By Stephen Janis and Taya Graham,
Particular to the AFRO
On Maryland’s Jap Shore, the panorama is replete with reminders of the peninsula’s racist previous.
The Harriet Tubman middle sits astride the pathways she navigated to information slaves to freedom. Indicators level to the birthplace of Frederick Douglass, whose seminal e book “Narrative of the Lifetime of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” recounted the harrowing story of his formative years on a neighborhood plantation.
However, on Oct. 14 on the Caucus of African American Leaders Jap Shore award banquet in Salisbury the theme of the night time was not the previous, however the current. It was a second when most of the attendees andhonorees conveyed a message of hope that progress was not solely doable, however palpable.
“What I see tonight is hope,” stated the Rev. James Jones, convener of the Caucus and organizer of the occasion. “What I see are individuals working to make lives higher for all of us, day in and time out. What I see ischange.”
Among the many attendees had been tangible indicators of that progress Jones famous.
Foremost was the primary Black mayor of Pocomoke, Todd Nock, who was elected to the town’s prime job earlier this yr.
In opening remarks Nock instructed the assemblage of roughly 200 friends that he was not the one pioneering officeholder in an space the place Black elected officers was uncommon. He pointed to Chrisfield’s Mayor Darlene Taylor and Hurlock’s Rev. Charles T. Cephas Sr. as examples of change, noting all of them took workplace just lately.
“We now have three Black mayors on the Jap Shore; two years in the past we didn’t have any,” stated Nock, whose fast rise from activist to mayor was the topic of the documentary “The Friendliest City.”
Keynote speaker State Del. J. Sandy Bartlett additionally celebrated the election of Maryland’s first Black governor, Wes Mooore, who took workplace in 2023.
She famous that together with the governor, the Speaker of the Home of Delegates Adrian Jones was one other signal of what she known as “excellent news.”
“I problem you to share excellent news daily. I problem you to convey options,” she stated. “On the very least hearken to options dropped at you.”
Together with a recognition of progress within the rising variety of Black officer holders, the night highlighted native residents who had labored for or contributed to the rise in fairness on the poll field.
A type of honorees was a girl who was by no means elected to public workplace however led the best way for change by working.
Roberta Butler ran for an at-large council seat in Federalsburg a number of instances, unsuccessfully. Nevertheless, her efforts known as consideration to a voting course of that had systematically excluded African People from profitable workplace. Town made all council candidates run citywide. That course of meant a city which is almost half African-American had by no means elected a Black councilperson.
Earlier this yr, a landmark lawsuit filed by the ACLU on behalf of Butler and different Black residents led to a choose ruling that Federalsburg was in violation of the Voting Rights Act. The choose ordered the town to create single-member council districts as an alternative of the at-large districts, and two Black council members had been elected earlier this yr.
Butler obtained the “Unsung Hero” award on the banquet for her effort, together with a standing ovation.
“None of this might have occurred with out her braveness,” Jones stated.
Different honorees included: Worcester County NAACP President Edward S. Lee, Talbot County Colleges Superintendent Sharon Pepukayi and Dorchester County Orphans Courtroom’s chief choose, the Rev. Dr. George R. Ames, who obtained a lifetime achievement award and stated the ceremony was a recognition of the continued battle for justice.
“We’re combating to maintain that historical past going and shifting ahead,” Ames stated.
Regardless of the optimistic tone of the night, convener of the state Caucus of African People Leaders Carl Snowden stated the success of the current wanted to be the muse for the long run as new challenges emerged. Amongst them, he stated, was an upcoming presidential election that would irreparablyalter the trail of civil rights for many years to return.
“We’re on the eve of essentially the most consequential election of our lifetime. Now we have to catalyze African-American voters like their lives relied on it,” he stated. “As a result of it does.”
Awards:
Rev. Charles Bagley – Unsung Hero Award
Roberta Butler – Unsung Hero Award
Eugenie “Shanie” Shields – Unsung Hero Award
James Yamakawa – Unsung Hero Award
John Queen – Unsung Hero Award
Del. Sheree Pattern-Hughes (D) – Trailblazer Award
Clayton Washington – Lifetime Achievement Award
Dr. Sharon Pepukayi – Trailblazer Award
Rev. Dr. George R. Ames Jr. – Lifetime Achievement Award
Betty Johnson – Lifetime Achievement Award
Authors notice: The reporters produced the documentary “The Friendliest City”
