‘With Hate-Fueled Violence, We All Lose’

New Course, Inspired by Life of Richard Collins III, Aims to Understand—and Stop—Hate Crimes

Jonathan Kitching ’25 arrived at the University of Maryland with the feeling he was reaching academic goals even higher than those his teachers in rural North Carolina had encouraged. But walking around campus in his earliest days as a Terp, he came across the Lt. Richard Collins III Plaza near Annapolis Hall, and, after googling who the plaza memorialized, felt a wave of sorrow.

“It’s one thing to intellectualize about hatred—it’s another thing to actually see” the place where violence happened “and be able to close your eyes and imagine that,” said Kitching.

The plaza memorializes the life of Collins, an Army-bound Bowie State University student who was killed at UMD by a white Maryland student in 2017. This was condemned by the university as an act of hate. Now, Collins’ life is the inspiration for a new class that examines hate crimes and their prevention.

“It’s a course that highlights the legacy of Lt. Collins to talk about history, and also to get us to a place where we can talk about hope and what a policy agenda would look like so that hate crimes and hate don’t exist,” said Rashawn Ray, professor of sociology and one of the instructors of “Hate Crimes in the U.S.: What Lt. Richard Collins III Can Teach Us About History, Hope and Healing.”

The course, which is offered to both UMD and Bowie State students, began with a visit from Dawn and Richard Collins to talk about their son’s life and their work through the 2nd Lt. Richard Collins III Foundation to advocate for hate-crime legislation. Students have learned about the history and current reality of hate against various groups in the United States, including Jews, LGBTQ+ people, Muslims and Asians.

Photo by Dylan Singleton

Published on Fri, Dec 6, 2024 - 9:50AM