African-Americans have made important contributions to the university from its antebellum founding through the present day.
A new online campus tour explores their role—including their struggles and achievements—and celebrates trailblazing African-Americans in the state and nation. The African-American History Tour, sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, tells this story through 17 campus landmarks.
The full self-guided walking tour is available at umd.edu/blackhistorytour.
The Rossborough Inn: Memorial Bench (Pictured Top)


Thurgood Marshall Room, Shoemaker Hall


Parren J. Mitchell Art-Sociology Building
Parren J. Mitchell M.A. ’52 sued UMD to become the first African-American graduate student to take all of his classes on campus and receive a degree. Mitchell went on to become a civil rights leader and Maryland’s first black congressman.

Stamp Student Union, Photos of Whittle and Johnson


David C. Driskell Center
The David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African-Americans and the African Diaspora honors the legacy of an emeritus professor, painter, art collector and curator, and leading authority on African-American art.

Maryland Stadium
Maryland Stadium opened in 1950 and for 65 years was named for Harry Clifton “Curley” Byrd, a 1908 graduate who returned four years later as football coach and served as president from 1935–54. He is credited with strengthening the university’s athletic programs and increasing the university’s stature but actively opposed racial integration of the campus. In 2015, his name was removed from the stadium.

Frederick Douglass Square, Hornbake Plaza
One of the most important figures in Maryland history, Frederick Douglass (1818–95) is honored with an 8-foot-tall bronze statue unveiled in 2015. Born into slavery in Talbot County, Md., Douglass taught himself to read and write on the streets of Baltimore before escaping at age 20. Douglass went on to become a powerful voice against slavery and post-Civil War oppression against African-Americans.