University of Maryland Breaks Ground on Plaza Honoring BSU Student 1st Lt. Richard W. Collins III

Permanent memorial features plaque honoring Lt. Collins, display of Unity Mural

MEDIA CONTACT: David Thompson, dlthompson@bowiestate.edu, 301-860-4311

(BOWIE, Md.) – University of Maryland President Darryll J. Pines and Bowie State University President Aminta Breaux were joined  by Richard and Dawn Collins, parents of 1st Lt. Richard Collins III on Wednesday for a ceremonial groundbreaking at the site of a planned plaza  on the UMD campus commemorating the Bowie State student murdered by a white UMD student in 2017. The tragedy sparked deep dialogue on racial strife and led to creation of the BSU-UMD Social Justice Alliance.

The plaza will be located near Montgomery and Annapolis halls and overlook the bus stop where Collins’ life was taken. Planned to encourage reflection, the plaza will include two walls—one featuring an engraved granite plaque honoring Collins—and a fountain at the base. The second wall will display the Unity Mural created collaboratively by UMD and Bowie State students, faculty and staff as part of The Clarice's 2017 NextNOW Fest to illustrate peace, justice and unity. Construction will be completed in May,

“My hope is that each person who sees this plaza will think about the legacy left to us by Lieutenant Collins and will be reminded of the charge we have as members of the greater community to take personal responsibility against the issues negatively impacting our society and demand change,” said President Breaux at the ceremony.

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