Two glass gallon jars of soil sit on a plain white display case by the entrance to the STAMP Gallery. On each jar, a name, a date and a place, urging visitors to listen to the testimony of this gathered earth.
Taken from College Park, Maryland and Edgecombe, North Carolina, this earth introduces us to two Black men, murdered six decades apart in acts of racial hate. One is Corporal Richard W. Collins Sr. who was killed on May 14th, 1954 and one is his grandson and namesake, 1st Lt. Richard W. Collins III, murdered by a white University of Maryland student on May 20th, 2017.
This artwork, commissioned by the Equal Justice Initiative, is the painful and necessary beginning to an exhibit that gathers poetry, portraiture, music, textiles, zines, documentary and performance in a truly celebratory display of a rich life — of Black excellence, of memory and connection across generations, of loss and above all, of love.
In this tenth year since Lt. Collins’ murder, parents Dawn and Richard Collins and the Bowie State University - University of Maryland Social Justice Alliance (SJA) worked with STAMP Gallery manager Tara Youngborg and Bias Incident Support Services’ b.a. medina to bring a powerful exhibit to life.
For Dawn Collins, the exhibit brought up a mix of strong emotions.
“It is traumatizing. It is enlightening. It is beautiful. I'm so happy Lt. Collins is getting all this recognition. I am proud of all of his accomplishments and all my family stands for. I feel Black pride and I am angry,” said Dawn Collins.
“I am also grateful to Dr. Jeanette Snider, Tara Youngborg and b.a. medina whose presence helped center me as I navigated all these emotions.”
Over the years, SJA and the Collins’ have worked to ensure the essential conversation around race and racism continues by creating opportunities for young people to connect across difference and broach hard topics. A recent example of this is captured in a video series by UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center.
Every spring, SJA hosts a symposium bringing together change makers, scholars and community leaders to explore community building and collective action for social justice. Every fall SJA hosts an Annual Lt. Collins Day of Service, inviting BSU and UMD students, faculty, staff and community members to work together on a community project.
The exhibit Rich with Love: A Decade of Remembrance is showing at the STAMP Gallery now until Dec. 12, what would have been Lt. Collins’ 33rd birthday.
“The opening is at a very intentional time,” said Dr. Jeanette Snider, assistant research professor for the SJA and Anti-Black Racism Initiative at UMD. “It coincides with homecoming, so we hope folks who come back on campus will attend.”
“It is traumatizing. It is enlightening. It is beautiful. I'm so happy Lt. Collins is getting all this recognition.
Dawn Collins
Mother of 2nd Lt. Richard Collins III
In February, the STAMP Gallery called for art that honors the life of Lt. Collins or speaks generally to racial injustice. Dozens of submissions came in from UMD, BSU and beyond – from teenagers to former ROTC who trained with Lt. Collins’ to retired UMD faculty. Each submission was reviewed by a committee from both institutions as well as Dawn Collins.
“I loved [all the submissions]. I needed to know that people care and their submissions proved that,” said Collins.
SJA committee member Beth Douthirt Cohen, who also leads strategic initiatives for undergraduate education at the School of Public Health, said the exhibit is particularly important to the school.
“The young man who murdered Lt. Collins was an SPH student, so we feel really committed as a school to make sure our students are informed. If they are struggling in some way, or if they harbor any of these biases or prejudices, we want to get them help so that they don't do that in the future,” Douthirt Cohen said.
SPH contributed a video and a memorial quilt to the exhibit. Grounded in the southern African American tradition of quilt-making with fabrics from the African diaspora, the quilt is filled with Lt. Collins’ favorite color: orange.
At the end of the day, Dawn Collins wants people who visit the exhibit to feel what she felt.
“I want folks to wrestle with one central question: What will you do to make sure this doesn't happen again on your watch? This is on each of us. There is enough blood that's been spilled on this campus.”
The Collins family and representatives of both universities will select three pieces to receive a cash award, with $500 for the first place winner. After the exhibit closes, a digital collection of the works will be hosted by the Clarice Performing Arts Center.
GET INVOLVED
Join the BSU-UMD Social Justice Alliance, in partnership with the 2nd Lt. Richard W. Collins III Foundation and the Baltimore Platoon of the Travis Manion Foundation, for our annual Lt. Collins Day of Service at City Ranch!
- Date: Saturday, December 5, 2026
- Time: 11:00AM - 2:00PM
REGISTER HERE
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