OWINGS MILLS, Md. — McDonogh School in Owings Mills will dedicate a unique memorial next week to honor the slaves held by its founder, John McDonogh.
The April 19 private ceremony will be the culmination of the school's efforts for almost 20 years to create such a memorial on the 835-acre campus, which dates to 1873.
According to the school's website, "John McDonogh (1779-1850) was born in Baltimore but lived most of his adult life in New Orleans as a businessman, plantation owner, sometime-politician, and a supporter of the American Colonization Society. His estate, which led to the creation of McDonogh School, was built through the use of slave labor."
He "bought and sold hundreds of thousands of acres of land, dozens of plantations, and hundreds of enslaved people throughout his life. When he died in 1850, he owned 95 enslaved men, women, and children."
During the summer of 2020, protestors removed a John McDonogh statue in New Orleans and threw it in the Mississippi River. In response to that incident, David J. Farace, Head of McDonogh School, said in a statement at the time: "Shamefully and regrettably, slavery is part of our school’s history... Today, McDonogh is committed to being a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community, and in honoring this commitment, we must continue to acknowledge, confront, and denounce the evils of racism that contributed to our school’s founding, and that tragically and systemically still exist in our country."
Created by artist and retired faculty member Oletha DeVane, the memorial is an outdoor garden space that features a 14-foot sculpture called "Ascend." It incorporates the profiles of a man and woman to represent enslaved people, a water element cascading over the names of 95 slaves on McDonogh's plantations, a pedestal similar to platforms used in slave auctions, sugar cane stalks (because John McDonogh owned sugar and cotton plantations), sweetgum tree (whose burrs represented "an obstacle to freedom" and that was used for medicinal purposes in enslaved communities), a purple plant similar to the West African crop indigo.
The dedication ceremony will be private for students, faculty, staff, trustees and special guests. It will feature traditional African drumming by Baltimore-based Urban Foli, as well as a wreath-laying, a libation ritual, and the reading of the slaves' names.
