Goucher College is launching a new project that would research the role of slavery and racism in the history of the campus land it occupies.
The Hallowed Ground Project apart from studying the history would also remove the racist language written in the college’s original land deed and refile it with the State of Maryland.
The project will provide students and faculty members with historical and archaeological research opportunities and collaborative learning, so as to better understand what happened on campus during its early days.
“Social justice is a pillar of the Goucher community,” President Kent Devereaux said.
“The symbolic, public step of amending our original land deed will live in the historical record and reflect our community’s values. However, we didn’t want our commitment to stop there. We see it as an institutional priority to better understand and recognize the history of slavery on the 287 acres the college now resides upon.”
The college has also joined the Universities Studying Slavery (USS) consortium and plans to establish a permanent memorial to honor the enslaved men, women, and children who once labored on the land.
In August, the University of Georgia announced an initative to explore the early links of slavery with the institution from its founding in 1785 through the end of the Civil War in 1865
Georgetown University students have also proposed creating a fund to benefit the descendants of 272 slaves who were sold in 1838 to pay off the university’s debts.
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