By Ahmar Khan
ST. MARY’S TODAY
ST. MARY’S CITY (Jan. 15, 2007) - He gave his life to open peoples' minds and hearts to fulfill the American promise of justice for all, but racism still exists in Southern Maryland and elsewhere nearly four decades later.
This was the conclusion of a large number of community leaders, both black and white, attending a Martin Luther King Day event at St. Mary's College on Monday.
Glowing tributes were paid to the visionary black Christian leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, who was assassinated while struggling to drive home the point that every man is born equal.
At a breakfast attended by hundreds of people from diverse backgrounds, Lt. Governor-elect Anthony Brown brought a message of “One Maryland” with equal opportunities for all. Brown regretted even today an average black family income was just 60 percent of that of a white family.
Brown quoted from King’s prophetic words, “…. Martin Luther King Jr. tried to give his life serving others; tried to love somebody; tried to be right on the war question; tried to feed the hungry.” He called King the “peaceful warrior” who became a thorn on the side of the ruling establishment.
The senior most couple in the crowd was the mom and dad of County Administrator, George Forrest.
Mrs. Harriett Forrest told ST. MARY’S TODAY she and her husband took part in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedoms on Oct. 14, 1964.
At the Lincoln Memorial on that day, King delivered his “I have a dream” speech that continues to inspire hundreds of millions of people across all continents.
Harriett Forrest made a crisp remark, “We are moving, but we still have to keep on moving (for racial equality).”
Dr. James Forrest quipped, “Racism is still there, but it’s not as bad as it was.”
Their daughter Barbra Thompson recalled that when she started teaching at Great Mills Elementary School there were no black students and she was the lone black teacher. “I was treated in a splendid way,” Thompson said.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said, “Justice delayed is justice denied.” He said Martin Luther King woke up America and the world but his dream of an America free of bigotry has yet to be achieved. “We are not there by a long shot.”
Louise Wilkerson lived in D.C. when King was assassinated. “I remember that day very well,” Wilkerson said. “My mother taught King at the Morehouse College .”
Hoyer said the question that has to be asked with urgency today is “How are we doing?”
Hoyer was irked over the rise of race-based acts of vandalism in Waldorf last fall and the Federal Bureau of Investigations was alerted over the matter.
County Administrator Forrest, in his speech, expressed his concern that hate crimes were on the rise and said St. Mary’s County could gain by following the model of diversity evolving in Charles County.
The migration of people of color from Prince George’s County to Charles County has strengthened the vote bank of the Democratic Party, but has created some race-based friction.
“The gap between the haves and have-nots is increasing,” Forrest deplored, adding, “Homelessness has come to St. Mary’s County.”
Forrest is one of the few black public figures in the county.
St. Mary’s school superintendent Dr. Michael Martirano said his goal is to achieve academic justice for all. He said despite huge efforts, the achievement gap is still very wide.
Elfreda Mathis, who made a failed bid for a commissioner’s seat, recalled she was in her first year of teaching at Piney Point Elementary School when Dr. King was assassinated. She said she was then only the third black teacher to be hired at Piney Point.
“There are no African American teachers at Piney Point now. The numbers have been deceasing to a new low,” she said. She feared desegregation is running in the reverse gear.
Martirano said he is seized with the issue of lack of teachers of color in county schools and said increasing that number was among his top priorities.
“We are still living the dream. The dream has not been fulfilled,” Mathis said. “There are new challenges to make this country everybody’s America ,” Mathis said.
A. Elizabeth Walker, is the first black woman to enroll at St. Mary’s College, and now lives in Norfolk , Va. She returned to her alma mater Monday to pay tribute to the fallen martyr, who is loved by millions all over the world.
Walker who is now writing a book, recalled the county did have race issues in the sixties. “Our schools were segregated as were restaurants and the lone movie theatre in Lexington Park area. The blacks were allowed only in the balcony of the movie theatre and they had to walk out of the building after buying the ticket to take the side stairway.”
House delegate John Bohanan told ST. MARY’S TODAY more education can root out the vestiges of racism in the county. “Sometimes people do things in a discriminatory way and don’t even realize it.”
At times, the dice seems heavily-loaded against the blacks. A case in point was the revoking of the liquor license of a local bar owner Ken King. The liquor board voted 2-1 to revoke his license and fine him $1,000, in a rare crack down on bars two years ago. ST. MARY’S TODAY had at the time openly questioned the fairness of the action. Blacks also remain under-represented in county jobs.
Maggie O’Brien, President of St. Mary’s College, thanked the Internet for providing more information on Martin Luther King to the students. O’Brien said Commissioner President Jack Russell ( D. St. George Island ) had signed on to take part in the study circles. Russell had been one of the main proponents of racial harmony and understanding and was active in a group called “Salt-and-Pepper” aimed at black-white dialogue.
Four study circles are being formed in St. Mary’s County to promote better understanding of race issues. The study circles would begin February and besides Martirano and Forrest, former Human Resources Director Jim Hanley, Recreation and Parks Youth Coordinator Kelsey Bush and Special Education Supervisor Honora Batelka would moderate the study circles.
Three county entities, St. Mary’s College, Human Relations Commission and Public Schools, are sponsoring the study circles aimed at ending racism and inequities.
Veteran journalist Dick Myers represented U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski. Mikulski’s letter to O’Brien said she had proposed a maximum tuition tax credit of $4,000 per student per year to defray the high cost of education. “I support doubling Pell Grants from $4,050 to $8,100. I want to cut student interest rates in half so that money goes to students, not banks.”
Rev. Roderick McClanahan of the First Missionary Baptist Church performed the invocation and benediction, while the emcees were Katrice Pitts, president of St. Mary’s College Black Student Union, and MacMcClintock, chairman of St. Mary’s County Human relations Commission.
King who was born on Jan. 15, 1929, was assassinated in Memphis on April 4, 1968. King’s killing was allegedly a planned conspiracy and the sentenced assassin James Earl Ray, who died in 1998, was arrested two months later from London’s Heathrow Airport.
A Congressional committee later†determined there was a likelihood Ray did not act alone.