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Joanne Benson
Joanne Benson: We must preserve our civil rights
- A few years ago, my sister Mary Watson lost a cherished family business — a funeral home that had served generations of African-American families — because Maryland law would not let her capable son, Lewis Jr., take over the business after she became too ill to run it herself. The State Board of Morticians would not let Mary turn the funeral home over to Lewis because he is not a licensed mortician, even though the Board will let anyone with one of 58 special licenses, which you can buy on the open market for about a quarter-million dollars, own a funeral home.