North Baltimore Legislators Teach Future Leaders at McDaniel College

Two veteran North Baltimore legislators traveled to McDaniel College in Westminster Wednesday to take part in the American Legion’s 2011 Maryland Boys State program.

Baltimore City Councilman Bill Henry, D-District 4, and Maryland State Del. Samuel I. "Sandy" Rosenberg, D-District 41, shared their experiences with 160 rising high school seniors in the legislative simulation portion of the Future Leadership Development Training School.

The annual American Legion-sponsored summer program is designed to expose high school students to the intricacies and inner workings of the federal, state and local governments. During the week, the future leaders attended hours of classroom instruction, lectures, group discussion and physical training.

Henry, a Baltimore city councilmember since 2007, who represents North and Northeast Baltimore, was fresh from practicing the in the real world—the day before, he voted against moving Baltimore’s $1.3 billion operating budget for fiscal year 2012 forward to final approval.

Henry took his seat alongside Rosenberg on the stage at McDaniel’s historic Alumni Hall to be introduced by political science professor Dr. Herb Smith.

Smith, a Baltimore City resident, has helped lead the Boys State government classes and legislative simulation program since 1993.  Smith said the legislative simulation portion of the Boys State program, which Rosenberg and Henry helped teach, “is certainly an invaluable teaching tool. It teaches the value of democracy … and that of self-government.”

Rosenberg is also no stranger to the legislative process. He has been a member of the Maryland House of Delegates since Jan. 12, 1983, and is currently the vice chair of the Ways and Means Committee in the Maryland General Assembly.

Before being elected to represent northwest Baltimore in the General Assembly, Rosenberg served as a legislative assistant on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. and was a member of the Baltimore Mayor's Task Force for Liaison with General Assembly, Baltimore City, 1980-81.

When Smith introduced Rosenberg to the students, Smith called him “the ‘iron man’ of Boys State. …  He hasn’t missed a single Boys State program since 1993.”  Smith also noted that Rosenberg is well known as “a rabid Baltimore Orioles fan.”

Boys State has a long history. The annual summer American Legion selective educational program in government for high school-aged future leaders was first discussed in 1934. 

At that time, the impetus was to establish a program for young adults to “combat the inroads being started by the youth organizations of the Nazi and Soviet friendship groups here in the U.S.A.,” according to information from the American Legion.

The first Boys State program in the nation was held at the Illinois Fair Grounds in June 1935. The first program in Maryland took place at Fort George E. Meade in June 1947 and had 36 boys enrolled. In Maryland, Boys State later moved to the U.S. Naval Academy and then later, in 1986, it moved to McDaniel, where it has been held ever since.