los Angeles, California.  (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Elementary school ‘graduation’ isn’t a big deal. So why am I crying?
Call it a graduation or a promotion: My baby is going to be a middle schooler. Cue the sad songs.
Leslie Gray Streeter and her son, Brooks, in 2019 at the Capitol Reef National Park in Utah.
Sometimes your ego is your own worst enemy. Just ask Patti Lupone.
Tony winner and certified diva Patti Lupone has proven that an inflated belief in one’s own sassiness can undo years of goodwill. It’s a lesson we should all remember.
From left, Kecia Lewis at the Tony Awards in 2024, Patti LuPone at a film screening in New York in 2025 and Audra McDonald at the Tony Awards in 2024.
‘Bravo’s Love Hotel’ proves middle-aged dating sucks, even for the rich and famous
Here are four reasons why even being a "Real Housewives of Potomac" star on "Bravo's Love Hotel" doesn't help clean up the middle-aged dating pool.
LOVE HOTEL -- "Day 3" -- Pictured: (l-r) Gizelle Bryant, Luann de Lesseps -- (Photo by: Ana York/PEACOCK)
My first book launched the week the world shut down. I’m ready for my do-over.
The pandemic shut down my memoir book tour. Will the publicity for “Family & Other Calamities,” a love letter to Baltimore and journalism, be a chance to try again?
My first novel represents my ability to do something new even at this late age, while enjoying this author journey differently this time.
On Memorial Day we honor the dead, but are we neglecting the living?
Memorial Day 2025 begs the question: In this age of cuts to the VA, insults to veterans and the assault on our history, what are we really trying to remember?
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 31: American flags have been placed next to the headstones in Arlington National Cemetery in observance of Memorial Day on May 31, 2021 in Arlington, Virginia.
Fighting a creative block? This artist’s matchmaking skills may help
A show celebrating 15 years of unique multidisciplinary works done by artists, who in some cases have never met, is on display in Howard County through the weekend.
Photo of a Baltimore City sunset by photographer Teresa Duggan
A plantation on fire may feel like justice, but echoes of slavery haunt Baltimore, too
Sure, there’s something to be said for preserving history like the Nottoway plantation. But when that history’s been thrown away in favor of engagement photos, what are we really losing in the fire?
The historic Nottoway Plantation in White Castle, Louisiana, burned down in a massive fire on Thursday, May 15, 2025.
Tamara Tunie of ‘Beyond the Gates’ explores the bougie side of Maryland’s elite
Soap star Tamara Tunie, in town for the Lewis Museum gala, talks about her career, the fictional Maryland community in "Beyond The Gates" and the importance of preserving Black history.
Soap opera legend Tamara Tunie.
After losing money at a disastrous Baltimore book festival, they’re starting their own
After the A Million Lives book festival resulted in broken promises and scandals, a local book pop-up owner and event planner are stepping into the fray to launch their own event.
Amber and Matt Hodgson, whose Bookish Signs and More produces beautiful, digitally printed book edges, want to pour that same passion into their new book festival.
The highs, lows and mom guilt of being a sports parent
Life as a sports parent means having to juggle increasingly demanding schedules while getting over the guilt when you have to miss a game.
Why do we care if 100 men can beat a gorilla?
There has been a question going around about whether 100 men could take down one silverback gorilla. I needed to know why that would be anything to care about in the first place.
Portrait of a silver back gorilla standing in the typical pose on legs and hands
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