Using a transformative justice model, The Brownsville Project is an organization that helps communities confront and heal from suppressed history through facilitated discussions, live performances, and community organizing. The name and mission of the organization is inspired by the forgotten Brownsville/Park Ave Community that once thrived where Frostburg State University now stands.
As part of the Frostburg Arts & Entertainment District’s strategic plan to increase impactful public art in downtown Frostburg, FrostburgFirst and The Brownsville Project are collaborating to highlight the often-overlooked impact of the Brownsville/Park Ave community on the history and culture of Frostburg.
We feel strongly that a public art installation provides an opportunity to engage the community, raise awareness about Brownsville and Black history in Frostburg, and create a positive, aesthetic addition to the Frostburg Arts & Entertainment District.
We started with a public meeting last year to gather ideas and then put out a call for artist proposals. We’ve narrowed it down to two finalists and request the community’s feedback once again. Read about each finalist proposal and comment on the facebook post below.
Share feedback by commenting on the facebook post.
The below items were collected from a series of monthly community meetings hosted by The Brownsville Project in 2019 as well as interviews of some Brownsville descendants in 2018. The community meetings provided a caucus space for descendants to process and speak about what structural, restorative repair would look like for them.
Mrs. Diana Cole and her son, Ernest Cole, at their family home on Park Ave, July 15, 1943
Appoint an evergreen intersectional committee of descendants, faculty, alum, and students to hold the university accountable to further researching the history of Brownsville/Park Ave Community; and embedding that history in the university narrative and curriculum. Committee appointees will be independently nominated and approved by The Brownsville Project and the FSU Center for Student Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This committee will hold the university accountable to the reparations listed below.
Procure an independent forensic historian (and team), to be nominated and approved by the intersectional committee of descendants, faculty, alum, and students as well as The Center for Student Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This forensic historian led team must have widely credible experience and expertise in researching the economic impact of systemic anti-black racism in America and will use that expertise to research the sale of Brownsville/Park Ave Community properties for the following outcomes:
Determine if Black-owned properties were sold to the state of Maryland at fair market value
Determine the current property value of all land sold to the state of Maryland for the expansion of the university.
Determine the equitable distribution of cash reparation to Brownsville/Park Ave Community descendants based on findings in items 2.a and 2.b
Work with university students to produce a documentary and children’s book to further cement the history of Brownsville/Park Ave Community in the national narrative of African American history.
Free tuition, in perpetuity, to all descendants of Brownsville who wish to attend FSU. If any descendant has already paid tuition, they will be fully reimbursed.
A statue of Tamer Brown to be as prominently displayed, equal or greater in stature, and at least as well endowed as the Bobcat statue.
Gloria Cole Taylor Redman
Research the namesake of all university buildings and replace the names of those who played a role in the dismantling of the Brownsville/Park Ave Community; or those who benefitted from the system of slavery, with names of prominent members of the Brownsville/Park Ave Community.
Ernest Cole (in the khaki hat) along with Brownsville descendants and surrounding community gather on Oct 11, 2014 to remember Brownsville
Descendents wish to host a Brownsville/Park Ave Community reunion. We would like the right to host this on the campus where the first lots of Brownsville once stood, at no cost for the campus space.
The below recommendations are independent of the descendent led discussions and based on the overarching feedback from the community meetings, which included both descendants and non-descendants.
Increase the budget of The Center for Student Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to fully carry out its agenda.
As the university transitions from a PWI to a larger BIPOC student population, it must seek the guidance and membership of academic spaces dedicated to racial healing like https://www.aacu.org/join-aacu or some other similar organization recommended by The Center for Student Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
The Brownsville Project has helped form the Allegany County Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Committee (ACLTRC). Our mission is to acknowledge and memorialize Robert Hughes (aka William Burns) who was lynched in Cumberland, Maryland - while helping Allegany County residents reconcile with the intergenerational harm caused by lynching and other violent acts against the African-American community.
Fully participate in the Equal Justice Initiative led Community Remembrance Projects
Work with the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project to spark public acknowledgement and documentation of the history of racial terror lynchings in the state of Maryland
Facilitate a civil and healing discourse on the history of racism between Allegany County residents through education and resources
ACLTRC’s first EJI Community Remembrance Project took place on November 1, 2020.
- Watch the full ceremony below
- Read Lynching in Maryland by EJI.
EJI is sponsoring an essay contest for Allegany County public high school students.
Details about eligibility and submission can be found here.
