Protesters Appealing To Governor Markell In Dover Delaware Today, Ending Racism In Delaware State Government Is Just A Tip Of The Iceberg

Group: Markell must take 'corrective action' to end widespread racism in state government

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The Committee on Racism in State Government is investigating charges of bias by Delaware agencies.
• The organization is calling on Gov. Jack Markell to address the allegations and increase accountability.
• A demonstration was held Tuesday outside the Statehouse in Dover.

A coalition of black pastors and NAACP members took to Dover Tuesday to demand Gov. Jack Markell describe in detail how he will enforce what he has said is the state's "zero-tolerance" policy towards racism.

Members of the Committee on Racism in State Government gathered with a group of roughly 70 people outside Legislative Hall, saying there is widespread racism in state government based upon interviews with state employees they held during a months-long inquiry into allegations of workplace discrimination. Committee members gave Markell a list of state supervisors they say should be fired earlier this year, they said

"A nod of his head is not enough," said the Rev. Vincent Oliver, pastor of the New Calvary Baptist Church in Wilmington. "A visible presence and saying 'we're with you' is not enough."

Jonathan Dworkin, spokesman for Markell, said the governor has taken a number of steps in response to issues brought by the coalition. He pointed to a letter sent to the Rev. Silvester Beaman, pastor of the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Wilmington, from the governor's office on Feb. 29, which said the state has addressed concerns about the process that employees must follow to submit a complaint, and is working to hire a consultant to assess human resources practices. The governor's office can not disclose whether any supervisors will be fired, the letter said.

"For complaints about specific DOL employees, we have reviewed those complaints and, when appropriate, ensured that remedial action had been taken," the letter stated, which was written by Drewry Fennell, Markell's deputy chief of staff.

Tuesday's protest was also intended to encourage state workers in Kent and Sussex counties to speak out if they have faced discrimination at their jobs, said Alicia Clark, a spokeswoman for the group. Employees downstate are sometimes more reticent about stating grievances, she said, and Tuesday's demonstration could embolden them.

“We need to demonstrate to workers in Kent and Sussex that we’re not going away,” Clark said before the event.

In November, state investigators from the Office of Management and Budget found a lack of professionalism and cultural insensitivity among staff in the agency. The department includes the Office of Anti-Discrimination, which investigates charges of bias.

State law prohibits employee discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status or genetic information.

“It's practically every director at the Department of Labor. Where's the accountability?”

The committee in December presented a report to Markell regarding alleged bias within state agencies. It was the product of an investigation launched this summer by the organization, which held nine closed-door hearings across Delaware where state workers could discuss racist acts encountered in offices. About 100 workers from various agencies testified, and 50 provided testimony in private, according to the organization.

The News Journal in a series of stories detailed the efforts, but were not allowed into the meetings to hear testimony from workers.

Markell met with committee members in January, and a week later, Delaware Labor Secretary John McMahon announced he was retiring. Markell nominated Patrice Gilliam-Johnson, a human resources expert and the daughter of late civil rights leader Jim Gilliam Sr., as his replacement.

Gilliam-Johnson said in a February email to Labor Department employees that new recruitment, hiring and grievance procedures are underway.

"We all know that some things have to change in the department and change takes time, but rest assured that every day we are creating or revising DOL practices to make the work that we do and the place where we do it more rewarding," Gilliam-Johnson said in the email.

Clark and other group leaders have said more steps need to be taken, including disciplinary actions.

"It's practically every director at the Department of Labor," she said. "Where's the accountability?"

Clark said that if accountability can exist at the Labor Department, it can become a model for other agencies.

"We are really hoping we can turn the page there," she said.

Protestors gathered in Dover Tuesday to push for more transparency in ending what they describe as institutional racism in government employment. 

Coalition members said they will continue to talk about this issue in the coming years and it is something the next governor of Delaware should address. Markell will complete his second and final term at the end of 2016.

At the Tuesday protest, La Mar Gunn, president of the central Delaware Branch of the NAACP, said voters should force gubernatorial candidates to "talk about platforms, policies, and address the needs of people that look like us, that’s black and brown people.”

“We must do something different when we go to the polls," Gunn said. "Force people to come out, hear our concerns, and commit to resolving the issues that plague our community.”

U.S. Rep. John Carney, the Democratic candidate for governor, declined to be interviewed for this story, said Albert Shields, his legislative aide. In a statement Carney said, “the bottom line is this: Racism has no place in our society, and it is particularly destructive when it seeps into our government institutions."

STORY: Pastors racism unchecked in state government

STORY: Delaware officials agree: racism still a struggle

Lawmakers are on spring recess.

State Sen. Greg Lavelle, R-Sharpley, said many people in the legislative and executive branches have known about workplace strife within the Labor Department since before the state investigation. Lavelle doesn't know if supervisors are racist, he said, but many are bullies. Former-Labor Secretary McMahon was not one of them, he said.

"It's clear that it's an unpleasant place to work, and that's being nice," Lavelle said. "Yes, (the management) should be fired."

The demonstration follows one that occurred in February in Wilmington, where members also called for the termination of state supervisors who they say have permitted a racist culture to persist.

Contact Karl Baker at [email protected] or (302) 324-2329?.