By AFRO Staff
Catrl Snowden, Maryland's first Civil Rights Director. (Courtesy Photo)
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(June 17, 2009) - Solutions to what civil rights leaders call racial disparities in hiring practices by Somerset County, Md. government and the Board of Education will be sought by a panel of residents, according to news reports.
The Somerset branch of the NAACP and the ACLU of Maryland held a meeting last week—moderated by Carl Snowden, the first civil rights director for Maryland—at which the 16 residents volunteered to serve on that committee, according to the Associated Press.
The meeting was attended by about 75 people from 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.
The session came after the release of a report by the NAACP branch and ACLU several weeks ago claiming that African Americans are woefully unrepresented in the county government’s workforce and leadership though they comprise more than 40 percent of the population.
The county committee would make recommendations for creating a work force that more closely reflects the county’s 42 percent Black population.