Thurgood Marshall’s Former School Reimagined, With UMD’s Help

UMD Facilities on Law, Gun Violence and Public Health Anchor New West Baltimore Center

As an elementary school student at West Baltimore’s P.S. 103, young Thurgood Marshall was so rambunctious that his teachers often sent him to a quiet room in the basement, where he was instructed to read the U.S. Constitution. By the time he finished elementary school in 1921, the late U.S. Supreme Court justice later said, he’d memorized it.

Now, the historic building has taken on a new identity as a community gathering place, research hub and legal center that carries on his long-standing values, thanks in part to the University of Maryland. The Thurgood Marshall Amenity Center at P.S. 103 is anchored by the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences’ Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. Center for Education, Justice and Ethics, which conducts research and offers programs on criminal justice issues.

A grand opening will be held Monday, the eve of what would have been Marshall’s 116th birthday. Scheduled guests include his son John Marshall, as well as former NBA star Carmelo Anthony and ambassadors from Ghana, Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya.

The center also includes two other UMD-led facilities: a branch of the Transformative Research and Applied Violence Intervention Lab (TRAVAIL), led by MPower Professor of African American and Africana Studies, Medical Anthropology and Epidemiology Joseph Richardson, and a health and wellness space helmed by Stephen B. Thomas, professor of health policy and management and director of the Center for Health Equity in the School of Public Health.

“We’re excited to help transform that entire area, which has been deprived for so long,” said Williams, a retired U.S. District Court judge who now serves as director of the center bearing his name.

“This great work is really going to serve as a catalyst to prioritize the history and humanity and beauty of the people who reside here,” said Sarsfield Williams, who is not related to Alexander Williams, Jr.

The Judge Williams Center occupies three of the eight restored classrooms on the first floor and offers youth engagement services, a lecture series, classes on ethical public leadership and programming on the criminal justice system. It also continues to operate out of the Seneca Building in College Park.

Richardson’s lab will engage with the community to identify and address issues that lead to gun violence, work with public school students who are at high risk of becoming perpetrators or victims of gun violence, and conduct research on methods for reducing gun violence.

Thomas’ facility, meanwhile, will offer services like hypertension screenings, bloodwork and, thanks to a partnership with UMD psychology Assistant Research Professor Heather Yarger, support for families of children with autism.

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Thurgood Marshall’s Former School Reimagined, With UMD’s Help

Photo by Riley Sims Ph.D. ’23

Credit: Maryland Today; College of Behavioral and Social Sciences