Community, Culture, and Economic Development, Second Edition: Continuity and Change in Two Small Southern Towns

Foreword

ix Foreword it is with a deep sense of gratitude that i write this foreword to the second edition of Community, Culture, and Economic Development, for it was indeed a blessing that Meredith ramsay decided to write about our quiet rural community of Somerset. her first edition confirmed the sad realities that we who live here had always known but lacked the resources to change. it chronicles our efforts over the years to work with the county government and school system to build a more just society and a better future for our children in this place that we love. The book recounts how Christopher Brown of the american Civil Liberties Union worked with Somerset’s black community in 1985, when we filed our first voting rights lawsuit. it describes our success in electing the first african american to sit on the Princess anne town Commission. and it tells of our many unsuccessful attempts to elect a candidate of our choice to the Somerset County Board of Commissioners. When i became president of the NaaCP Somerset Branch for the first time, in 1991, i knew there was much more to be done. But it was not until the first edition of this book came out five years later that i and others realized how to approach the problem of african american disenfranchisement here. With a model for change now in place, we once again joined forces with the american Civil Liberties Union, specifically with lead attorney Deborah Jeon and legal program administrator amy Cruise. When my term as NaaCP president was up, we were fortunate that those who came after me, Elder Craig Mathies (who was to become our first black county commissioner) and longtime political activist Kenneth Ballard continued the struggle. after more lawsuits, research, and presentations , the historic document called the Semper Eadem Report (semper eadem is Latin, meaning “always the same”) was the straw that finally broke the camel’s back, so to speak. it is a research report—produced by the Somerset NaaCP in collaboration with the Maryland aCLU—that x / Foreword documents egregious racial disparities in our county government and school system. That is, it documents the legacy of racism that for 350 years had barred african americans from the top tier of public office or any of the county’s better appointed positions. That was the breakthrough that some of us had been working for all of our adult lives. Fifteen years after the first edition was published, our county has made tremendous strides toward racial equality. i firmly believe, from the standpoint of a scholar of organizational leadership and as a resident of Princess anne who was intimately involved in the struggle, that we could not have succeeded in making those changes were it not for the inspiration we gained from this book. it exposed age-old practices in Somerset County that were badly in need of reform. it provided the impetus to create a better community for us all, regardless of race or ethnicity. We still have a distance to go, but as we continue on the road to equality, we rejoice in knowing that Somerset County is iam non eundem—Latin meaning “no longer the same.” With publication of the second edition, it is now possible for all to see what can be accomplished with well-documented information, a thoughtful plan of action, a team of dedicated legal experts, and the perseverance of ordinary citizens. With this, and a modicum of faith, all things are possible. The first edition was our guide, and the second edition lays out what we accomplished and how we accomplished it, so that others might have the benefit of our experience. The people of Somerset, the african american community in particular, owe a debt of gratitude to Meredith ramsay for being courageous enough to ask the hard questions. —Kirkland J. hall Sr. University of Maryland Eastern Shore ...