By: Annalise Kenney and André Chung, as told to the Maryland League of Conservation Voters Education Fund
The opinions shared in this piece are those of the speaker and/or the person being featured in the story. They do not necessarily reflect those of the Maryland League of Conservation Voters Education Fund.
Two documentaries, Smithville and Eroding History, tell the story of two majority Black communities in Dorchester County along the low-lying edges of the Chesapeake Bay. Decades ago, racist policies pushed these communities onto mosquito-infested marshland and excluded the residents from providing input to zoning decisions. Those same decisions continue to shape life today as sea level rise is exacerbated by climate change, and flooding becomes a regular occurrence.
Keith Cornish, a Smithville native, remembers a time when he was younger and there were more people around. Kids played on the bank, and families gathered at the old church. Now, only four residents of the previous 200 remain, and their church and cemetery, dating back to 1924, are consistently flooded.
New Revived United Methodist Church in Smithville. Image by Nicole Lehming, Maryland Sea Grant (July 10, 2018)
Deal Island is similarly suffering, where churchgoers often can’t attend services in person because of high tides or storms that sometimes leave the church inaccessible for weeks.
Flooded cemetery on Deal Island. Image by John Jones (2021).
While community members can seek refuge during severe weather, the graves in the cemetery are particularly vulnerable during these events. To community members’ horror, coffins of loved ones have been broken and even dislodged, found floating down surrounding streets. Stories of past community members, of families, and of struggles for freedom are increasingly being washed away.
The flooding of these communities isn’t just bad luck; it’s the result of slavery-era decisions that relegated recently freed slaves to the outskirts of the mainland. Additionally, since these communities have historically been underserved, they have limited wealth and structural support to compete for state and federal flood relief funds.
The communities of Deal Island and Smithville are left adrift, not only from a livable future but from their past. Without bold intervention and meaningful redress, the injustices of the past won’t just linger; they will rise with the tide.