On Monday, the historic town of Federalsburg, Maryland, welcomed Black lawmakers for the first time into its municipal government, bringing the town’s 200-year history full circle. The Eastern Shore town was witness to a landmark event as local residents, Brandy James and Darlene Hammond, assumed their roles on the town council, representing the majority-Black District 1.
This victory was hard-earned, emerging from a resentful legal dispute over the town’s voting system. Critics argued that this system had systematically disenfranchised Black residents, denying them fair representation for an exorbitant number of years. A solemn oath of office was administered to both James and Hammond on Monday evening, signifying a reversal of this unjust tradition.
For James, this election was a celebration of a family tradition, extending the legacy of her father, Rev. Charles T. Cephas, Sr., who was declared the first Black mayor of Hurlock, Maryland, in 2021. She expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to serve her community and to honor the trailblazers who fought to ensure equal voting rights for people of different ethnicities and backgrounds.
Intriguingly, in 2022, several voting rights organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland and the Caroline County NAACP, sought to reform the town’s biased election system. They addressed a plea to the mayor, expressing their disapproval of an at-large election system that had historically ensured all-white governance in the town.
The ACLU ardently advocated for a district-electoral model, asserting that the best way to address the needs of Black residents was through their direct representation in the town government. After months of stagnation, a federal lawsuit was filed against the town, resulting in an historic change, the resolution to transition to a two-district voting system map, approved by the Federalsburg town council in June.
Following this substantial shift, James and Hammond won the elections in September, fundamentally transforming the representation system in Federalsburg, where nearly 43% of voting-age residents are Black.
James, besides being a member of the town council, serves as a crisis intervention team manager and a criminal justice lecturer at Chesapeake College. She shared plans to scrutinize the town’s voting system, as well as to upgrade the town’s senior center during her term. She recognized the substantial step forward made by the town but also acknowledged the lingering issues from the past 200 years that need to be addressed.
