Panel to address racial disparities

This crap burns me up to no end, I want them to look at the ratio of breadwinner jobs at UMES and hold them to the same guidelines that the NAACP is forcing the county to do. When they get the staff at UMES at least 70% white then we can talk, until then take a walk NAACP. The NAACP basis it's finding on population and never considers the education of that population, as long as their skin meets the necessary color; they then by NAACP standards are qualified.

STORY TDT:
A diverse committee of ordinary citizens and professional heavyweights has formed to tackle what civil rights leaders call racial disparities in hiring practices by Somerset County government and Board of Education leaders.

At a Thursday meeting of the Somerset Branch of the NAACP and the ACLU of Maryland, 16 community residents volunteered to serve on a county committee formed to continue dialog on the hiring and appointment practices by county agencies and to make recommendations that would create a work force to include African-American professionals more closely reflective of the county's 42 percent black population.

The meeting was attended by an estimated 75 blacks and whites from across the county, and included Crisfield and Princess Anne elected officials, members of the Somerset County Commissioners, the Democratic Central Committee and the Somerset County Board of Education.

Public figures who volunteered to tackle the issue in committee are schools Superintendent Karen-Lee Brofee, School board members H. DeWayne Whittington and William Miles, State's Attorney Kristy Hickman, Police Chief Warner Sumpter at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Crisfield City Councilwoman LaVerne Johnson. Other members are county residents Joy Beacott and NAACP member Mary Handy.

The Rev. Craig Matheis of Princess Anne called on residents to admit that racial divides continue in the county, and urged them to be unafraid in speaking out against injustices. Disparity in the workplace hurts those shut out during uncertain economic times more than any other, he warned.

"In Somerset County, we have a problem," he said. "There is going to come a time when you will need a method to survive."

The session was moderated by noted longtime civil rights activist Carl Snowden, the first civil rights director for the state of Maryland, who told the audience that that the process to solving problem starts with an admission that there is one.

"As we move in this next phase, where community residents have an opportunity to ask the question, 'Where do we go from here?' " he said. "There are strong feelings."



The session followed the release of a report by the NAACP branch and ACLU several weeks ago claiming that, among other things, no African-Americans worked in a professional capacity for county government in the year 2007.



Most African-Americans employed by the school system "are mostly employed in a nonprofessional capacity," the report says.

Brofee called the report "alarming," and committed to working to address the issue. "There may be ways to increase the number of minorities," she said. "Black and white (students) need to see strong African-American models."

Delegate Page Elmore, R-38A-Wicomico, who also represents Somerset County, said while the number of African-Americans in key positions at the Board of Education could be improved, he has seen great strides since taking office seven years ago.

"There is room for improvement, although it's better today than seven years ago," he said, adding that he was instrumental in a move to hire more blacks at the Tri-County Council, a community services umbrella agency that represents Somerset, Wicomico, Worcester counties. "I went to (Director) Mike Pennington. We can do the same in this county."

Somerset Commissioner Rex Simpkins, though, said while he favored fair hiring practices, he questioned some of the facts in the NAACP/ACLU report, such as the statement that the county government lacked a black professional in the workplace in 2007.

He also cited the 350 or more African-Americans employed at UMES, out of the 433 county residents who work on campus.

"We're going to walk out of here and we'll be friends," he said, underscoring that he is not prejudice. "My house is open to anyone."

Hickman said that although she, too, doubted some of the statistics in the report, she argued "that that doesn't make up for the disparities."

"That's why I'm here, to see what can be done," she said.

NAACP President Kirkland Hall said he was pleased with the interest from the total community, and expected that through the committee, "there will be immediate change."

Debbie Jeon, an ACLU legal council, said she believes both races are committed to seeking a resolution.

Snowden said he hoped that recommendations would be formulated within 45 days of the first committee meeting.