Down in a grassy clearing at a horse ranch just outside of Baltimore, hundreds of people braved the cold on Saturday for an afternoon of commemoration and community service.
Some came from the University of Maryland and Bowie State University. Others were veterans, foundation leaders and friends. They all showed up for the same reason — to honor the life and legacy of 2nd Lt. Richard Collins III, a Bowie State University student who was killed on this university’s campus in May 2017.
“Our whole point of this is to bring people together, building relationships and understanding that we’re all human,” said Richard Collins Jr., Collins’ father. “That’s the only race that really matters, is the human race. Everything else is just made up by mankind.”
Collins, a Black man, was fatally stabbed at a bus stop near Montgomery Hall by a white student who attended this university. Collins died just days before he was set to graduate.
The perpetrator was charged with first-and second-degree murder. Prosecutors said the killing was a hate crime.
After their son was killed, Collins’ parents founded the 2nd Lieutenant Richard W. Collins III Foundation to promote a hate-free society and empower the United States’ youth through scholarship and mentorship.
“We wanted to show the essence of Lt. Collins and the service that he was giving this nation,” said Dawn Collins, his mother and the foundation’s co-founder.
Bowie State and this university then teamed up with the foundation in 2020 to form a Social Justice Alliance, the memory of Collins guiding their efforts to combat racial inequity.
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For this year’s service day, the fourth of its kind, the Social Justice Alliance and the foundation partnered with The Mission Continues, an organization that serves the veteran community.
Together the groups hosted Saturday’s event at City Ranch, a Black-owned nonprofit horseback riding facility.
“We really try to be intentional about who we’re working with,” said Jeanette Snider, an assistant research professor for the Social Justice Alliance and Anti-Black Racism Initiative at this university. “In everything we do, we try to be intentional.”
That’s also why this year’s day of service fell on a chilly December afternoon. It marked the beginning of a week of remembrance leading up to Collins’ birthday on Dec. 12. He would have turned 32 this week.
Sunlight streamed through the barren tree branches as community members spent the day building benches and trail signs, mapping out paths in the woods behind the ranch and cleaning up the ranch’s grounds in honor of Collins’ own eagerness to help and serve. Their spirits were high despite the weather.
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“It’s just a good way to give back to the community and a good way to celebrate his life,” said senior English major Naomi Nicholas, who is also from Bowie. She attended Saturday’s event with her sorority, Sigma Gamma Rho.
In between the raking of leaves and the sounds of drilling into wood, people also formed new connections with those outside of the groups they arrived with.
Bowie State University student Moshopeoluwa Akinwale found himself building a bench with a group of students from this university. He said he was glad he got the chance to meet and talk with them.
Dawn and Richard Jr., the lieutenant’s parents, smiled as they looked at everyone who gathered in memory of their son. Many already wore the sweatshirts they received upon arrival, which read “Rich with Love” in reference to a mini-documentary about the Collins’ story that was released earlier this year.
“He started the process, and now we’re making sure that he is not forgotten,” Dawn said. “He would be very proud and honored that he is being recognized in this manner.”
