This paper examines mediation (Vermittlung) as the way in which global visions of the future, in this case the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), are interpreted, changed and connected to local futures on the ground. In concrete terms, I investigate the question of how local futures become visible (and disappear again) in the confrontation with global goals. I examine the localisation of the SDGs in Baltimore through three consecutive sustainability reports (2016-2019). In Baltimore, the SDGs have been reconfigured as a policy tool to fight against police violence and institutional racism. This case makes it particularly clear how the visibility of the past and suppressed experiences influence the creation of alternative futures. At the same time, the example of Baltimore shows the strong tendency to persist in existing dominant discourses.