The relic from the state’s 1890 constitution, one of several provisions designed to dilute the power of Black voters, was abolished through a ballot initiative that won by a blowout margin.
The Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission received a $300,000 federal grant for their work that will “research and address the legacy of unsolved lynchings” in the state.
The state’s voter rolls have grown by nearly 2 million since the U.S. Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013, but polling locations have been cut by almost 10%, with Metro Atlanta hit particularly hard.
Some say that the current moment has taught them the need for a thorough examination of the “historic impact of harmful policies” on certain communities.