Call to Order, Introductions, Opening Comments
Stefan Goodwin, Ph.D. Chair

Meeting was called to order at 1:48pm by the Chair.

Attendees and Introductions:

Dr. Stefan C. Goodwin, Chair
Ms. Agnes Callum
Mr. Rodney Little, Ex officio
Sen. Nathaniel McFadden
Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse, Ex officio

Mr. Raymond Connor, Photographer
Ms. Emily Oland Squires, Archivist V
Mr. David Taft Terry, Research Administrator II

Mr. Jerry Hynson, Maryland Genealogical Society

Dr. Goodwin asked the record to reflect that Dr. Small and Dr. Ford are both traveling in Africa and are unable to attend today's meeting.

Action on Minutes of Commission Meeting of April 24, 2002

There was a motion by Dr. Papenfuse to approve the minutes of the April 24, 2002 commission meeting as is. The motion was seconded by Mr. Little. The Commission voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the April 24, 2002 meeting.

Reports of Standing Committees

1) Resources, Staff, and Budget Committee - Commissioner Goodwin

On behalf of the Resources, Staff, and Budget Committee, Dr. Goodwin presented the Commission with a draft of Operating Procedures. (A copy is attached to these minutes as APPENDIX 1.) Dr. Goodwin worked on these procedures with Mr. Little and the Assistant Attorney General's office. The goal of the procedures being to create a means for the Commission to express itself in accordance with the laws during times when Commissioners cannot meet. Dr. Goodwin reviewed the suggested procedures with the Commissioners and called for an open discussion. If the Commission can come to an agreement, the Chair hopes that one of the legislative representatives on the Commission would introduce the operational procedures as a housekeeping amendment to the General Assembly during the next session.

Mr. Little commented that option H2 does not need General Assembly approval as it deals only with representation, rather than delegating powers of the Commission. Mr. Little went on to recommend H1 as the most flexible statement of procedures. Dr. Papenfuse prefers H4, but would like to make it clear that all delegated powers are subject to review and may be revoked at any time.

There was a motion by Dr. Papenfuse to approve Operational Procedure H4 with the addition of a phrase indicating that all delegated powers are subject to review and may be revoked at any time. The motion was seconded by Mr. Little. The Commission voted unanimously to approve the operational procedures as amended. Mr. Little agreed to draft the newly amended H4. Dr. Goodwin will ask Delegate Burns to introduce the measure in the House during the next legislative session. Senator McFadden agreed to introduce it in the Senate. Mr. Little will provide both offices with final drafts of the procedure.

2) Legacy Committee - Commissioner Christian

This report was postponed, as Commissioner Christian was not in attendance.

3) Resources Preservation Committee - Commissioner Papenfuse

On behalf of the Historical Research and Resources Preservation Committee, Dr. Papenfuse commented that the Maryland State Archives staff is continuing to pursue the Underground Railroad as its first research priority. Dr. Papenfuse went on to recognize Ms. Callum's and Mr. Hynson's good work utilizing court records, jail records, and government documents to trace cases of slaves running away. Dr. Papenfuse stated that studying people who suffered under the law in order to make the Underground Railroad work is a unique approach to the study of the Underground Railroad in Maryland. In response to an inquiry by Dr. Goodwin, Dr. Papenfuse confirmed that the Commission will receive acknowledgment in the credits for this research as it is made public.

Dr. Papenfuse then asked Ms. Oland Squires to give a brief summary of the recent federal grant applications the Archives submitted to fund the continuation of this Underground Railroad research. Ms. Oland Squires reported that she and David Terry had recently completed two grant applications: one for $25,000 from the National Parks Service Network to Freedom Program, and one for $781,000 from the U.S. Department of Education Underground Railroad Cultural and Educational Program. These grants are scheduled to be awarded in this calendar year.

Also, Ms. Oland Squires recognized several organizations who donated matching funds to the Maryland State Archives Summer Internship Program this year which also will be focused on Underground Railroad research. Morgan State University, Goucher College, and Maryland Public Television donated a combined total of $11,109 in matching funds to the internship program which doubled the number of interns that we were able to devote to the project.

There was a motion of appreciation for the matching funds and a motion of acceptance of the grant funds (if awarded) by Mr. Little. Senator McFadden seconded the motion. The Commission voted unanimously in approval of the donations and grant funds.

4) Historic Sites Committee - Commissioner Little

Mr. Little stated that the Historic Sites Committee had not met since the last Commission meeting, but a Committee meeting is planned for mid-July. [Ms. Callum commented that she had a site to recommend for a possible marker.] Mr. Little submitted 2 reports to the Commission: one regarding the guidelines for historic markers (APPENDIX 2), and one providing a funding analysis of previous grants awarded by the Maryland Historical Trust (APPENDIX 3).

There was a motion by Senator McFadden to accept the reports as presented by Mr. Little. Dr. Papenfuse seconded the motion. The Commission voted unanimously to accept the reports.

5) Equity Oversight and Tourism - Commissioner Ford

This report was postponed, as Commissioner Ford was not in attendance.

6) Commemoration - Commissioner Small

This report was postponed, as Commissioner Small was not in attendance.

Discussion of ways to increase public visibility, including by means of the Commission's web page

Dr. Goodwin initiated a discussion of the Commission's public visibility, especially as it relates to the web page at http://www.mdslaverycomm.net. Dr. Goodwin reminded everyone that there was no budget or staff for these purposes, but that the Archives has been kind enough to secure the domain name and maintain the website for the Commission for the past year.

Regarding the webpage, Mr. Little suggested the creation of drop down bars or buttons with each of the committees listed providing an area for each committee to post reports, items of interest, topic-oriented lists, and other areas of focus. Dr. Goodwin would like the web site to be more research and education oriented at some point and to include links to other agencies and websites of interest. Senator McFadden suggested a link to the General Assembly website. Dr. Goodwin asked that each Commissioner bring a list of suggestions for related links to feature on the Commission website to the next meeting, and he will send out an e-mail to solicit recommendations from other sources. He referred to the Kunte Kinte/Alex Haley Foundation website as a positive example of a web presence. Dr. Papenfuse cautioned that internet addresses change and expire rapidly and that a website with many external links is a challenge to maintain for a webmaster.

Dr. Goodwin acknowledged that the Commissioners are very busy and are not always able to get out to important events where the Commission should have a presence. Senator McFadden pointed out that Baltimore City is hosting an African American Heritage Festival from June 21st through June 23rd at Camden Yards, and believes that the Commission should be visible there. Senator McFadden will be at the festival, but would also like the Commission to have a tangible presence. Dr. Goodwin asked if the Commission could submit a hand-out to be distributed at the festival with the logo and a description of the mandate. McFadden suggested calling Yolanda Winkler in Mayor O'Malley's office [410-396-7208] who is helping to coordinate the event. Ms. Winkler may have some ideas about who may be able to absorb the cost of printing a hand-out. Dr. Papenfuse agreed that the Archives staff can create a "camera-ready" copy for the Chair to approve before sending it Ms. Winkler for printing.

Dr. Goodwin inquired as to whether the Commission's webpage could have a basic calendar to keep track of important events, such as the Heritage Festival, that the Commission would like to support. Dr. Papenfuse agreed that his staff could maintain a calendar, if Commissioners would submit all the necessary information regarding the events to be added to the schedule. Dr. Goodwin would also like to incorporate a section for Frequently Asked Questions in the future, if possible.

Dr. Goodwin also commented that an important future goal of the Commission should involve being in touch with local school systems.

Discussion of plans to attract private and funding and grants

Dr. Papenfuse had commented earlier on the internship and Underground Railroad funding being aggressively pursued by the Maryland State Archives for research purposes. Mr. Little stated that there are no available grant funds from the Maryland Historical Trust, as their grant budget was cut by 66%. Senator McFadden mentioned a private individual [NAME WITHHELD] as a possible grant source. The Commission gave Dr. Papenfuse permission to approach the individual in seeking matching funds for grant opportunities already in progress.

Dr. Goodwin reiterated to the Commission while it is important to share public and private funding opportunities, it is also essential to be receptive to other resources which may be available to assist the Commission in its work. For example, Dr. Goodwin quotes from a letter written by a graduate student at American University who is interested in slavery and the law in Maryland. The student has published on the topic of slavery and offers to forward copies of the articles to the Commission. The individual goes on to offer assistance to the Commission as it carries out its mandate and also offers to recruit other volunteers. Dr. Goodwin emphasized that the the offer of person power is equal in value to the offer of funds.

Adoption of short-term objectives for the current year and action on revised Managing for Results Report, inclusive of short-term and long-term objectives

Dr. Goodwin stated that the current Managing For Results Report covers both short and long term goals efficiently, and if there are no objections, he suggests adopting the report as is. There was a motion by Dr. Papenfuse to accept the MFR as is. Mr. Little seconded the motion. The Commission voted unanimously to accept the Managing For Results Report.

Senator McFadden recommended sending an information packet on the Commission to both Lt. Governor Townsend and Representative Erlich, and to anyone else who declares candidacy for the Governor's office. It will be to the Commission's benefit to make them aware of the Commission and its mandate at the earliest possible opportunity.

Action on revised budget request

Upon review of the revised budget documents for Fiscal Year 2004 prepared and submitted by the Maryland State Archives accounting group, Dr. Goodwin recommends approving them as is, resubmitting the request for the same amount requested in Fiscal Year 2003. There was a motion by Mr. Little to accept the FY04 Budget Documents as is. Mr. Little seconded the motion. The Commission voted unanimously to accept the FY04 Budget Documents.

New business and Comments from the Public

Dr. Goodwin called for the discussion of any new business. There being none, Dr. Goodwin suggested that the next meeting be held in September or October, depending on a prior polling of the Commissioners. Mr. Terry will poll the Commissioners at the end of the summer for an appropriate date.

Adjournment

At 2:50pm, Dr. Goodwin adjourned the meeting.