The Richard Allen Coalition to Preserve the History of Contributions of Black Students to Sussex County

Jessica Clarke • March 28, 2023

When the Indian River, Del., School District Board of Education closed the Richard Allen School in June 2010, a group of people with a dream to reopen the vacant school started the nonprofit Richard Allen School Coalition. Jane Hovington is one of the founding members. Solomon Henry and Harry Crapper are Board members, along with eight others. The Coalition’s goals are to preserve the history of public education and contributions of Black students in the county, and to restore the school’s legacy as an educational and community center and museum.

Although Hovington did not attend the Allen School, as a forward-thinking activist she saw the possibilities of making the school the center of the neighborhood again.

“I did experience subtle racism issues,” she reminisced. Living in Pennsylvania, while in kindergarten she was labeled “Colored.” She and her White best friend could no longer be friends in school.

“In middle school, all Black kids were segregated into one room. When they returned to the home room, a White student asked the teacher why all Black kids were segregated and didn’t do the work in the classroom. The teacher commented they ‘were too stupid to learn.’”

It became a challenge for Hovington. “Because we were segregated, we were determined to return to our classroom.” After school, she gathered all the Black students to meet at the Hudson home in Georgetown. “The Hudson family were our mentors. They helped us ensure our homework was completed. We made a decision to prove the teachers wrong.”

Unfortunately, school segregation in Delaware persisted until 1967, despite the historic Brown vs. Board of Education ruling in 1954 and the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Bill. The school continued to serve Black students in the Indian River School District until 1967 and desegregation was fully implemented in Delaware.

As a teenager, when her parents separated, Hovington moved with her mother to Greenwood, Del., where her mother had roots. “All the kids played together during the summer, but when school opened, we went our separate ways.” At integrated Greenwood High School, she challenged the status quo during cheerleading tryouts. She was told she was good enough to make the squad but not accepted because she was Black. “My cousins were starters on the ball team so I walked across the gym and sat with the players. The entire first string took off their uniforms and walked out. ‘If she’s not good enough to cheer, we’re not good enough to play,’” she remembered a player commenting. “The next day, I had a spot.”

After moving to Georgetown, she attended William C. Jason Comprehensive High School in Georgetown, now called Delaware Technical Community College. “I was an outspoken person,” Hovington commented proudly. “I didn’t cause too much trouble, but just let’s say the principal was glad to see me graduate. Jason High School was very influential in the lives of their students, graduating lawyers, teachers, and other prominent citizens in the community, both Black and White.”

After high school, she majored in education and criminal justice at Delaware State University and Wilmington University where she met her husband, Ronnie. They moved to New Jersey and St. Louis before the family returned to Delaware.

Before they returned, sight unseen, Hovington made a deposit and paid the first month’s rent on a Millsboro home. When she met the owner in person, her family experienced housing discrimination. “He told us he decided not to rent his home,” she explained ruefully. The family lived with in-laws for six months until they found their Georgetown home, where they have lived for decades.

Hovington ran Small Wonder Ones Child Care Center, a preschool, for nearly two decades. “I am proud to say our children could read, write, and some could do two-column math before they entered first grade. When I see my kids and they have excelled, I feel I’ve accomplished something,” she stated. Hovington raised three boys and was a foster parent for 15 children. “I was also blessed with one daughter from a previous relationship. There was always a houseful of children.” She also ran the Shechinah Empowerment Center on South Race St. in Georgetown, providing help with GED preparation, computer training, and certification and re-entry programs for people released from prison.

Hovington’s present role as president of the Richard Allen School Coalition is to restore the school and build a community center offering educational programs for young people and artistic events for all ages. “We must preserve the Black community’s history by housing artifacts and documents of the Black and Brown communities’ heritage. We want to breathe life into the town and provide workshops and a museum for young people in Sussex County so they can understand the present and develop the skills for a better future for themselves and their community,” she summarized.

After acquiring the deed for ownership of the building from the Delaware legislature, Hovington and Betty Deacon, also a Coalition board member, led the effort to have the school listed in the National Register of Historic Places. “Our children don’t know the history of this community,” she stated in a news interview when the historic plaque was installed in 2015. “And it was because of that, we said that we [the Coalition] could not allow this school to be torn down because this school represents our history.”

Hovington is a lifetime member and former chair of the Sussex County branch of the NAACP. She was the first Black woman to chair the Sussex County Democratic Party, continuing this leadership position to the present. She served as a Georgetown Town Council member. She ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for state senate in 2012 but lost in the general election.

Newly re-elected Georgetown mayor, Bill West, summed up their relationship this way: “I’ve known Hovington since I was a Delaware state policeman and a Georgetown policeman and she first headed the Democratic Party. As mayor, whenever there is an issue, Hovington is the first person I turn to. She is the voice of reason. She will listen to both sides, urge people to control their temper in controversial issues, and work to resolve those problems.”

“We all have opinions but we must be sure they don’t infringe on someone else’s rights,” Hovington acknowledges.

Jessica Clark is a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Journalism. After a 30-year career as a Public Information Specialist and photojournalist for several federal agencies, she retired to Georgetown, Del. She restored former Governor John Collins’ 1790s home on Collins Pond, and is a Sussex County Master Gardener.

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Megan Outten Launches Campaign for Wicomico County Council, District 7

By Friends of Megan Outten • July 29, 2025

Megan Outten, a lifelong Wicomico County resident and former Salisbury City Councilwoman, officially announced her candidacy recently for Wicomico County Council, District 7. At 33, Outten brings the energy of a new generation combined with a proven record of public service and results-driven leadership. “I’m running because Wicomico deserves better,” Outten said. “Too often, our communities are expected to do more with less. We’re facing underfunded schools, limited economic opportunities, and years of neglected infrastructure. I believe Wicomico deserves leadership that listens, plans ahead, and delivers real, measurable results.” A Record of Action and A Vision for the Future On Salisbury’s City Council, Outten earned a reputation for her proactive, hands-on approach — working directly with residents to close infrastructure gaps, support first responders, and ensure everyday voices were heard. Now she’s bringing that same focus to the County Council, with priorities centered on affordability, public safety, and stronger, more resilient communities. Key Priorities for District 7: Fully fund public schools so every child has the opportunity to succeed. Fix aging infrastructure and county services through proactive investment. Keep Wicomico affordable with smarter planning and pathways to homeownership. Support first responders and safer neighborhoods through better tools, training, and prevention. Expand resources for seniors, youth, and underserved communities. Outten’s platform is rooted in real data and shaped by direct community engagement. With Wicomico now the fastest-growing school system on Maryland’s Eastern Shore — and 85% of students relying on extra resources — she points to the county’s lagging investment as a key area for action. “Strong schools lead to strong jobs, thriving industries, and healthier communities,” Outten said. “Our schools and infrastructure are at a tipping point. We need leadership that stops reacting after things break — and starts investing before they do.” A Commitment to Home and Service Born and raised in Wicomico, Megan Outten sees this campaign as a continuation of her lifelong service to her community. Her vision reflects what she’s hearing from neighbors across the county: a demand for fairness, opportunity, and accountability in local government. “Wicomico is my home; it’s where I grew up, built my life, and where I want to raise my family,” Outten said. “Our county is full of potential. We just need leaders who will listen, work hard, and get things done. That’s what I’ve always done, and that’s exactly what I’ll continue to do on the County Council.” Outten will be meeting with residents across District 7 in the months ahead and unveiling more details of her platform. For more information or to get involved, contact info@meganoutten.com

“Turtles All The Way Down”

By John Christie • July 29, 2025

Way back in 1935, the Supreme Court determined that independent agencies like the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) do not violate the Constitution’s separation of powers. Humphrey’s Executor v. United States (1935). Congress provided that the CPSC, like the NLRB and MSPB, would operate as an independent agency — a multi-member, bipartisan commission whose members serve staggered terms and could be removed only “for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office but for no other cause.” Rejecting a claim that the removal restriction interferes with the “executive power,” the Humphrey’s Court held that Congress has the authority to “forbid their [members’] removal except for cause” when creating such “quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial” bodies. As a result, these agencies have operated as independent agencies for many decades under many different presidencies. Shortly after assuming office in his second term, Donald Trump began to fire, without cause, the Democratic members of several of these agencies. The lower courts determined to reinstate the discharged members pending the ultimate outcome of the litigation, relying on Humphrey’s , resulting in yet another emergency appeal to the Supreme Court by the administration. In the first such case, a majority of the Court allowed President Trump to discharge the Democratic members of the NLRB and the MSPB while the litigation over the legality of the discharges continued. Trump v. Wilcox (May 22, 2025). The majority claimed that they do not now decide whether Humphrey’s should be overruled because “that question is better left for resolution after full briefing and argument.” However, hinting that these agency members have “considerable” executive power and suggesting that “the Government” faces greater “risk of harm” from an order allowing a removed officer to continue exercising the executive power than a wrongfully removed officer faces from being unable to perform her statutory duty,” the majority gave the President the green light to proceed. Justice Kagan, joined by Justices Sotomayor and Jackson, dissented, asserting that Humphrey’s remains good law until overturned and forecloses both the President’s firings and the Court’s decision to award emergency relief.” Our emergency docket, while fit for some things, should not be used to “overrule or revise existing law.” Moreover, the dissenters contend that the majority’s effort to explain their decision “hardly rises to the occasion.” Maybe by saying that the Commissioners exercise “considerable” executive power, the majority is suggesting that Humphrey’s is no longer good law but if that is what the majority means, then it has foretold a “massive change” in the law and done so on the emergency docket, “with little time, scant briefing, and no argument.” And, the “greater risk of harm” in fact is that Congress provided for these discharged members to serve their full terms, protected from a President’s desire to substitute his political allies. More recently, in the latest shadow docket ruling in the administration’s favor, the same majority of the Court again permitted President Trump to fire, without cause, the Democratic members of another independent agency, this time the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Trump v. Boyle (July 23, 2025). The same three justices dissented, once more objecting to the use of the Court’s emergency docket to destroy the independence of an independent agency as established by Congress. The CPSC, like the NLRB and MSPB, was designed to operate as “a classic independent agency.” In Congress’s view, that structure would better enable the CPSC to achieve its mission — ensuring the safety of consumer products, from toys to appliances — than would a single-party agency under the full control of a single President. “By allowing the President to remove Commissioners for no reason other than their party affiliation, the majority has negated Congress’s choice of agency bipartisanship and independence.” The dissenters also assert that the majority’s sole professed basis for the more recent order in Boyle was its prior order in Wilcox . But in their opinion, Wilcox itself was minimally explained. So, the dissenters claim, the majority rejects the design of Congress for a whole class of agencies by “layering nothing on nothing.” “Next time, though, the majority will have two (if still under-reasoned) orders to cite. Truly, this is ‘turtles all the way down.’” Rapanos v. United States (2006). * ***** *In Rapanos , in a footnote to his plurality opinion, former Supreme Court Justice Scalia explained that this allusion is to a classic story told in different forms and attributed to various authors. His favorite version: An Eastern guru affirms that the earth is supported on the back of a tiger. When asked what supports the tiger, he says it stands upon an elephant; and when asked what supports the elephant, he says it is a giant turtle. When asked, finally, what supports the giant turtle, he is briefly taken aback, but quickly replies "Ah, after that it is turtles all the way down." John Christie was for many years a senior partner in a large Washington, D.C. law firm. He specialized in anti-trust litigation and developed a keen interest in the U.S. Supreme Court about which he lectures and writes.

“Andy Harris Just Made the Most Dangerous Vote of His Career”

By Shore Progress, Progessive Maryland, Progressive Harford Co • July 15, 2025

Marylanders will not forget this vote.

How Many Will Be Kicked Off Medicaid in MD-01 Because of Andy Harris?

By Jan Plotczyk • July 9, 2025

More than 30,000 of our neighbors in Maryland’s first congressional district will lose their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid because of provisions in the GOP’s heartless tax cut and spending bill passed last week.

Six Reasons Why the House Budget Bill Will Hurt Rural America

By Michael Chameides, Barn Raiser • May 21, 2025

Right now, Congress is working on a fast-track bill that would make historic cuts to basic needs programs in order to finance another round of tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations.

Who Will SNAP Cuts Affect in Maryland? On the Eastern Shore?

By Catlin Nchako, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities • May 21, 2025

The House Agriculture Committee recently voted, along party lines, to advance legislation that would cut as much as $300 million from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program, helping more than 41 million people in the U.S. pay for food. With potential cuts this large, it helps to know who benefits from this program in Maryland, and who would lose this assistance. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities compiled data on SNAP beneficiaries by congressional district, cited below, and produced the Maryland state datasheet , shown below. In Maryland, in 2023-24, 1 in 9 people lived in a household with SNAP benefits. In Maryland’s First Congressional District, in 2023-24: Almost 34,000 households used SNAP benefits. Of those households, 43% had at least one senior (over age 60). 29% of SNAP recipients were people of color. 15% were Black, non-Hispanic, higher than 11.8% nationally. 6% were Hispanic (19.4% nationally). There were 24,700 total veterans (ages 18-64). Of those, 2,200 lived in households that used SNAP benefits (9%). The CBPP SNAP datasheet for Maryland is below. See data from all the states and download factsheets here.