Colloquium on African American History in Frederick County

FREDERICK, Maryland—Hood College’s “Memory” colloquium series continues Feb. 12 when the African American Resources of Culture and Heritage (AARCH) Society presents a series of short stories about the rich tapestry of African American history in Frederick County at 7 p.m. in Hood’s Whitaker Campus Center Commons.

The presentation, titled “Held in Regard,” will include several stories about the advancement of black rights and black leaders in Frederick County. A few examples of the stories include:

• E. Mitchell Johnson: publisher and civil rights activist who published the Frederick Hornet newspaper and won a lawsuit for the right to vote in 1913.
• Lincoln High School: the first high school in Frederick County built for colored children. Opened in 1923, it was previously housed in a one-room stone building.
• Patrick Henry Ambush: slave, soldier and activist who was a U.S. Colored Troop soldier in the Civil War. Eight years later, he owned a large tract of land.
• Dr. Ulysses Bourne Sr.: physician, civic leader and activist who was the first black doctor in Frederick. He helped to establish the NAACP chapter in Frederick, and he created a savings association to encourage other black citizens to save to buy property.
• John Bruner: educator who became the first black superintendent of schools in Frederick County. From a family of five educators that spanned nearly 75 years, he petitioned the Board of Education for a high school for colored students.

The AARCH Society is an organization whose mission is to identify, collect, preserve, exhibit and disseminate African American history in Frederick County. For more information about the society, visit aarchsociety.org.

Funded in part by a National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Grant, this event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Aaron Angello at angello@hood.edu or 301-696-3211 or visit humanities.hood.edu.

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