On August 25th the unveiling and dedication ceremony for the Brownsville/Park Ave Memorial in the Upper Quad of Frostburg State University’s campus took place. Brownsville was founded about 150 years ago and, as the university began to grow during the last century, the people of Brownsville had their homes, land, and community taken from them. 
University president, Ron Nowaczyk, stated that the memorial is the “beginning step needed to understand what Brownsville and Park Ave. descendants have done for this community” and that more steps will be taken in order to begin the reparations descendants are owed.
Allegany County NAACP chapter president, Carmen Jackson, spoke on her personal relationship to Brownsville through her father-in-law, Raymond Jackson, whose home was taken from him as the university expanded. She stated that Brownsville is “something to celebrate and not to hide from” and that only in “honoring and recognizing [the sacrifices made], no matter how we got there, can we start to move forward together.”
Many Brownsville descendants were present at the ceremony and assisted in the unveiling of the plaques. Find the live-stream of the event here.
