By Caleigh Bartash

First Lt. Richard Collins III, a 23-year-old Black Bowie State University student, was days away from graduating when he was murdered by a white student on the University of Maryland’s campus in May 2017. When UMD Associate English Professor Zita Nunes returned to campus after that summer, she felt the response was not robust enough.

Nunes decided to work with graduate students in her department and soon gathered over 500 condolence cards to send to the mother of the victim. Now, Nunes is participating in the BSU-UMD Social Justice Alliance, a collaboration between UMD and Bowie State. The schools worked with the 2nd Lt. Richard Collins III Foundation to launch the initiative on Oct. 1.

UMD President Darryll Pines appeared in a livestream on the launch date with BSU President Aminta Breaux and the Collins family.

“Lieutenant Richard Collins III was dedicated to service. And now it is our turn — our honor — to serve him,” Pines said during the presentation. “We serve him through the social justice alliance that we are announcing today. And I’m incredibly proud that the University of Maryland will join Bowie State University in this ambitious and meaningful effort.”

Collins was posthumously promoted to first lieutenant by the U.S. Army in May 2020.

The Oct. 1 launch date also marked the day the 2nd Lt. Richard Collins III Law went into effect in Prince George’s County. The statute will make it possible to prosecute someone for a hate crime when hate is not the only motivator. Hate crime charges against Collins’ killer were dismissed in accordance with the previous hate crime laws.

Nunes said the alliance can offer some leadership as well as student opportunities. But she also said that everyone on campus has a role to play.

“As members of the UMD community we all have a responsibility to take whatever steps we can to ensure that there is not only the absence of racist, homophobic, transphobic [and] antisemitic acts on campus but that people are informed and invested in being anti-racist activists,” Nunes said.

Nunes said the Collins family was very active in drawing people from the UMD and BSU campuses together. She said there are ongoing conversations about making the goals of the 2nd Lt. Richard Collins III Foundation and the Social Justice Alliance permanent.

Currently, some of the plans for the alliance include hosting an annual conference and providing opportunities for social justice education to students. It will be led by coordinators Kimetta Hairston, a BSU associate professor, and Georgina Dodge, UMD’s vice president for diversity and inclusion.

Zahrah Siddiq, a junior kinesiology student who was featured in the alliance announcement video, said the partnership would be a great thing for UMD and BSU.

“I am excited to work with them and see what we can do together to uplift both school communities,” said Siddiq, president of UMD’s NAACP.

Siddiq said she thought that the alliance would be a big step towards change. Still, she said it would be necessary to keep talking about issues and to keep pushing.

“I don’t think the alliance will be the end or the last step, I should say, of what we’re doing. But I do think it is a step in the right direction when it comes down to social justice in our community,” Siddiq said.

Some campus organizations want to see more accountability from the UMD administration along with the alliance. Saba Tshibaka, an organizer for Black Terps Matter, said that Black Terps Matter has asked the administration to host town halls on issues such as police brutality to reach a broader audience.

“We’re asking for the powers that be, the administration, to kind of use their platform to support the movement, support the movement actively,” Tshibaka said.

Tshibaka, a philosophy, politics and economics student, said she thought the intentions of the alliance were pure and that the 2nd Lt. Richard Collins III Foundation had been working very hard to memorialize Collins. The first of ten official demands Black Terps Matter lists on its social media is “properly memorializing Lt. Richard Collins III.”

But Tshibaka said the administration has not followed through on previous commitments. She said one of the most important things the administration can do is take action instead of simply saying they are listening.

“Show up for Black students. Support Black students, no matter what they say. Amplify their voices. Understand what looks like good trouble, necessary trouble. Everyone wants to quote John Lewis. No one wants to act like he was a college student doing whatever he thought was best,” Tshibaka said.

Featured Image: Black Terps Matter created a list of 10 official demands to tackle systemic injustices, which they delivered to the UMD administration on July 17, 2020.

Photo Courtesy of Saba Tshibaka