At the oldest HBCU in Maryland, some students attended classes in a brand new facility this week: the Martin Luther King Jr. Center.
During a ribbon cutting for the Bowie State University facility on Tuesday, attention wasn’t just on the civil rights advocate’s legacy.
The building also honors Army 1st Lt. Richard Collins III, who died days before he was set to graduate from BSU in 2017. While waiting at a bus stop after visiting friends at the College Park campus, he was fatally stabbed by a white University of Maryland student.
“I think it all embodies what it means to be an American, what Dr. King stood for, what Lt. Collins stood for,” his mother, Dawn Collins, told WTOP. “It had nothing to do with the pigment of their skin, but the essence of the person that they want.”
Two murals are etched into the walls of the new liberal arts building in Bowie, which replaces the old center that was built in 1973. One depicts King, as well as sound waves of lines from his speech while accepting the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize.
A second mural depicts a two-stories high silhouette of Collins.
His father, Richard Collins Jr., told WTOP it was based off a photo of the ROTC student that was taken during one of his exercises. He’s holding what’s known in the military as a “guide on,” with a flag in his hand, Collins Jr. said.
“This is a celebration for us, it sort of keeps him close to us,” his father said.
“I hope they’ll see that this was a young man who was about to embark on his dream, really, being an officer in the Army, and he was destined to do great things,” Collins Jr. told WTOP. “Spend a little time to try and get to know about people, because we all need to take a breath, I think, and spend more time talking to our neighbors.”
While Collins’ killer was initially charged with a hate crime in the fatal stabbing, a judge later dismissed that charge, claiming there was not enough evidence of racial hatred as a motivating factor. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Though the charge was dismissed, Collins’ family continues to speak out about hate-motivated violence, including successfully advocating for an update to Maryland’s hate crime law.
“My son was third-generation military, and he was willing to give his very life to this country,” Dawn said. “So we will not stop. We can’t stop.”
Meanwhile at the University of Maryland, a new course offering launched Tuesday afternoon is centered around hate crimes in America. It helps remember Collins and is named in his memory.
“We’re proud of that,” Collins Jr. tells WTOP. “We hope to have that be something that can be modeled and passed, not just here in Maryland, but across the nation.”
What’s inside the Martin Luther King Jr. Center
The $167 million center replaces an old one that held the same name, which was opened 51 years ago.
It spans around 192,000 square feet and will house students studying topics such as communications, journalism and government. The ROTC program, which Collins participated in, will also be housed in the new center.
BSU President Aminta Breaux said the new facility signals the school’s commitment to liberal arts.
“There is a need for a strong foundation in the liberal arts,” Breaux said. “While we’re very strong in the STEM areas, we need to ensure students know how to think critically, communicate effectively and know what’s going on in the world around them.”
There will be an emphasis on experiential learning in the facility, Breaux said. Among the collaborative spaces are two TV studios and a podcasting station.
“Making sure we’re immersing students not just in a subject matter, but giving them a context for what they’re studying,” she said of their goals.
Inside the center is a 1,500-seat auditorium, which Breaux said she hopes will attract community members to come to campus.
“We’re also a public university, and bringing in the community and sharing our resources and uniting, integrating what’s happening in the real world, is part of the hallmark of student experience here at BSU,” Breaux said.
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