How Maryland is Reckoning With Forgotten Black Boys Who Died in State Care More Than a Century Ago
For more than a century, the hundreds of Black children buried in a wooded patch of Prince George’s County, Maryland, were largely invisible. Now, the state is being forced to reckon with them.
More than 300 Black boys and young men died while confined at the former House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children in Cheltenham, Maryland, a segregated state institution open from the late 19th century into the 20th century, according to the Center for Youth Justice. Many were buried on the property grounds. Some graves were marked with stones or concrete blocks. Others were left without any markers.
The cemetery became overgrown and largely forgotten. That is, until the state of Maryland opened an investigation to learn the truth.
The Commission on the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children has started looking into the deaths, including whether the boys were abused, neglected, malnourished or medically neglected. The children housed at the segregated facility were reportedly beaten, forced into labor, denied an education and subjected to inadequate care.
But establishing what happened is only part of the larger responsibility.
“Loving your country does not mean pretending like awful, bad and dark spots did not happen,” Gov. Wes Moore wrote in a statement. “It means being able to embrace everything, flaws and all, and say that every day is an opportunity for us to be better.”
The commission also faces difficult questions about the cemetery and the remains. Should graves remain undisturbed? Should some remains be exhumed for identification or forensic examination? Should descendants have the option to bury their relatives elsewhere?
Commissioner Phyllis Hammond, who discovered that her uncle, Amos Hammond, was buried in the cemetery at 18 years old, wants to create a place of remembrance for the hundreds of voiceless boys whose stories have been disregarded.
“Make that site a memorial, a place of dignity to recognize these young men, to bring awareness to the lives that they lived in that facility and how they died in those woods,” she told NBC Washington.
And then comes the hardest question: who is responsible? Although the individuals who ran the institution are long gone, the facility was operated by the state.
Maryland is putting money behind that effort. The state awarded the Department of Juvenile Services a $200,000 grant and set aside another $1.05 million in its 2027 budget to help identify and honor the young people buried at the site, according to the governor’s office.
Meanwhile, the commission expects to release an initial report by the end of 2027. Until then, officials are hopeful that the buried children will finally have their place documented in American history.
“I’m grateful to be on this journey,” Commissioner Hammond added. “I’m still grieving; all the families are still grieving. But I’m just so thankful that this has been revealed.”
