Maryland African American Pride Magazine

Recent News

Election Special
From the March - April 2007 Issue

Sen. Barack Obama makes a serious bid for the US Presidency

On February 10th, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois formally announced his candidacy for U.S. president in the 2008 elections. He is being considered a serious candidate for the Democratic nomination even though he is facing a field dominated by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Barack Hussein Obama (born August 4, 1961) is the junior United States Senator from Illinois. According to the U.S. Senate Historical Office, he is the fifth African American Senator in U.S. history (the third to be popularly elected) and the only African American currently serving in the U.S. Senate. Born in Hawaii, Obama graduated from Harvard Law School and was the first African American editor of its Law Review. He was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996 and served there until his landslide election to the US Senate in 2004.

Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention and became a nationally known political figure. A prolific writer, his current book, The Audacity of Hope, is a National Best Seller. He and his Attorney wife, Michelle, have two daughters.

Black Elected Officials of the Maryland Eastern Shore

The 2006 and 2007 election results have provided us with some new Black elected officials around the Maryland Eastern Shore. Queen Anne's County elected its only Black County Councilman, Wicomico County and Pocomoke City elected their first Black women council members, and Cambridge and Princess Anne elected three Black city commissioners each to make their five-member bodies majority Black.

Maryland African American Pride Magazine profiled the Black elected officials of the Eastern Shore in 2002. This is a review of who is in office in 2007.

State Delegate

Rudolph C. Cane
is still the Maryland Eastern Shore's first and only Black member of the State House of Delegates. Representing District 37A that covers eastern Dorchester County and western Wicomico County, he won a third term last November. He is a native of Somerset County and a former Wicomico County Councilman.

Judges of the Orphan's Court

George R. Ames Jr.

was reelected for a fourth term as the Orphan's Court Judge for District 1 in Dorchester County last November. He is past president of the Dorchester County Branch of the NAACP and the Dorchester Chamber of Commerce. He is also an ordained minister who pastors Wesley Chapel Church, a counselor, a mediator, a paralegal, and a Notary Public. Norma Lee Barkley was reelected to her seventh term as Orphan's Court Judge for Wicomico County. She is the first African American woman to be elected judge in the State. A school bus contractor with her husband, she is a past State head of the Order of the Eastern Star and the Golden Circle Prince Hall Affiliations.
John Dale Smack III
was elected to his first term as Judge of the Orphan's Court for Worcester County last November. A Worcester County native, he is a Worcester County Sheriffs deputy and former member of the County's Democratic Central Committee.

County Councils

Dorchester County
William Nichols
was reelected to the District 2 seat on the Dorchester County Council last November and is serving his fourth term. He is the first African American president of the Council. A native of Cambridge, he is employed by Maryland Wire Belts.
Kent County
William W. Pickrum
was reelected a Kent County Commissioner last November. He served as president of the Commissioners his last term. A native of Kent County, he retired as an officer in the Coast Guard after 22 years and was an Air line pilot. He works as an executive in his family's consulting firm.
Queen Anne's County
Courtney M. Billups
was elected the first African American Queen Anne's County Councilman last November. A George Washington University Law School graduate, he practices law in Washington, D.C. and lives in Ingleside, MD where he and his wife operate a tree nursery.
Wicomico County
Sheree Sample-Hughes

was elected the first African American woman to sit on the Wicomico County Council. She represents District 1. A Salisbury native, Sheree is a graduate of Delaware State U. She is past president of the American Legion Auxiliary Unit #145 in Salisbury.
Worcester County
James L. Purnell Jr.
was reelected to the District 3 seat on the Worcester County Commission for a fourth term. He is the first African American elected to the Commission and the first to become its president. A Berlin native, he was president of the County's NAACP branch.

City Councils

Berlin
Dean Burrell
was reelected to the District 1 seat on the Berlin Town Council for a third term last year.
Elroy Brittingham
has represented District 3 on the Berlin Town Council for 20 years.
Cambridge
LaShan M. Brooks
was elected a Cambridge Commissioner to represent the Fourth Ward in 2004. She is the council vice president.
Gilbert (Gil) Cephas
was elected a Cambridge Commissioner to represent the Third Ward in 2004. He is the council president.
Donald Sydnor
was elected a Cambridge Commissioner to represent the Second Ward in 2005 to fill a seat left vacant because of the death of the incumbent.
Crisfield
Raymond Anderson
was elected a Crisfield City Councilman last year replacing Catherine Brown as the only African American on the Council.
Easton
Moonyene Jackson Amis
is serving her second term as Easton's first and only African American City Council person. Fruitland
Rev. Gloria Ortiz
is serving her third term on the Fruitland City Council. She is the only African American on the Council.
Hebron
Theresa Morris
was reelected for a 5th term to the Hebron Town Commissioners. She is Secretary ofthe body.
Hurlock
Charles T. Cephas
is the only African American on the Town Council. He represents District 4.
Pocomoke City
Honiss Cane Jr.
became the first African American elected to the Pocomoke City Council in 1986 and is running to be elected to his eighth term in April 2007.
Tracy Cottman

was elected the first African American woman on Pocomoke City's Council last year.
Princess Anne
Steve Golston
was elected to the District 1 seat on the Princess Anne Town Commission last year after completing the term of James White who moved out of town. He was appointed to that position by the Comissioners.
Garland Hayward
became the first African American to sit on the Princess Anne Town Commission in 1992. He has been reelected ever since. He is the vice president of the Commission and a former president.
Tanitta M. Thomas
was elected to the At-Large seat on the Princess Anne Town Commission last year.
Salisbury
Eugenie P. Shields
was elected to the District I seat on the Salisbury City Council in 2005. She is the only African American on the Council.
Snow Hill
Rita Williams
is the only African American on the Town Council. She represents the Western District and is in her second term.
Trappe
Walter Chase
was elected the first African American on the Trappe Town Commission in 2004.

Boards of Education

Somerset County
William M. Miles
was reelected to the Somerset County Board of Education for a second term last November. The Oaksville resident is vice chairman of the Board.
Talbot County
Gloria Y. Farrare
was elected to the Talbot County Board of Education for her fIrst term last November. She represents District 1.

John Foster is selected as the Mayor of Denton

The Town Council of Denton, Maryland, has selected John Foster as its mayor and held an installation ceremony at their January meeting. Foster becomes the town's second Black mayor after Victoria Goldsborough held the post in 2003.

Foster joined the council in 2002 to fill a vacancy. He was reelected in 2003 for a five-year term. He moved to Denton in 1991 and was a police officer for the town for six years. He is now a member of the Cambridge Police Department. He has also served in the US Army Reserves for twelve years and the National Guard for six years. John is married to Janie Foster.

Organizations: Elections

Several area organizations have held elections for this year. The officers elected by the listed organizations for their year are as follows:

Prince Hall Freemasons Union Lodge # 73
Sharptown, MD
Worshipful Master - Dr. Wavie Gibson, Jr.
Senior Warden - Paul Moore
Junior Warden - Gene Cray
Treasurer - Ronald Molock
Secretary - Newell Quinton
Senior Deacon - Charles Goslee
Junior Deacon - Rhuel Goslee
Tyler - Willie Dewdnye
Chaplain - Grayson Kenney

NAACP, Dorchester County Branch 7012
Cambridge, MD
President - James A. Pinkett
1st Vice Pres. - Victori J. Stanley
2nd Vice Pres. - Alvin E. Tinch
Secretary - William Jarmon
Treasurer - Herschel Johnson
Asst. Treas. - Norby Lee

Westside Salisbury Revitalization Partnership, Inc.
Salisbury, MD
Chairperson - Mark Thompson
Vice Chairperson - Joseph Morse
Treasurer - Francis Mc Bride
Secretary - Shanie Shields
Asst. Secretary - Lena Wallop

James Pinkett is Dorchester NAACP Branch president

The president of Dorchester County NAACP Branch No. 7012 is James Pinkett of Rhodesdale, MD. He was the 15t vice president of the Branch in 2005 and ascended into the presidency vacated by Lorenzo Hughes leaving to devote more time to his new job.

Pinkett is employed at NRG (the former DP&L) power plant in Vienna, MD. A veteran of the US Army, he is a member of the American Legion and active in the Macie Lane Alumni Association. He is also active in his church, Greater Mt. Zion (Apostolic) Church. The son of Rev. Willie and Sarah Pinkett of Hurlock, James and his wife, Pauline, have one son.