On behalf of the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights, I would like to thank The University of Baltimore Schaefer Center for Public Policy for partnering with us to develop and present the Maryland Equity & Inclusion Leadership Program. As a community and a nation, we have seen great progress made over the past several decades as it relates to equity and opportunity, but we recognize that there is still so much that continues to shackle that progress and leave us on the brink of a regressive path. It is our hope that MEILP will create an environment which will allow honest, enlightened discussions to take place which result in a commitment to better understanding and working to resolve the continuing impacts of structural racism and lack of opportunity, while dismantling entrenched pathologies. These are lofty goals and, quite frankly, we are not sure that they can be achieved, but we are convinced that we at the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights are obligated to participate in an effort that promotes progressive steps toward uplifting equity, opportunity, and inclusion.

Alvin O. Gillard, Executive Director, Maryland Commision on Civil Rights