MENU

Sections

  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • Editors and Writers
    • Join our Mailing List
    • Letters to Editor Policy
    • Advertising & Underwriting
    • Code of Ethics
    • Privacy
    • Talbot Spy Terms of Use
  • Art and Design
  • Culture and Local Life
  • Public Affairs
    • Ecosystem
    • Education
    • Health
    • Senior Life
  • Community Opinion
  • Sign up for Free Subscription
  • Donate to the Talbot Spy
  • Cambridge Spy

More

  • Support the Spy
  • About Spy Community Media
  • Advertising with the Spy
  • Subscribe
May 16, 2025

Talbot Spy

Nonpartisan Education-based News for Talbot County Community

  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • Editors and Writers
    • Join our Mailing List
    • Letters to Editor Policy
    • Advertising & Underwriting
    • Code of Ethics
    • Privacy
    • Talbot Spy Terms of Use
  • Art and Design
  • Culture and Local Life
  • Public Affairs
    • Ecosystem
    • Education
    • Health
    • Senior Life
  • Community Opinion
  • Sign up for Free Subscription
  • Donate to the Talbot Spy
  • Cambridge Spy
2 News Homepage

‘Talbot Boys,’ Diversity Issues Cause Contention at County Council Meeting

June 24, 2020 by John Griep

Editor’s note: This article has been updated since its original publication. The public hearing for Resolution 290 is 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 28, at the Easton High School Auditorium.

The question of the “Talbot Boys” statue and issues concerning diversity created unusual contention among county council members at Tuesday night’s meeting.

The Talbot County Council considered two proposals concerning the monument and statue to Confederate soldiers on the courthouse grounds; two administrative resolutions regarding diversity; and a request to send a letter supporting federal legislation on police accountability and training.

Council President Corey Pack sought most of those measures, noting he had changed his mind on the statue, which he voted to retain four years ago.

Pack has proposed removing the statue but keeping its base, which names county residents who had served in the armed forces of the Confederate States of America — including some who moved to Talbot after the Civil War, also known as the War of the Rebellion.

Resolution 290 would require the removal of the Talbot Boys statue and would prohibit any statues depicting persons, signs, or symbols associated with military action on Talbot County property.

Councilman Pete Lesher joined Pack in introducing the resolution, but noted he would seek to amend it to include the removal of the base as well.

A public hearing on Resolution 290 is set for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 28, at the Easton High School auditorium.

Councilman Frank Divilio offered a different approach, one that was slated for discussion only on Tuesday night.

Divilio suggested a unity statue that would list the names of Union and rebel soldiers from Talbot County, with a statue depicting soldiers from each side.

His proposal is modeled after the Civil War monument in Chestertown, which lists the names of soldiers from both sides, and the state of Maryland monument at Gettysburg, which shows a wounded Union soldier and a wounded rebel soldier helping each other on the battlefield.

Pack also asked fellow council members to consider two administrative resolutions — one to require the development of a diversity statement to include in the county employee handbook and another to require a report from the county manager regarding diversity training for county employees.

Both resolutions refer to the May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department and said Floyd’s death “has prompted important conversations across the country about racism and has galvanized support for concrete steps at all levels of government to promote police reform and greater cross-cultural sensitivity.”

No vote was taken Tuesday night on developing a diversity statement after Councilman Pete Lesher’s motion to move the resolution to a vote died for lack of a second.

The council voted 4-1, with Councilwoman Laura Price opposed, to require the diversity training report from the county manager.

A future report will provide additional details.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: 2 News Homepage Tagged With: council, diversity, talbot boys, Talbot County

Equity: What We Can Do as a College by Dr. Cliff Coppersmith

June 16, 2020 by Spy Desk

The current extraordinary situation in which the world finds itself in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, by police officers in Minneapolis has generated a social movement demanding law enforcement reform across the United States, and a broader call to address the larger social problems of race and equity in America.

Dr. Cliff Coppersmith, president, Chesapeake College

The crisis as it manifests itself locally on the Eastern Shore, and throughout the state of Maryland, underscores our continuing mission as a comprehensive community college.

We are the college of first choice for our service region and must assure equity of access as well as equity for completion for all students who attend Chesapeake College — regardless of color, religion, nationality, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

With the challenges presented by the pandemic in forcing the adoption of distance learning we must do everything in our power to mitigate the inequities in access to computer technology and internet access that affect much of our service region across all the communities we serve.

We must provide for all people who come to Chesapeake the opportunity to reach their potential, accomplish their goals and become contributing members of our society.

Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. voiced on many occasions that education is the key to lifting the individual from poverty to prosperity, and from ignorance to knowledge and understanding.

We must do our best to facilitate individual success through short-term training, professional and skilled trades, and college and university-bound transfer education.

We also must play the role of shining a light on the cultural, social, economic, and political realities of our day to provide that broadening engagement for all people who come to Chesapeake College to learn.

For our part, the College will engage in introspection regarding our role in providing equity and effecting meaningful change in our region in the coming weeks and months.

We will recalibrate the aspects of our strategic plan that deal with diversity and equity in instruction and services, and will work with our community advisory committee on concrete steps we can take as a College to address inequities in our local African American communities and wherever else these issues exist.

These topics will be addressed within departments as well as at the executive level in an upcoming leadership retreat. Input
and action items will be shared with our Board of Trustees. I have been committed to diversity since my arrival in 2018. We must do more.

We are living in difficult times that challenge us every day. It pains me to say that there are no easy answers as we look to the future. But I do take comfort in my faith in America, in my hope for the future, and the sure knowledge I have of the gifted and dedicated staff and faculty with whom I work every day at Chesapeake College.

We can solve many of these problems at our level, in our neighborhoods and our communities. I encourage all of you to get involved in making those differences every day — at home, in the civic organizations in which you serve, and both within and beyond your social circles.

With the unwavering support of our Board of Trustees and amongst all of our faculty, staff, and students, we will make a difference.

Dr. Cliff Coppersmith is president of Chesapeake College.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Op-Ed Tagged With: Chesapeake College, cliff coppersmith, diversity, Education, equity

Copyright © 2025

Affiliated News

  • The Chestertown Spy
  • The Talbot Spy

Sections

  • Arts
  • Culture
  • Ecosystem
  • Education
  • Mid-Shore Health
  • Culture and Local Life
  • Shore Recovery
  • Spy Senior Nation

Spy Community Media

  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
  • Advertising & Underwriting

Copyright © 2025 · Spy Community Media Child Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in