Harford Interracial Dialogues

Text

In the wake of the April 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and resulting national turmoil, two women in Harford County – one black, one white- decided more needed to be done to bridge the local racial divide. Both women were homemakers: Maureen McKinley of Havre de Grace and Mary Woodward of Bel Air. Having met through a community action group, they took it upon themselves to bring people together, at least create more awareness of each other. The outcome was a program called “Harford Interracial Dialogues” (HID) that lasted for approximately five years in Harford County beginning in 1969.

The HID program was based on communication to break down barriers between people in Harford County. HID’s leadership included Dr. Arthur Amos Woodward, an Aberdeen Proving Ground scientist, Harford Community College faculty member and civic leader with strong ties to the regional Unitarian Universalist church. The HID leaders explored various models for stimulating interactions before deciding on a dialogue-based strategy involving groups of 8 to 10 people meeting for conversation, real-world scenario skits, and music. HID leaders trained in dialogue techniques before leading pre-arranged meetings at various sites around the county.

In 1969, one participant commented to a Baltimore Sun reporter that she had joined a local fair housing group because of her HID participation. The same article included two interesting quotes from a black and white HID participant. These reflected both: 1- the personal impact of the program and 2-the racial separateness of the era. A participant of color (a teacher) remarked that the experience “gave me better insight as to why whites do what they do.” The white participant commented that “I have met some charming people of the Negro race whom I have not met socially.”

Another HID outcome was the 1971 establishment of a firm to spur business opportunities in Harford County called Black Economic Opportunities, Inc. Based in Aberdeen, two participants in the new group sought to expand business opportunities for African Americans in Harford. A Sun article called the venture a “biracial” corporation, emphasizing its origins but also indirectly highlighting the racial divide in the area by implying the novelty of such a company. The company’s black vice chairman, Captain W. Donald Bray, made clear that the organization was not set up as a traditional profit-based company. Rather, he and his partners set up the new corporation to act as a training ground for currently low-paid African American workers interested in business careers. It set about seeking shareholders by pitching investment opportunities in black churches, clubs, and fraternal organizations and drew inspiration from a similar group established in Philadelphia. Captain Bray explained the company’s mission in terms of economic opportunity, providing a boost for young people currently skeptical and external to commercial America.

The HID project represented a high point for racial relations in Harford County amidst the turmoil of the Civil Rights era. While participation was limited, and possibly involved those who least needed racial awakenings, the project at least manifested a positive effort at bridging differences. The meetings took place to build relationships, awareness, and ultimately acceptance of the civil rights era gains and changes in Harford County, Maryland.