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Frustration With Markell Over Reports of Racism in State Government

governor.delaware.gov

Frustration has boiled over with a group of Delaware’s African American leaders who have been dissatisfied with the response by Governor Jack Markell to allegations of racism in state government.

The Wilmington News Journal reports that the Delaware Faith in Action Coalition said last week that they have lost faith in Markell to confront the issue.

Over the last year the group has gotten testimony from around 200 state workers of color who claim that they have faced discrimination.

This includes being passed over for promotion and being disciplined more harshly than white workers.

A state probe found there was an unhealthy work environment the resulted in part from cultural insensitivity as well as a lack of professionalism.

The paper says that over the last year dozens of elected official and state workers have told them there was “severe workplace strife” in the state agencies as a result of cronyism, nepotism and racism.

There have been calls for firings but Markell told the News Journal that he would not comment on personnel matters – including dismissals.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.