Dawn Collins talks about mental health at Nyumburu

Dawn Collins, mother to Lt. Richard Collins III speaks on mental health atop podium (Aaron Wright/The Black Explosion)

Dawn Collins, the mother of Lt. Richard Collins III, was the keynote speaker at the Nyumburu Cultural Center’s closing ceremony for Black History Month on Monday, with a theme of “Black Health and Wellness.”

Before Dawn spoke to the audience, the director of Nyumburu Cultural Center Ronald Ziegler introduced her to the audience. During the introduction, Ziegler spoke about how Lt. Richard Collins III’s death affected him.

“A lot of anger, a lot of resentment. The feelings of being really pissed off — because that could have been my son who was killed on this campus,” said Ziegler. “The Collins family doesn’t have the luxury of seeing their son.”

In 2017, Lt. Richard Collins III was killed by former University of Maryland student Sean Urbanski. According to news publication DCist, prosecutors showed evidence of Urbanski’s racism by showing Facebook activity of him joining a white supremacist group and supporting violence against Black people during the trial.

On Jan. 14, 2021, Urbanski was sentenced to life in prison for the first degree murder of Lt. Richard Collins.

After being introduced, Dawn came to the podium to speak. She gave an explanation of who she was and a statement on the murder of her son.

“My son was murdered. I didn’t lose him, he wasn’t taken away,” Dawn said during her speech. “He was murdered on this campus by what I call a monster: a white supremacist is what I see him.”

Nyela Williams, a junior kinesiology major and a dance performer during the ceremony, said that what Dawn spoke about puts the security of this campus into perspective.

“[This] puts awareness for Black students on campus, knowing even though the campus is secure, it’s also a place where you have to be aware of your surroundings,” said Williams.

Dawn added that after her son’s death, she got to know about mental health and how significant the issue is within the Black community.

“Sometimes we want to sweep it under the rug and I’m here to tell you we have to deal with our stuff. We have to deal with our baggage. We have to care for our mental health,” Dawn said.

In agreement with Dawn, Mariama Lukulay, a senior public health major, believes mental health continues to be taboo within the Black community.

“There’s a big stigma about mental health. It’s pretty much ‘why are you sad, you shouldn’t be sad, no reason to be sad,’ especially in African communities as well,” said Lukulay.

To explain how big of an issue Black mental health is within the community, Dawn mentioned the deaths of the Hyattsville Mayor Kevin Ward and former Miss USA Chelsie Kryst; both of whom died by suicide.

“Our people are suffering inside. Perhaps there's someone in the audience [suffering inside],” Dawn said.
She gave some tips on improving mental health, which includes being wary of social media and avoiding content showing police brutality and racial violence. She also recommended that if you’re struggling with mental health to seek out a therapist and visit the campus counseling center.

“Don’t suffer inside. You were born into this world because you are great,” Collins said.

The closing ceremony featured music from the Nyumburu Jazz Club, BHM trivia, food, African drums and dance from Brother Joseph Ngwa and other performances.

Before the blessing of food from Andre Nottingham, assistant director of program development for Nyumburu, Dawn shared some words of wisdom to the people in attendance.

“There are times that may get hard. There are times they will struggle: you will struggle. But always remember that life is precious,” said Collins. “You may fall, but whatcha gonna do? Get back up again.”