Maryland’s Legislative Black Caucus is withdrawing a proposal that would have forced some of its members to choose between their black and Latino ethnic backgrounds.
Black Caucus Chairman Del. Darryl Barnes, a Prince George’s County Democrat, said Monday he is nixing a proposed change to the organization’s bylaws that would have barred from membership delegates and senators who are members of the Latino and Asian-American & Pacific-Islander caucuses.
“It’s not something I’m going to entertain,” Barnes said. “At the end of the day, I need every member. We’re stronger if we stand together.”
Barnes’ decision comes after several members objected over the weekend to a proposed change to the organization’s bylaws set for a vote Thursday. It would have altered the bylaws to read that “members of the caucus shall not be members of any other ethnic caucus of the Maryland General Assembly.”
In a letter sent Sunday to the caucus, Del. Joseline A. Peña-Melnyk, who represents Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties, objected strenuously.
“The proposed change to the Legislative Black Caucus bylaws to prohibit Caucus members from being members of any other ‘ethnic caucus’ is deeply troubling and a threat to the reputation and effectiveness of the Caucus,” Peña-Melnyk wrote. “The proposed amendment is designed to ‘purify’ the membership of the Caucus by excluding Black people with intersectional identities.”
The Legislative Black Caucus is among the country’s largest black legislative groups, with 55 members.
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JPM Black Caucus Bylaws Letter (PDF)
JPM Black Caucus Bylaws Letter (Text)
Peña-Melnyk, who was born in the Dominican Republican and is black and Latina, said she felt targeted by the proposed change. She cited Montgomery County Del. Gabriel Acevero, who is black and Latino; and Prince George’s County Del. Wanika Fisher, who is black and Asian, as also being targeted. She also wrote the proposed change would affect 20 people who belong to more than one caucus; for instance, there are black legislators who are associate members of the Latino group.
“My blackness doesn’t come from laying at the beach,” Peña-Melnyk wrote. “The Dominican Republic where I was born has a history of African slavery like other Caribbean islands and the United States. And yet under the proposed amendment 20 of our members, myself included, who are also members of another ethnic caucus would be expected to denounce a part of our heritage and identity to prove our blackness. This is an impossible ask. I am Black AND Latina, not Black or Latina. These pieces of my identity exist together and are inextricably linked.”
Del. Cheryl Glenn, a Baltimore Democrat who was chairwoman of the caucus’ bylaws subcommittee, said the subcommittee voted unanimously to propose the change. She declined to say who proposed the amendment or why the subcommittee supported it.
“I collected recommendations from a number of delegates and senators,” Glenn said. “It was unanimously accepted by the subcommittee. The chairman has decided to remove it. I’m not going to tell who proposed it. It’s a nonissue now.”
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Draft Bylaws Sept 2019 (PDF)
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Fisher, who is part Indian and part black, said she was “happy” the amendment would be withdrawn.
“I was very concerned when I saw it,” Fisher said. “Being a part of the African diaspora is something we all experience in different ways. I think it showed a lack of understanding.”
Del. Nick J. Mosby, a Baltimore Democrat, said he, too, was glad the amendment was withdrawn.
“The Legislative Black Caucus has more pressing issues to deal with,” said Mosby, citing pushes for settlement of a lawsuit over state funding for historically black universities and to inject more resources into areas of concentrated poverty. “The idea that we want to draw lines in the sand about how folks want to identify their race — that’s moving in the wrong direction in 2019.”
Tensions within the black caucus have lingered since earlier this year, when delegates took sides in a hotly contested race for speaker of the House of Delegates. Peña-Melnyk supported Baltimore Democrat Del. Maggie McIntosh, who is white, before eventually nominating Adrienne A. Jones, who became the first leader of either legislative chamber who was not a white man.
Barnes and Glenn, along with many other members of the black caucus, initially supported Del. Dereck Davis of Prince George’s County for speaker.
