These are the speakers for the University of Baltimore Law Forum’s symposium in partnership with the Black Law Student Association’s (BLSA), HBCUs v. Maryland: Is There a Solution in Sight?
SENATOR CHARLES E. SYDNOR III
Senator Charles E. Sydnor III was born and raised in Baltimore City, Maryland and is a resident of Ellicott Mills. Charles is employed as an Assistant General Counsel with the Columbia, Maryland based affordable housing organization, Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. He is married to Myra Sydnor and they are parents to Camryn, Cailyn and Chyler Sydnor.
In addition to his work at Enterprise, Charles was sworn into the Maryland Senate on January 8, 2020 to represent District 44, which includes communities in both Baltimore City and Baltimore County, and serves on the Judicial Proceedings Committee. Additionally, Charles was appointed to Joint Committee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Biotechnology, the Joint Committee on Ending Homelessness, and State Commission on Criminal Sentencing Policy.
Prior to his time in the Senate, Charles served in Maryland’s House of Delegates, where he served on the House Judiciary Committee chairing both the Civil Law and Procedures subcommittee and the Criminal Law and Procedures subcommittee during his tenure. During his first term in office, Charles successfully introduced legislation for police departments to adopt body cameras and has worked on legislation to regulate the use of certain surveillance devices by law enforcement agencies.
Charles matriculated at and received his Juris Doctor and Master of Policy Sciences from the University of Maryland School of Law and University of Maryland Baltimore County, respectively. Charles also matriculated and received his Bachelor’s degree with honors from Johns Hopkins University and his A-course diploma from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. Charles has been admitted to practice in Maryland, the District of Columbia courts, and the United States Supreme Court.
Charles is a recipient of the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law Black Law Student Association’s Graduate of the Year Award (2020), Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition’s Most Promising Legislator Award (2017), Daily Record’s Leadership in Law Award (2012), the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law’s Public Service Award (2000), and Johns Hopkins University’s Student Excellence Award for Leadership and Service Award (1996).
DELEGATE DARRYL BARNES
The Honorable Darryl Barnes proudly represents the 25th Legislative District in the Maryland House of Delegates. Delegate Barnes was raised in the Washington Metropolitan Area and planted his roots in Prince George’s County, Maryland after years of service in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army respectfully. Serving his second term in Annapolis, Delegate Barnes has been trusted by his colleagues and constituents to take on key leadership positions while advancing legislation spanning across the state and impacting significant policy decisions.
His tenacious work ethic has enabled him to quickly become one of the highest ranking members in the House of Delegates serving as the Deputy Majority Whip (2017-Present), Assistant Speaker Pro Tem (2019), and 2nd Vice Chair of the Prince George’s County Delegation (2019-Present). Delegate Barnes is also a member of the Maryland Veterans Caucus and served on the Prince George’s County School Construction Master Plan Workgroup in 2018.
Since his appointment to the Ways & Means Committee in 2015, Delegate Barnes has closely examined legislation that impacts education, election law, taxation, lottery and gaming, and funding of transportation programs. In that capacity, Delegate Barnes also serves as the Chair of the Local Revenues Subcommittee where he oversees local and state taxation matters (2019-Present). His leadership in the Local Revenues Committee has led to tax credits and incentives for veterans, nonprofits, small businesses, and educators.
In the Maryland General Assembly, Delegate Barnes has emerged as a fearless leader and trailblazer for African-American issues. In his first term, Delegate Barnes was unanimously selected as the Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus. As the Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, Delegate Barnes leads a membership of 58 legislators while championing issues affecting African-Americans across the state of Maryland such as Economic Development, Criminal Justice Reform, Healthcare, Law Enforcement, and Education. Under his direction, the Legislative Black Caucus’ unified support was pivotal in passing the state’s $15 minimum wage, raising the tobacco consumption age to 21, reforming the Maryland’s Judiciary Case Search, and historic election of the first woman and African-American Speaker of the House.
Prior to his election, Delegate Barnes established himself as a successful businessman, community advocate, and veteran. With over 20 years of entrepreneurship experience in the Information Technology and Sports Agency space, Delegate Barnes coupled his passion for sports, business and desire to uplift youth by founding what is now one of the premier nonprofits in Prince George’s County. His grassroots organization, Men Aiming Higher (2009-present) mobilizes at-risk young men through educational tutoring, leadership training, mentoring programs and community service projects. To date, more than 700 mentees have benefited from the work of Men Aiming Higher.
Most recently, Delegate Barnes launched the Bi-County Business Roundtable in 2019 to promote small business growth as well as help create wealth for a vibrant climate in the state of Maryland. He received his PMP Certification Training from George Washington University and attended Long Beach State College. Delegate Barnes resides in Prince George’s County with his wife, Makeba and their two sons Dylan & Drew and is also an active member of First Baptist Church of Glenarden in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
CHANCELLOR JOHN K. PIERRE
John K. Pierre has devoted his career to molding lawyer leaders and being a champion of innovation. Since 1990, Pierre has served as a faculty member at the Southern University Law Center, where he taught courses, such as tax law, security devices, local government law and more. In 2006, he became the vice chancellor of institutional accountability and the evening division. Currently, he has been serving as the Law Center’s chancellor since 2016.
Pierre has previous teaching experience as a visiting and adjunct professor at California State University, Southern Methodist University School of Law, Loyola University Law School, Southern University College of Business, Saint Leo’s College, Webster University, Louisiana State University, and Baton Rouge Community College.
Pierre has published numerous articles on tax law, sales and contracts, real estate and commercial law, ranging from magazine features to legal journal and law review articles. He is a member of numerous state and national organizations, including the Louisiana State Bar Association and the Texas Bar Association.
He received a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Southern University in 1980, a Master’s degree in tax accounting from Texas Tech University in 1982, and a Juris Doctor degree from Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1985.
Dr. M. Sammye Miller
Dr. M. Sammye Miller holds a PhD in legal history from the Catholic University of America and received his MAT in history from Trinity College and a BA in history from Delaware State University. He completed a post-doctoral experience at Stanford University in constitutional law and history, under the direction of Professor Don E. Fehrenbacher. He has served as humanist administrator and historian in the Division of Public Program at the National Endowment for the Humanities. He also served as assistant for projects and community services at the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History (ASALH) in Washington, DC, and later as its executive director. Dr. Miller also served as assistant to the vice president for planning and development at Bowie State University. He has also served three terms as chairman of the Department of History and Government and was the former dean of the School of Arts and Sciences and special assistant to the provost in the Office of Academic Affairs. Dr. Miller is the former editor of the Negro History Bulletin and author of numerous articles in scholarly and popular journals, including the Journal of Negro History, Journal of American History, Journal of Southern History, The Historian, Black Collegian, Black Scholar, Presence Africaine, Black Books Bulletin, and The Crisis.
Dr. Miller has been a Board of Trustees Scholar (Catholic University), Penfield Fellow, and Knights of Columbus Fellow. He is a holder of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO) Research Achievement Award and is a frequent guest lecturer before learned societies, federal agencies, and community organizations. He is also a member of the Phi Alpha Theta and Kappa Delta Pi national honor societies, 4th degree Knight of Columbus, and a life member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. Recently, he was nominated as a Walter J. Leonard Fellow at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Wolfson College, Oxford University in England.
Dr. Miller traveled extensively for the National Endowment for the Humanities, visiting cultural institutions in the United States, including the Chinese Cultural Foundation of San Francisco, Pierpont Morgan Library of New York, Arizona State Museum, and a number of African American museums including the DuSable Museum of Chicago, Rhode Island Black Heritage Society in Providence, and the Historic Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church in Philadelphia. His international visits include extensive tours of the People’s Republic of China; Japan; the Middle East; West, East, and North Africa; Western Europe; and the Caribbean.
He is married to the former Gloria J. Sellman of Lothian, MD, and they reside in Glenn Dale, MD.
Pace J. McConkie, Esq.
Pace Jefferson McConkie is a civil rights attorney with a primary focus in the areas of constitutional law and pertinent state and federal civil rights law, particularly as pertaining to discrimination on the basis of race, color and ethnicity, racial inequities, equal protection, education law, equal educational opportunity, school desegregation, integration and diversity, and the First Amendment. His work covers advice, representation and advocacy relating to public education from elementary and secondary schools through the collegiate and graduate school levels of postsecondary education. He is the founder and director of the Robert M. Bell Center for Civil Rights in Education, established at Morgan State University, to unite research, teaching, training and advocacy on integral civil rights issues in education at all levels, particularly with respect to African American and other minority students seeking real and meaningful opportunities for educational excellence and advancement.
In 1998, Mr. McConkie was appointed by the Attorney General of Maryland to serve as Assistant Attorney General and Principal Counsel to the Maryland Higher Education Commission. The Commission is the coordinating, regulatory and policy-making body for all segments of postsecondary education in the State, including 58 public and private institutions of higher education. With responsibility for all of its legal affairs, Mr. McConkie represented the Commission in various significant proceedings, including the negotiation and implementation of Maryland’s Partnership Agreement with the United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, necessary to ensure the State’s compliance with its equal educational opportunity obligations under State and federal law and the elimination of any remaining vestiges of the State’s prior de jure segregated system of higher education. He also represented the Commission in major First Amendment litigation in the federal courts regarding the separation of church and state and the Establishment Clause prohibition against public monies flowing directly into the coffers of religious institutions.
Prior to his appointment with the State of Maryland, Mr. McConkie was an attorney with the National Litigation Project of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in the provision of legal services to victims of racial discrimination. A fundamental mission of the Lawyers’ Committee is to ensure fair and equitable political participation and the elimination of all barriers to equal opportunities for minority and disadvantaged persons. Mr. McConkie was primarily responsible for the Committee’s litigation and public policy initiatives in the area of equal educational opportunity for minority students. He was involved in educational issues of national importance, including major litigation and policy efforts in Pittsburgh, PA, Prince George’s County, MD, San Jose, CA, Wilmington, DE, and several southern states, focusing on the complete eradication of the vestiges or present effects of segregation, the elimination of educational policies and practices that adversely effect or unlawfully discriminate against minority students, and implementation of comprehensive quality education programs. He also participated, with the Committee as amicus curiae, in the major affirmative action cases addressing minority admissions policies and race-based scholarship programs in higher education.
For several years, Mr. McConkie served as Assistant General Counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) at its national headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland where he was also responsible for the education case docket and acted as counsel for the NAACP’s Southwest Region. He was honored as NAACP Attorney of the Year at its 1994 national convention in Chicago. He is a Life Member of the NAACP and remains actively engaged with the Association’s legal agenda.
Mr. McConkie obtained a Juris Doctorate degree with special emphasis in Race, Racism and American Law from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and completed his undergraduate work at the University of Utah where he majored in English and Political Science, affiliated with the Hinckley Institute of Politics, and served as staff to Senator Edward M. Kennedy on the Education and Labor Committee in the United States Senate. He was the recipient of the 2009 Distinguished Alumnus award from the University of Utah, College of Humanities. He has practiced with a private law firm in the Washington, D.C. area and began his legal career with a two-year clerkship with Associate Chief Justice Richard C. Howe of the Utah Supreme Court. He is admitted to practice (state and federal courts) and is a member of the bar in the states of Arkansas, Maryland and Utah and in the District of Columbia. He is also a member of the bar of the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third and Fourth Circuits, and the United States District Court for the District of Delaware and the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Mr. McConkie and his wife, Marilyn, reside in Annapolis, Maryland and are the parents of four children.
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