Black alumni discuss their experiences while attending the University of Maryland

From left to right: Kelichi Agbakwuru, Bobby McLeod, Rahman Culver, Halima Jenkins and Dr. Maurice Dorsey all pose after the “Across Generations: Black Terp Existence at the University of Maryland” event. (Aaron Wright/The Black Explosion)

Bobby McLeod was a business major who formed the Black Student Union and was its first president in 1967.

Patricia Wheeler was a journalism major who was one of the founders of the Black Explosion and served as its first editor in chief.

Halima Jenkins was a French and dance major who graduated in 2000 and was a staff writer at the Black Explosion.

Rahman Culver was an African American studies major who graduated in 2001 and was also an editor in chief for the Black Explosion.

Kelechi Agbakwuru graduated in 2011 and was an American studies major and attorney for Rising for Justice, a non-profit law firm based in Washington, D.C.

Maurice Dorsey earned a Ph.D. in education, policy, planning and administration in 1985 and is the author of several biography books.

All of them were panelists in the “Across Generations: Black Terp Existence at the University of Maryland” event, which took place at the Nyumburu Cultural Center on Thursday.

Moderated by UMD archivist Lae’l Hughes-Watkins and postdoctoral associate for data curation in African-American History and Culture Francena Fatima LaVosha Turner, the panel were asked four questions on the social climate during their time at Maryland, moments of Black joy, Black student retention and ways to make systemic change at UMD. 

When McLeod was asked about what the social climate at UMD was like during his time, he said that there were no safe havens for him or the estimated 300 Black Terps in 1967.

“We were Black men that were standing up, shouting [and] screaming to a racist administration, in a racist state, among racist kids,” said McLeod.

Thanks to the efforts of McLeod and Wheeler, Black Terps like Culver and Jenkins were given the space needed to succeed and thrive, to which Culver gave thanks to. 

“That’s what we’re doing with the institutions that allow us to have a program like this, to talk about how we’re still here across all these generations despite the racism, despite the terror, despite all of the … calculated efforts to keep us out,” said Culver.

For Jenkins, her fondest memories were tied to working with the Black Explosion Newspaper.

“Being able to cultivate stories — our stories — of things that happen on campus, things that were not being printed in The Diamondback, having the opportunity to sit with someone like [Co-founder of the Black Panther Party] Bobby Seale,” said Jenkins.

Jenkins said that with the experiences she’s gained from working at the Black Explosion, she was able to land her first job out of UMD.

For Agbakwuru, he found joy from being a part of Community Roots, a multicultural activist group at the university.

“Overall, I feel like those joyful moments really sustained the actions later on when things weren’t as fun,” said Agbakwuru. “We had a lot of long meetings that, you know, went late into the night, but we also had a lot of parties.”

However, Dorsey didn’t get to experience many moments of joy or community due to the segregation and racism he experienced while attending as an undergraduate from 1965-1970.

“I still get emotional, I’m emotional right now being on this campus and the memory of what ‘65 to ’70 did to me,” said Dorsey. “It was a very, very long time before I ever came back to the campus.”

Soon after, McLeod shared that when he reached out to Black women for the panel, none of them wanted to recount their experiences at UMD.

“I talked to them directly about this, they said ‘No’ I don’t want to remember that, I don’t want to go through that again’ and that was sort of shocking to me,” said McLeod.

Jenkins, one of the two Black women panelists along with Wheeler, gave insight as to why this would be the case, citing racism, sexism and misogyny.

“There are going to be instances where my story is going to sound very different from that of you gentlemen because correct me if I’m wrong, I don’t think that you geared up for university experiences that way,” said Jenkins.

When asked about making systemic change at the University of Maryland, Rahman Culver, a former staff writer of The Black Explosion and a class of 2001 graduate in African-American studies, commented on the “stop racism” signage on the university’s shuttle buses.

“How do you actually put that into practice?,” questioned Culver. “What that always is going to come down to is holding people accountable for their behavior.”

From there, he shared a harrowing story about being stalked while on campus.

“For a period of about a month, you know, I had to deal with the specter of being killed. This was — up close and personal. This was before you could create a finsta or fake screen name and simply put something on social media,” said Culver.

After an investigation, Culver found that what was said in those emails were also being said on public pages. When they confronted the university administration, the administration said that “once you start talking about their pages, that’s free speech.”

“We have guidelines about what you can’t say on social media before you can get accepted into a university. But once you’re here, we [university administration] can’t hold you accountable for what you say? It makes no sense,” said Culver.

For a final question to close the night, Hughes-Watkins asked how Black students can build a community and sustain themselves within a predominantly white institution. Agbakwuru answered that for him, it was about staying ready and educating himself.

“It was about learning about the situations that are going on and then trusting yourself and trusting the people around you to respond,” said Agbakwuru.

According to the College of Behavioral Studies, this event is the inaugural kick off for the “Black Experience” project, which is part of  “the ‘Reparative Oral Histories Initiative’ aimed at archiving and documenting Black life at UMD.”

So far, Turner has conducted interviews with almost 40 Black alumni since May 2021.