The experience of Africian-Americans are a rich vein in the history of Baltimore and Maryland, from slavery to the struggle for freedom in the 19th century to the battle for economic and social equality in the 20th century. From Baltimore to the Eastern Shore, people and places remeind us of the variety of the roles blacks have played in the social, political and cultural life of our state.

Since Baltimore's founding in the early 1700s, the large black population has been making contributions to its growth and development both physically and spiritually. Although slavery was legal in Maryland, there were more free blacks in Baltimore than there were slaves. The free blacks established and organized churches and organizations to aid in the fight against persecution. One result is the abundance of historically black churches still standing in the city today.

UM examining a history intertwined with slavery

Here at the University of Maryland, we have a problem. It is a problem familiar to all Americans, and indeed to all people: our forebears are not everything we want them to be. To be sure, Charles Calvert, the founder of the Maryland Agricultural College, had extraordinary vision, and the energy and resources to lay the foundation for a great institution. But Charles Calvert was a slaveholder, and portions of the land he conveyed to the state for the agricultural college - which became the University of Maryland, College Park - was his plantation.

The uncertain relationship between the university and slavery became evident during the celebration of our 150th anniversary, and that uncertainty emerges periodically as a campus issue. For some it has become a source of indignation and bitterness, for others embarrassment and shame - not so much because of the relationship itself, but because of the perception (I would call it a misperception) by some that we have been unwilling to explore the issue or answer the questions.

For others, the question is: How much can we really know? Such concerns have been magnified by the contemporary debate over slavery in American society, as represented in our popular culture, in our politics (legislative apologies - including the Maryland General Assembly's "statement of profound regret" - and congressional hearings), and in the vexed question of reparations.

Like other Americans who have been reminded that the Founding Fathers owned slaves and supported the institution of slavery, there is nothing we can do to rewrite the past. It is part of the mixed inheritance that encumbers every people. We can, however, understand our past, and its implications for us and our university. That is what we intend to do in a two-semester course to be offered in the academic year 2008-2009.

In some respects, the connection between the university's founding and slavery is obvious. In 1856, Maryland was a slave state, and slavery was suffused throughout its economy, politics and culture. The state's greatest source of wealth was slave-grown crops; its political and social leaders were slave-owners; and its ideals were shaped by the very existence of slavery. No aspect of Maryland life was untouched by slavery, so if slaves did not build the buildings on our campus, they made the bricks, and if they did not make the bricks, they drove the wagons that carried the bricks, and if they did not drive the wagons, they fed the horses.

Nonetheless, there is much still to be learned and, at Maryland, expanding knowledge is our strong suit. The research carried out by students here will form part of a report that will be submitted to the university community, with the firm belief that a knowledgeable and informed campus community strengthens the university's commitment to a more diverse and inclusive campus and promotes better relations between the university and the people of the state.

Ira Berlin is Distinguished University Professor (history) and Herbert Brewer is a doctoral candidate at the University of Maryland. They are among the authors of "A Guide to the History of Slavery in Maryland."

THE PEOPLE

BENJAMIN BANNEKER

An African-American mathematician and amateur astronomer, Banneker was born in Baltimore County, the son of a former slave named Robert, who had bought his own freedom, and of Mary Banneky, the daughter of a free slave. Banneker lived on his father's farm and attended a nearby Quaker country school for several seasons. He received no further formal education but enjoyed reading and taught himself literature, history, and mathematics. He worked as a tobacco planter for most of his life. In 1761, at age 30, Banneker constructed a striking wooden clock without having seen a clock before then, although he had examined a pocket watch. The clock operated successfully until his death. At 58, Banneker became interested in astronomy through the influence of a neighbor, George Ellicott, who lent him several books on astronomy as well as a telescope and drafting instruments. Without further guidance or assistance, Banneker taught himself astronomy; he made projections for solar and lunar eclipses and computed ephemeredes (tables of the locations of celestial bodies) for an almanac.

JAMES HUBERT "EUBIE" BLAKE

He was born in 1883, the son of a former slave. He began organ lessons at age 6 and grew to a life surrounded by music. Better known as "Eubie" Blake, the famous pianist and composer met the lyricist Noble Sissle. They wrote their first Broadway show, Shuffle Along, in 1921.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS

One of the most influential participants in the battle against racial injustice, Douglass was born into slavery on a farm outside of Easton. He escaped slavery and led one of the most extraordinary journeys that black history has to offer, becoming a noted writer, orator and abolitionist. For more information on the life of this courageous Maryland native, read A Biography of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Sandra Thomas or his own autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Douglass came Baltimore's Fells Point at age 8; memorials standing around the city to honor Douglass include a marker in Fells Point Square and a statue in front of Holmes Hall at Morgan State University.

FRANCES ELLEN WATKINS HARPER

Harper was born in Baltimore in 1825. Her parents died when she was 2, leaving her to live with her grandfather and attend Baltimore's Academy for Negro Youth School, at which her uncle taught. Influenced by their political activism and a strong education, she began writing poetry. Harper published a collection of poetry, Forest Leaves, in 1845, but is perhaps best known for her novel, Iola LeRoy, the story of a young woman who went South to help aid the freed people after the Civil War.

BILLIE HOLIDAY

The tragic jazz singer was born Eleanora Fagan in Baltimore in April 1915. Her biography, Lady Sings the Blues, chronicles her difficult childhood and her performance at Baltimore's famous Royal Theatre. James Earl Reid's magnificent, 8 1/2 foot bronze sculpture of Holiday, complete with a gardenia in her hair, can be viewed on Pennsylvania Avenue in West Baltimore, directly across from Providence Baptist Church.

JOSHUA JOHNSON

Between 1789 and 1832, Johnson painted portraits of Baltimore residents. He is noted as the first prominent African-American portrait painter. A marker at the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre in downtown Baltimore notes the location of where his studio once stood. Some of his paintings show a child holding a strawberry and, according to the 1814 Baltimore Directory, Johnson was noted as living on Strawberry Alley. The Baltimore Museum of Art and the Maryland Historical Society hold some of his work on display.

THURGOOD MARSHALL

Born in Baltimore in 1908, he was appointed as the first black Supreme Court justice in 1967. Marshall played an integral role in the civil rights movement in the 20th century, representing Linda Brown in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case and later ruling upon many important Supreme Court cases. A statue at the U.S. Courthouse on Pratt Street in downtown Baltimore honors Baltimore's native son, and a marker at 1632 Division St. marks the site of the house he grew up in.

JOHN H. MURPHY SR.

In 1892, The Afro-American Newspaper was founded by Murphy, a former slave. He purchased the printing equipment at a public auction for $200 and used it to begin publishing his own newspaper, focusing mainly on church events. In 1900, it merged with other church bulletins to form one periodical. By 1922 the newspaper had evolved from the church bulletin it had been into the most widely circulated black newspaper along the East Coast. Murphy's five sons took over the business after their father's death and the paper continued to increase its circulation and influence in American culture.

HARRIET TUBMAN

Born about 1820 in Dorchester County, Tubman was a runaway slave who became known as the "Moses of her people." Over the course of 10 years, and at great personal risk, she led hundreds of slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad, a secret network of safe houses where runaway slaves could stay on their journey north to freedom. She later became a leader in the abolitionist movement, and during the Civil War she was a spy for the federal forces in South Carolina as well as a nurse.