FBI agents on Wednesday searched a building where Baltimore City Schools Commissioner Mujahid Muhammad operates a nonprofit mental health organization, according to the FBI’s Baltimore press office.
Muhammad is the executive director of KEYS Empowers, located in the brick office building at 7501 Liberty Road, federal tax forms for the nonprofit say. Late Wednesday afternoon, a man was changing the locks on office doors at that address with signs for KEYS Development, another nonprofit Muhammad has operated.
A spokesperson for the FBI’s Baltimore press office declined to provide details.
Mayor Brandon Scott appointed Muhammad to the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners on May 1, 2023. The mayor’s news release about his appointment said he worked as a clinical therapist at the University of Maryland and as a therapeutic crisis and trauma trainer at Catholic Charities.
The release lists Muhammad as CEO of KEYS Enterprises and notes he increased donations by $2.5 million in 2022 and remains “a person-centered advocate for community change.”
A man who answered a phone number listed for KEYS Empowers declined to answer questions. Calls to several numbers listed for Muhammad went unanswered Wednesday evening.
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A spokesperson for Scott did not immediately return a request for comment.
Tax filings from 2024 state that KEYS Empowers’ mission is providing “social support and guidance in becoming esteemed leaders with outstanding problem solving and conflict resolution skills.”
The company’s 2024 revenue, according to its federal 990 forms, was over $2 million, while expenses were $2.1 million.
Muhammad is an active school board member, often seen donning a brimmed hat at meetings and speaking about issues surrounding student safety and behavior. He is a graduate of Morgan State University and earned a graduate degree in clinical social work from the University of Maryland, according to his school board biography. He did further clinical training at Cornell University.
KEYS, which stands for Keep Encouraging Youth to Succeed, was founded in 2009, according to a September news release from Kremer Communications. The nonprofit hosted a back-to-school community fish fry and school supply giveaway in early September. The news release lists City Councilman John T. Bullock and Sen. Antonio Hayes as partners for the event.
In a May interview, Muhammad said his nonprofit was working to open the KEYS Community Healing Village in West Baltimore by the end of next year. Though a sign at the construction site boasts a hopeful 2025 opening date, much of the parcel is still under development.
Muhammad said the village will feed the community nightly and offer educational programming for young people and families. He said the surrounding community lives in a food desert, and he aspired to eventually offering a culinary therapy program.
Banner reporters Kristen Griffith, Emily Opilo, Ellie Wolfe and Cayla Harris contributed reporting.
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This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.
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