97
While the Task Force commends the Maryland Historic Trust and the Highway  Administration  on  this  restoration  project,  it  notes  with concern  the  deterioration  of road  markers  was  allowed  to  proceed so far.    It also notes that merely recasting the old signs does not address  the almost total lack of markers that refer to black Marylanders  nor the  fact that many reflect the thinking  of private sponsors   in  a  segregationist  era  and  recycle  misinformation.
Recommendation
The Task Force recommends that a commission be established to lead  an  aggressive  campaign to  identify historical  sites  throughout the state as related to the history and legacy of slavery.    The commission  will  promote  a racially  inclusive  understanding  of their legacies  through  state   support  and  in-depth  research  programs.     The commission  will  monitor  the  state   of preservation  or  development of historical sites in Maryland associated with the era of slavery. Such  monitoring  also  will  extend to  historic  African-American communities   dispersed  throughout  the   State  that  developed   as   a result  of slavery,   Reconstruction,   and  Jim-Crow  practices.