UMES’ social justice series continues with post-election symposium
Friday, November 13, 2020
Congressman Anthony Brown, D-Md., told students at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Thursday (Nov. 12) that there is still work to be done following the election of former Vice President Joe Biden.
“Maintain urgency. Hold us accountable,” he said. “We have an opportunity to change this country for the better.”
Brown was one of a group of elected officials UMES invited to offer an assessment of the recent election and to discuss its impact on our region in a virtual event titled “Where Do We Go From Here?”
Sheree Sample-Hughes, the first African American woman to serve as speaker pro tem of the Maryland House of Delegates, said UMES and other historically Black institutions can help to “break down the walls of systemic racism.” She also described ongoing efforts to reform and diversify law enforcement in the state.
Students who submitted questions were particularly concerned about mounting student debt. U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., told them it is a priority of a Biden administration to make college more affordable and to reduce existing college debt.
The event featured Democrats and Republicans from the state and federal level. Other participants included Congressman Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and two Republicans who serve in the Maryland General Assembly, Del. Carl Anderton and Sen. Mary Beth Carozza.
A recording of the discussion will be available online at www.umes.edu/symposium/.
“Where Do We Go From Here” was the third in a continuing series of conversations on social justice this fall. The virtual events began with “Racial Equity: Then and Now,” which featured university alumni who participated in civil rights protests in Princess Anne in the 1960s. Students also had the opportunity in late October to hear former U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta discuss the challenges of leading in a representative democracy.
