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Univ. of Md. Blacks Demand Apology for Slavery

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James Wright, Washington Informer, October 29, 2009

In light of a recent publication that strongly indicates that slaves helped to built the University of Maryland, College Park, without any type of acknowledgement, some Black students have called for President C. Dan Mote, to issue a formal apology for the institution’s use of slave labor.

The university held a forum, “Release of a New Study on Slavery and UM Early History” Mon., Oct. 9 and remarks were made by Mote, noted historian Ira Berlin, the Rev. L. Jerome Fowler, a descendant of one of the Blacks who played a role in the early years of the university—Adam Plummer, university curator Elizabeth McAllister and Dottie Chicquelo, assistant director of the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Education and president of the Black faculty and staff organization.

The study, “Knowing Our History,” which was produced by an undergraduate class taught by Berlin and Herbert Brewer, a graduate student, delves into the origins of the University of Maryland, with passages that explore the origins of slavery in Europe and how it evolved into a lucrative, worldwide enterprise that reached into the Americas.

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The University of Maryland was founded by wealthy plantation owner Charles Calvert as the Maryland Agriculture College in 1856. Classes began at the institution in 1859 and, with the norms of 19th century America, excluded women and Blacks. However, in the “Overview and Appreciation” section of the publication, released in August 2009, Berlin pointed out that the issue of slave labor was discussed during the building of the institution. This was particularly relevant because the school’s first president, Benjamin Hallowell, was opposed to slavery. He was told by Calvert and the board of trustees that slave labor would not be used in the construction of the university. Hallowell resigned one month into his term as president and while the publication does not say directly that it was tied to slavery, there is an inference of it.

”. . . although the evidence points elsewhere,” Berlin said. “Slavery was the elephant in the room, which everyone recognized but no one could acknowledge. Political necessities may have forced both Calvert and Hallowell to avoid the direct discussion of slavery, but slavery’s omnipresence—as a source of wealth, status and labor—made it clear that slaves were no silent partner in the establishment of the Maryland Agriculture College.”

In this context, Black students concerned about the issue have called for Mote to apologize for the use of slave labor in the building of the University of Maryland.

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Original article

(Posted on October 29, 2009)

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Comments

1 — Anonymous wrote at 6:58 PM on October 29:

“with passages that explore the origins of slavery in Europe”

Slavery didn’t originate in Europe. Slavery existed in Africa, the Middle East, India, China, South America. Europe and the U.S. led the fight to abolish it around the world.

2 — ice wrote at 7:26 PM on October 29:

“Univ. of Md. Blacks Demand Apology for Slavery.”

Yes, we’re sorry you think of yourselves as slaves.

3 — Tim in Indiana wrote at 8:33 PM on October 29:

When are blacks going to demand apologies from West Africans, whose ancestors sold them into slavery in the first place?

After demanding an apology from West Africans as a whole, they can demand an apology from them on a town-by-town, tribe-by-tribe basis. That ought to keep them busy for a few decades.

And why would black students want to attend a university with such a sordid history in the first place?

As usual, this dredging up of long-past grievances is just another display of racism and anti-white hatred on the part of blacks.

4 — Ezekiel's Master wrote at 9:02 PM on October 29:

No person alive was slave or slavemaster. No man is gulity of the sins of his great-grandfather.

5 — Anonymous wrote at 9:21 PM on October 29:

Blacks were sold on the same slave block in MD as whites. If they get apologies, then so do whites.

6 — Istvan wrote at 9:51 PM on October 29:

Roebling gets credit for the Brooklyn Bridge. I think the names of EVERY white laborer who worked on that bridge should have his name listed on a giant plac on the bridge. Even the man who only carried buckets of rivets back and forth should be acknowledged as completely equal to the man who engineered the bridge. We give too much credit to the creative minds that designed this country and not enough credit to the people who carried out the actual work. So what if on his own a workman couldn’t have properly designed a building, or machine, or anything else of value he should still get the bulk of the credit. The fact that I am able to post a message on this site is PROOF I am as good an internet/computer program/computer hardware designer as whoever actually invented this stuff!!!

7 — Visine wrote at 10:08 PM on October 29:

I think the university should apologize. If only those Black students could realize just how earnestly, truly, desperately sorry many of us Whites are that there was ever a single African slave imported to this nation.

There’s not a day that passes that I don’t grieve about it, thinking of what might have been.

Trust me - if I ever build a time machine, that’s one of the mistakes of the past that I will cheerfully rectify.

8 — NBJ wrote at 10:26 PM on October 29:

If they get their apology, then what? Perhaps tear the building down and build a new one with slave free labor? That makes about as much sense as apologizing for ancient history that may or may not have occured.

9 — Anonymous wrote at 12:57 AM on October 30:

According to dictionary.com, the definition of apology is: “a written or spoken expression of one’s regret, remorse, or sorrow for having insulted, failed, injured or wronged another.” President C. Dan Mote had nothing to do with the University of Maryland being built, so why should he apologize?

What if Mote were black? Would they still be calling for him to apologize?

10 — charlie sierra wrote at 1:17 AM on October 30:

Slavery has been around a long time and is still being practiced today. What christian blacks don’t realize is that they have enslaved themselves in perpetuity by taking on their second owners belief system(their african countrymen were their first owners and the true enlavers) and turning their backs on their root religions. This is made all the more ironic and comical as blacks always tout their strong “faith”.

11 — Anonymous wrote at 2:11 AM on October 30:

I think it’s absurd that people who were never slaves are demanding an apology from people who were never involved in slavery. Remember Obama’s visit to Latin America? Even HE didn’t want to be blamed for things that happened when he was little.

12 — Anonymous wrote at 7:33 AM on October 30:

Apologizing for something that was ended years ago? Madness.

13 — Anonymous wrote at 8:26 AM on October 30:

When are blacks going to apologize for the CURRENT war on whites? They ignore their own crimes to demand an apology over something that ended 160 years ago. I will never suffer from white guilt.

14 — Anonymous wrote at 9:15 AM on October 30:

The whites that did own slaves were only 5% of the population at the time and they’re dead. Not only that, there were free blacks who owned slaves.

Since blacks like to point the finger at all of us, I figure we should have a big banner and walk around black areas and say, ‘We demand apologies for integration, violent crime, drugs,illegitimate children and the large wastes of taxpayer money that’s been directed to ‘uplift’ You people!”

15 — john wrote at 11:10 AM on October 30:

These so-called students should be reminded that the great majority of white Americans are enormously regretful of black slavery in the early days of this colony, and later, nation.

Without the introduction of black Africa slaves into North America the crime level in this nation would be a small fraction of what it currently. Transfer payments from the predominately white population to the largely unproductive black citizens would be dramatically reduced. Our urban centers would be free of blight and squalor. Educational costs would be drastically reduced, as would be medical costs.

All capital diverted from the support of the black population would be directed to new investment. The nation would be vastly more prosperous. It is in itself remarkable that despite a huge and largely indolent black population that America is as productive as it remains, even today, despite the hollowing out of our industrial base.

So I suppose expressions of sincere regret from white America might be in order. I wouldn’t quite call it an apology, since those black Africans whose ancestors came here as slaves enjoy the highest standard of living of any blacks in the world, the greatest freedoms, the greatest opportunities (which they generally squander), and the greatest amount of leisure time, which for many is virtually 100%.

16 — T Rexx wrote at 11:15 AM on October 30:

I wonder if it has ever occurred to these mindless, lazy, fools not to bad mouth BUT to THANK white America for setting them free. They didn’t revolt to claim their own freedom, hundreds of thousands of foolish whites died in the Civil War to give them their freedom, served up on a silver platter. How ungrateful these people who feel the world owes them a living are.

17 — Techno Dan wrote at 11:24 AM on October 30:

14 - Why stop there? Let’s demand reparations for the 100s of billions of dollars wasted on welfare and law enforcement, plus and untold sum for loss of quality of life and even life itself from all the crime these decendents of slaves have brought us! I think that would balance out the reparations that some blacks have demanded.

18 — Frank wrote at 2:24 PM on October 30:

Wait a minute. Was Mote there when the school was built? There is a simple way to resolve this. Tear down the university and let minority owned firms rebuild it.

19 — Linus wrote at 8:25 PM on October 30:

Anonymous at 9:15 AM has it exactly. If we are to apologize for slavery - something which we were the first to abolish, and something whereas their people still practice - I expect endless apologies, in return, for continued black-on-white violence.

This will, of course, never happen - because it is fair, and fairness does not figure in to the apologist agenda.

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