Sojourner–Douglass College was a

private college Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...

organized around an Afrocentric focus of study and located in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. The college was founded in 1972 and focused on educating

mature students An adult learner—or, more commonly, a mature student or mature-age student—is a person who is older and is involved in forms of learning. Adult learners fall in a specific criterion of being experienced, and do not always have a high school di ...

. The college's accreditation was revoked by the

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, also referred to as the Middle States Association or MSA, is an accreditor in the United States. Historically, it has accredited schools in the Mid-Atlantic states region of the northeas ...

effective June 30, 2015, and the college remains closed for instruction.

History

Established as part of the Antioch Network in 1972 as the Homestead-Montebello Center of

Antioch College Antioch College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection and began operating in 1852 as a non-secta ...

, the institution became an independent entity with a four-year program on July 1, 1980, and was named in honor of

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

Sojourner Truth Sojourner Truth (; born Isabella Bomefree; November 26, 1883) was an American Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist and activist for African-American civil rights, women's rights, and Temperance movement, alcohol temperance. Truth was ...

and

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...

. The college took possession of the

Eastern Female High School Eastern Female High School, also known as Public School No. 116, is a historic female high school located on the southeast corner of the 200 block of North Aisquith Street and Orleans Street, in the old Jonestown / Old Town neighborhoods, east o ...

building in 2003 from the municipal government after the college paid $150,000.

Loss of accreditation and closing

The college suffered from financial difficulties with its regional

accreditation Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

being threatened several times. In March 2014, Sojourner was placed on "show cause" status with the

. It had until September 1, 2015, to convince its accreditor not to revoke its accreditation. On June 29, 2015, Sojourner–Douglass College filed for a 14-day

temporary restraining order An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable reme ...

against

Middle States Commission on Higher Education The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, abbreviated as MSCHE and legally incorporated as the Mid-Atlantic Region Commission on Higher Education, is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evalua ...

, which was denied on June 30, 2015. On July 1, 2015, Sojourner–Douglass College sued the

for violating the

Civil Rights Act of 1866 The Civil Rights Act of 1866 (, enacted April 9, 1866, reenacted 1870) was the first United States federal law to define citizenship and affirm that all citizens are equally protected by the law. It was mainly intended, in the wake of the Ame ...

by revoking their accreditation. On August 24, 2015, U.S. District Judge

Ellen Lipton Hollander Ellen Frances Lipton Hollander (born May 24, 1949) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Early life and education Born Ellen Frances Lipton on May 24, 1949, in New York, New Yo ...

ruled against restoring Sojourner-Douglass's accreditation, while the college's

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

against the

was allowed to move forward. In addition to denying the request for an injunction, Hollander dismissed two counts in the lawsuit,

racial discrimination Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their Race (human categorization), race, ancestry, ethnicity, ethnic or national origin, and/or Human skin color, skin color and Hair, hair texture. Individuals ...

and

breach of contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other part ...

without prejudice ''Prejudice'' is a legal term with different meanings, which depend on whether it is used in criminal, civil, or common law. In legal context, ''prejudice'' differs from the more common use of the word and so the term has specific technical mea ...

. She gave the college 17 days to revise the lawsuit. In May 2016 the College listed its main central campus as well as its secondary administrative building for sale. In August 2016, the City of Baltimore listed the Eastern Female building on a foreclosure auction and sold it in 2017 despite the college leadership's objections. The satellite campus in

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of The Bahamas. It is on the island of New Providence, which had a population of 246,329 in 2010, or just over 70% of the entire population of The Bahamas. As of April 2023, the preliminary results of ...

, closed on July 29, 2016.

Administration

Charles Simmons

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

, was the institution's first and only president. In 2013, he was recognized "for a lifetime of dedication to reducing inequalities" at the Second Annual Symposium on the Social Determinants of Health.

Academics

Sojourner–Douglass College's

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

programs were geared toward adult learners. S-DC also offered a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in applied

social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

. It was accredited by the Maryland Higher Education Commission.

Campuses

Satellite campus A satellite campus, branch campus or regional campus is a campus of a university or college that is physically at a distance from the original university or college area. This branch campus may be located in a different city, state, or country, ...

es were located in other areas in Maryland (

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

Owings Mills Owings Mills is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. Per the 2020 census, the population was 35,674. Owings Mills is home to the northern terminus o ...

, and Lanham) as well as in

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Austria * Nassau (Groß Sankt Florian), incorporated village of Groß Sankt Florian Bahamas *Nassau, The Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upp ...

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

. On September 23, 2016, the former main campus, in Baltimore, suffered a two-alarm fire, with heavy smoke and moderate fire on the third floor. The fire took about 30 minutes to get under control. No injuries were reported, as the building had been unoccupied since the college closed in 2015.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sojourner-Douglass College 1972 establishments in Maryland African-American history in Annapolis, Maryland African-American history in Baltimore African-American history in Cambridge, Maryland African diaspora in the Bahamas Afrocentrism Antioch College Antioch University Universities and colleges in the Bahamas East Baltimore Educational institutions established in 1972 Nassau, Bahamas Pan-Africanist organizations Private schools in Baltimore Private schools in Baltimore County, Maryland Salisbury, Maryland Schools in Dorchester County, Maryland Universities and colleges in Anne Arundel County, Maryland Universities and colleges in Baltimore Universities and colleges in Baltimore County, Maryland Universities and colleges in Prince George's County, Maryland Universities and colleges in Wicomico County, Maryland Educational institutions disestablished in 2015 2015 disestablishments in Maryland Defunct private universities and colleges in Maryland