By Kara Thompson

May 20 will mean one thing for most students at the University of Maryland: summer. But for friends and family of 1st. Lt. Richard Collins III, it holds a different significance: the anniversary of his murder.

Collins, a Black Bowie State University Student, was killed nearly four years ago by a white UMD student on the College Park campus. In response to Collins’ murder, the BSU-UMD Social Justice Alliance was formed in October 2020. The goal is to help educate people about equity and social justice and combat individuals and systems that perpetuate injustices. Faculty from both universities serve on the alliance.

Mia Smith-Bynum, an associate professor of family science at UMD’s school of public health, said she is excited that the University of Maryland has started collaborating with Bowie State. 

“I’m always thinking about curriculum issues and how can we make sure that Lt. Collins’ legacy is honored and that we at the University of Maryland be part of the solution,” said Smith-Bynum, co-committee program chair of the alliance.

The BSU-UMD Social Justice Alliance was created not only to honor Collins, but also to create programs and curriculums that deal with social justice in all its many forms, as it says on its website. 

“We’re seeing incidents of anti-Asian hate and all kinds of incidents involving police brutality as I speak about this,” Smith-Bynum said. “My hope is that, in my time with the alliance, that we create a model for how universities and colleges can be part of the solution through this unique collaborative effort.”

The alliance held a virtual symposium Friday from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. to honor Collins’ memory. His parents, Dawn and Rick Collins, spoke at the event, and there was a panel discussion with students and faculty from both universities. 

In years past BSU has held their own symposiums in the spring to honor Collins’ memory, though last year’s was canceled due to the pandemic. This year, the symposium was a joint effort between both universities.

Taylor Palmer, a senior behavioral and community health major, served as a moderator during the panel at the symposium. Like Smith-Bynum, she said there is a long way to go for UMD despite some advances in racial justice.

“We need to continue the conversations like the ones being held in the spring symposium … Student and faculty voices should guide policies and change to the campus environment,” Palmer said.“There needs to be action taken by the university to prevent the occurrence of microagressions and acts of discrimination against faculty and students.”

Dickinson said that progress achieved so far should be celebrated while continuing to support Black community members. 

“I would definitely highlight the work of Black student leaders who have been working with administration to push for (and track) progress on the 25 areas they felt needed particular and urgent attention,” Dickinson said. “And at the same time as we celebrate any progress, it’s also important to acknowledge that many Black students, faculty and staff have experienced harm, violence and trauma here at UMD — and we need to continue to work to heal and prevent this harm from happening.”

To keep the progress coming, Smith-Bynum said students need to be persistent as time passes.

“What I would say to the students is to stay engaged, stay involved, stay passionate and plan for leadership transitions because sometimes these things can lose momentum when students graduate … make sure young people who are in these organizations are aware of what’s happening and prepare to step into a leadership role, so they can continue to push for change,” she said.

The symposium is not the first event the alliance has held. There was a virtual launch party to celebrate the addition of a new hate crime bill in Collins’ memory in October 2020. Smith-Bynum wants to keep the relationship going.

“We don’t plan to stop here … there are discussions about ways to bring the students together on both campuses,” Smith-Bynum said. 

Featured image: First Lt. Richard Collins III was promoted from 2nd Lieutenant after his murder. Photo from EventBrite flyer.