M'Balu "Lu" Bangura

Chief of Equity and Fair Practices

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Chief of Equity and Fair Practices M'Balu "Lu" Bangura joined the Pratt in 2021. Lu is an experienced Civil Rights Investigator, Risk Analyst, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion professional. She considers herself an Inequity Eliminator and has spent her academic and professional career as a social justice advocate and promoter of diversity, equity, and inclusion for all. As Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer for Enoch Pratt Free Library and Maryland State Library Resource Center, she is responsible for leading and overseeing the Library's diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and works to impact change within our communities and the Library's internal structures.

In her previous role with the City, Lu served as a Civil Rights Investigator for the Community Relations Commission, where she facilitated the highest settlement agreement in the history of the commission and led in closing difficult and complex cases. In addition, Lu played a vital role in expanding the Office of Civil Rights to the Office of Equity and Civil Rights. Her work led to her becoming Baltimore City's first Equity Specialist, tasked with creating, implementing, and managing agency compliance with the City's equity initiative. As Equity Specialist, Lu facilitated monthly training for Equity Coordinators and produced Baltimore City's first city-wide Agency Self-Assessment and the City's first Annual Equity Report.

Before joining the City, Lu served as a Risk Analyst and the only employment Investigator for Tacoma, Washington. Lu created and developed Tacoma's Tenant Relocation Assistance Program and played an instrumental role in Tacoma's 2025 Equity Plan, Tacoma's Gang Reduction Project, ProjectPEACE, and The Implicit Bias Study.

Lu is recognized on the International Human Rights Commission's 2019 Human Rights Defenders Almanac, Maryland's 2020 Top 40 VIPs list, and Maryland's 2021 Top 40 Leading Women list. She holds her BS and MS in Criminal Justice from St. John's University and New Jersey City University with concentrations in police-community relations and urban development. She is currently a student in the University of Baltimore's Doctorate in Public Administration program specializing in operationalizing equity. Lu has made it her professional and personal mission to help build a more informed and inclusive society through information sharing and capacity building. She is an avid advocate of human and civil rights locally, statewide, and nationally.