Evening Exchange; Special Edition: Civil Rights to Silver Rights

Because it became part of. They got the first black student admitted to the University of Maryland Law School and of course he participated in the famous Board of Education case that led to school desegregation and later became a Supreme Court justice. But people look at Justice Marshall and they say after the civil rights movement then what that question is being right here in Justice Marshall's home state during the course of the next hour. A few elected and appointed influential black leaders here in the state of Maryland explain why they have decided to focus on the economic priorities that they feel are the key to the future of the progress of African-Americans. Just take a look. We turned to determination.

And then we stopped. And that's when you were growing up as a youngster in Chesapeake Virginia. What was your ambition. Did you have this kind of job in mind ultimately. No actually when I was growing up I had been a a credit like a cardiologist a doctor but my father and my mother always did just work as hard as you can and do the best you can and see college was obviously sort of an automatic when I was coming up. You would definitely go to college. And she was word to you that you would be after college and you were thinking cardiologist at the time. Yes that's normal young people dream of being great

athletes but allow me to indicate for one second what Major Riddick has become the chief. The state of Maryland oversees the governor's communications office Legislative Office Office of Legal Affairs as well as the governor's executive council that's the cabinet and the Washington office reporting directly to Major Riddick two deputy chiefs of staff responsible for the functions of government carried out by 15 principle executive departments also reporting directly to Major Riddick director of administration and constituent services constituent services the financial office of government and support services. Not exactly the kind of thing a kid dreams about. He's growing up and focused on it. But I am my father and mother and just focus on hard work and doing the best you could to help folks. And so I was always involved in activism both academic and extra curricular and did in the school and so I knew I would be in something just to know what the fact of the matter is that if you are

black in America you tend to think race. But when you find yourself in a position where you have to serve the citizens of the entire state or the citizens of an entire county you begin to think slightly differently and one of the focuses of this broadcast is how civil rights have. Economic beneficiaries are an example of that because from 1986 to 1990 indicating that at a very early stage you decided that economic priorities were important. Yes actually my strong suit in college and the financial side of things was a natural for me to teach college and when I went to the county I started off in the budgeting side of things and didn't have an opportunity to run an apartment for three and a half years and then became the budget director to run an agency and

dealing with the program. I went back to run almost five years in a budget official in the county government. So yes there's been a strong area and it's been advantaged quite frankly because people don't like to work with numbers. And if you can master the numbers in different places. Part of the position that you're able to train position. African-American African-American maintains a very important position. Because I was actually

African-American. When you are young. And for them to do things and I think people people people will have an opportunity to reach back opportunities if you stay focused. Yeah yeah and

yeah man a hail may rain. But there are few

and then they. If you're looking for a really great example of the notion of civil rights to civil rights then none better than the man who was elected in January of nineteen ninety six state treasurer for the state of Maryland. Richard good to have you. It's good to be with you. Let's go to Miami January 1996 kept a career in which you have been involved in financial matters for

almost 30 years. Twenty six years as a stockbroker with Merrill Lynch. You became not only the first African-American to become a state treasurer for the state of Maryland but the first state treasurer in recent times with the kind of financial background that you have. How important is that financial background. Well I think the village background is very important because this office oversees a portfolio of nearly 3 billion dollars. There has been as low as about 1.9 billion as high as 3.2 billion but we never see and invest that money on a daily basis. In addition to that the treasure runs insurance trust fund for the state of Maryland about a 15 million dollar trust fund and then the driver sits as vice chair of the Board of Trustees of the state retirement system a 25 billion dollar system. The legislative authors indicate that we do this office the Treasurer's office over 60 billion dollars a year and moneys when you're dealing with that kind of money you should have some understanding of funniness now a financial background. You were born

and raised here and Kalak out email. Yes and you represented Calcutta and the state legislature for 13 years as a Democrat. Tell us a little bit. Well it's an interesting story because I found out recently that I was the only African-American in the United States to rebuild a district that was closed in 98 percent white. I used to believe there are others like myself. But professor University of Maryland do a did a study of that with our clients. If you did not have an African-American sort of district like that my family is current Christian programming. A mother father born and raised there. My grandparents are from the county. And I grew up going to segregated schools everyone did back in that period of time graduating from law school. Robert Mood school which I'm very proud of because we had lots of dedicated teachers and it was a school that had the first grade to the 12th grade in one building one building.

So we have very small classes and from our first grade through the sixth grade we had the school when a wooden building. We had door toilets. That's the kind of facility that I went to school tomorrow years. Yes well. Throughout my career I've been involved in education and I've become convinced that learning is a matter of teachers having high expectations for you and teaching children they can do well. All children can do well if you owed them to high expectations. I remember my first grade teacher running with BeBe shocked me who was about five feet tall but as a first grade A B B shot he looked like he was eight feet tall and she kept order in the classroom with a ruler. When you misbehave you have your haying and in very short order. Discipline was established you know what happens to those rules. Yes but be Shockley was I standing teacher not only did she teach me first grade but you taught in the same room first second in third grade. So if you have good teachers again create high expectations. All children can learn.

That's the bottom line for learning. The state treasurer is the custodian of all stocks bonds promissory notes difficult and other negotiable investment estimates of the state as well as the health of the state retirement pension system the Maryland insurance commission the foreign building that association the Department of the environment its coal mining division and on and on and on. You are the man. Show me the money. And you managed to. Invest that money in a much more force that is best for all minorities and the promise of action. They're competing. You just brought them in. Yes the bucket of which program has been very effective. I have a deputy tribal name and going to was the first person already here and this was one of the things he wanted to do. Want to let everyone know that they can do business in the state of Maryland. We signed a contract with Enterprise Bank in France Georges County the first African American bank the states ever dealt with. Early this year we we allocated a hundred million dollars to brown Capital

Management an African American firm in Baltimore we have a 25 million dollar retirement system and our state had never had never given more than 10 or eight or 10 million dollars to an aftermarket firm and any Brown I'd like to point out is a firm that managed over 200 million for California ironically in Oregon around Maine for Connecticut and eight or nine million from early. You tell me how is that right now the brown has a great reputation around the country. So yes I'm making a difference and I'm doing what is right and we're we're out we're out we're going to people on a competitive basis. All of that any man can ask of another is that he do his best for the whole. Country. Will you be as good masseurs to yourselves as your masters were to you. Will you work as hard for yourselves as you did for

your masters. Will you be as sober and temperate Now as you were before. I believe I believe you but some people affect not to. They believe that you will die out like the Andean that you cannot exist in competition with the white men. Well two centuries and a half of slavery. The whip prisons and the abolition of the marriage relation could not kill you. Then liberty will not educate your sons and daughters. Send them to school and show that besides the cartridge box the ballot box and the jury box. You have also the knowledge box. Building one for those who come after you. I am no fortune. The watchers who are to come up in the hereafter. From the power race

will troll me and Langston. Far into the background. We have a future. Everything is possible to us. Get education and get money in your pocket and save it for without it. You will never be. An independent voter. The. Chairperson of Appropriations Committees are usually preceded by the powerful the powerful chairman of the Appropriations Committee the person who controls the budget. And you mentioned having been a health activist and an activist in education. Tell us about how you negotiated two hundred and fifty a year Packers for the Baltimore schools. Well. I did. I think.

Everyone knew. It's almost like you know. The king has no clothes I'm in and no one wants to acknowledge that. But. The solution to a major urban school system. I'm glad you put it in those terms because we're talking prototype. Yes the 750 million dollar project. Twelve thousand one hundred eighty facilities are. Serving over 100000 youngsters providing essentially a service which is education. To to to change fundamentally our thanks. Howard operates require some rights in that bureaucracy wanted that money but didn't want to change you have to force it to change. Actually.

It could not have received the money from the journalist without the charge accountability requirement. Those were the requirements that you insisted. Yes. And the forall. Objected. While there were more than up. To this. I mean they were really belligerent. I mean I've got no relatives. In trying to persuade us to move forward to some resolution of these issues. You find that the adults are more concerned about the adults and the children are an afterthought. My focus is always prayer and the driving principle for me is that every youngster and particularly every African-American youngster can learn at a very high level. And can achieve academically in a very hard about what I've seen so many instances where the people who are with who are in charge. Of the system call. The

Baltimore City public school for your urban school system. For fast. But their behavior has essentially counted and they. Are most immediately when you talk about. The problems in the school system with things that we need to change. They will immediately shift the burden to the victim. The student. They will they will describe African-American students and such pathological terms. It's grape juice. And. I remember you have a moment here. I was speaking to a group of graduate students at Morgan State University there in The Graduate. Yes they were in the graduate program on urban. Education Leadership spiritual program. The professor would bring them to class every year and I get a

chance to talk to the operations and education issues and this was a hot. Topic. The efforts to reform the Baltimore City public schools. And I remember. This lady and I know she was well-meaning. Start talking about our children. Well you know they're from poor homes. They're from single parent families. There's drugs all over the place. They're in the poorest neighborhoods. I mean it can change. Number one making excuses number two describing. African-American youngsters in terms of pathologies. And not looking at the promise and the capacity that is there and I say you know you have to look at what you listen to which is. This is a true story. I said you know. Over a hundred years or so. Our prices. Justified slavery. By Kaja

rising people to look like you and me subhuman. In fact they didn't want to teach us reading because we had no capacity. To read and we knew that those who have the capacity would be dangerous. He went after. The Emancipation Proclamation. We had separate but equal but we knew that we were on equal our resources even in the great state of Maryland were much like our teachers were paid much less because the system fully that we had no capacity. That they describe all these paths ologies that you are now describing. Our own. And I asked a question. Where are we going to. In other words the same language A. Century before had told us.

If you talk. Talk to. A lot of traitors. And politicians. And such power it is outrageous and there are so many examples of Baltimore City where poor students where there is a large number of children. Extraordinary. Wow. The reason they struggle. To use it is discrimination.

Did you know. You.

Could. That's true.

The. Chapter. The. Destruction.

Thank you. Do you.

Do you. Have a tension

to continue. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.