Advocates Call for Diversity on Anne Arundel County Council

Civil Rights advocates are calling on the Anne Arundel County Council to diversify its ranks after a racial slur was spoken during a recent meeting to fill a vacant seat.

WJZ is reporting that while the council was in the midst of a candidate interview Friday to fill the vacancy Councilman Dick Ladd used a racial slur directed at Asians.

Though Ladd later apologized, his comment prompted calls for increased diversity among the county council, which is all white.

“For the first time in 50 years it’s possible there will be no African-American, Asians, women, Latinos and that’s not America, not the right thing,” Carl Snowden, civil rights activist, told WJZ.

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Anne Arundel County is more than 75 percent white, a 6 percent decline from 2000. Blacks make up 15 percent of county residents, followed by Hispanics, 6.1 percent, and Asians, 3.4 percent, according to the U.S. Census. By comparison, whites make up just over 58 percent of the state’s population.

During the summer calls were

The push came amid a  over  city legislation that barred candidates with a criminal past from running for office.  Since then, the council has appointed as its first African-American female council member.

According to the U.S. Census, Laurel is just under 49 percent black, whites make up 30 percent of the city's population. Hispanics account for more than 15 percent, and Asian 9.2 percent.