On Monday, the United States will be celebrating Juneteenth, which marks the day when the last enslaved people in our country learned they were free, ending one of the darkest chapters in the history of the U.S. 

The federal government was slow to the uptake in making it a federal holiday, but in 2021 President Joe Biden signed a bill to set aside June 19 as a federal holiday.

Black Americans have celebrated the day for years before the official holiday was declared. According to the Associated Press, Juneteenth celebrations began in Galveston, Texas, when news finally arrived that the Civil War had ended two months earlier, and those who were enslaved were free. The news came from Union Maj. Gordon Granger when he and his troops arrived in the city on June 19, 1865. The official abolishment of slavery came six months later following Georgia’s ratification of the 13th Amendment, but the Juneteenth celebration continued and spread around the country as Galveston families moved to other areas.

In 2020, the MSDA created the Diversity, Equity, Belonging, and Inclusion (DEBI) Committee to help boost efforts of inclusion in all aspects of MSDA. Led by Drs. Maurice Miles and Francis Morgan, the committee meets regularly and focuses on providing recommendations, education, and programs to help every MSDA member feel a part of their association. Race, gender, years in practice, geography, practice types, etc. are all a part of the diversity discussion. If you would like to be a part of the work that MSDA is doing in this area, please let Greg Buckler know at greg@msda.com.

The work done in the Maryland General Assembly (MGA) also ensures that new laws consider diversity and inclusion as they go through the legislating process.  We are fortunate that in many areas our legislative body is beginning to look much like our general population. 

According to a Capital News Service analysis (the analysis used Department of Legislative Services data which does not take ethnicity or Hispanic origin into account), 61.2 percent of the 2023 MGA identified as white, while according to the U.S. Census, 57.8 percent of Maryland residents are white.  In addition, 33 percent of the Maryland General Assembly identifies as Black, while 31.4 percent of the public identifies as Black. Asian lawmakers make up only 4.8 percent of the MGA, but 6.9 percent of the population. 

The number of women in the General Assembly has also increased by nearly 13 percent over the last 10 years to 42.7 percent, however still falls short of the general population at 51.3 percent. 

In addition, the Capital News Service study found that, “There are more Maryland General Assembly members under age 50 in 2023 than any other year in the past decade.”

Just like the MSDA, the Maryland General Assembly is making progress! We look forward to all of our members feeling included and helping our organization move forward.

Have a wonderful weekend.