Two unlikely forces have teamed up to address the mass incarceration of marginalized groups in Maryland. Attorney General Anthony Brown and Public Defender Natasha Dartigue announced the creation of the Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative (MEJC), at Bowie State University on Wednesday.

Its goal is to examine why African Americans, who make up 31% of Maryland’s citizenry, according to census data, account for 70% of the prison population. Brown said Maryland leads the nation in that disparity.

According to the Office of the Public Defender, Black men make up 14% of Maryland’s general population, accounting for 73% of those incarcerated. Meanwhile Black women make up 16%, but represent 53% of those imprisoned.

“The disproportionate mass incarceration of Marylanders, felt most starkly in the African American community, is a devastating trauma that demands our immediate and abiding attention and resolve,” said Brown.

The MEJC will bring experts from the criminal justice system, academia, government, and the community together to identify the underlying causes of mass incarceration and develop a roadmap for reform, by January 2025.

“We cannot just have a press conference and move on,” said Charles Adams, director of the Institute for Restorative Justice and Practice. “We can't just take a photo op. This has been going on for too long. It's ruining our paths, but does not have to be our future.”