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Initiatives

 
 

Reparations for The Brownsville/Park Ave Community

Between 2018 and 2019, The Brownsville Project hosted monthly community meetings and conducted individual interviews with Brownsville descendants. The conversations were not only a space to process generational trauma and a shared history, but to envision what true justice could look like. From those spaces came demands for reparations to achieve structural, restorative repair for the Brownsville community. Learn about these demands and how you can help us achieve them.

 
 

Anchors of Endurance: A Public Art InitiAtive

“Anchors of Endurance” is a vibrant rendering of the original Brownsville community starting in 1866 and its shifting geographic boundary as residents were displaced over several generations due to the expansion of Frostburg State University. This public art piece is a collaboration between Frostburg First, The Brownsville Project, two commissioned artists, and the descendants of Brownsville. The sculpture highlights the contributions and impact of the Brownsville community while taking a meaningful step forward to repair the harm of displacement.

 

Allegany County Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Committee (ACLTRC)

The Brownsville Project was proud to help form the Allegany County Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Committee (ACLTRC). The Committee’s 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. Under this initiative, we have Under this initiative we:

  • Dedicated a set of benches at Wills Creek Museum to Robert Hughes and Jesse Page.

  • Continue to hold commemorations to Robert Hughes at Emmanuel Parish, reflecting on his life, legacy and the lasting impact of racial violence on our community. 

  • Participated in the ACLTRC’s first EJI Community Remembrance Project, which took place on November 1, 2020. 

  • Community caucus