Van Hollen, Cardin, Mfume Introduce Legislation to Designate Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall's Baltimore Elementary School as a National Historical Site

Yesterday, Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressman Kweisi Mfume (all D-Md.) introduced the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site Establishment Act of 2024 in the United States Senate and House of Representatives. This bipartisan legislation would establish Public School 103 (P.S. 103), on Division Street in West Baltimore, as a National Historic Site and designate it as an affiliated area of the National Park System (NPS). P.S. 103 was built in 1877 and is the former elementary school of Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme Court Justice. Congressmen Steny Hoyer (D-MD-05), Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD-02), John Sarbanes (D-MD-03), Andy Harris (R-MD-01), Jamie Raskin (D-MD-08), David Trone (D-MD-06), and Glenn Ivey (D-MD-04) are original cosponsors of the legislation in the U.S. House.

Beloved Community Services Corporation, Inc. spearheaded the $15 million revitalization effort to restore P.S. 103 for adaptive re-use, including $1 million in congressionally directed funding to help rehabilitate the aging school. The building was completed in December of 2023 and opened to the public on July 2, 2024 as the Justice Thurgood Marshall Amenity Center. The date of this opening coincided with what would have been the 116th birthday of the late Supreme Court justice. Universities, non-profits, and even the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport will rent out classrooms for educational programs. Other parts of the building will hold the history of the school, Thurgood Marshall, and other Black leaders from Baltimore, such as Congressman Elijah Cummings.

"P.S. 103 is part of the heart, soul, and history of Baltimore. That's why we've worked to secure federal investments to restore it and why we're working to designate it as a national historic site. This will bring even greater recognition to the place where a young Thurgood Marshall got his start, inviting visitors from across the nation to learn from our past and inspiring them to light the way to a better future for our nation - just as Marshall would have wanted," said Senator Van Hollen.

"Justice Marshall grew up on Division Street just a few blocks from this site. I too, spent my teenage years growing up on Division Street. I knew Justice Marshall, I interacted with him, and I have always been inspired by this native son of Baltimore who touched the lives of so many - including my own," said Congressman Mfume. "Senator Cardin, Senator Van Hollen, Rev. Hathaway of Beloved Community Services Corporation and I have worked hand in glove on this effort to protect and preserve the Thurgood Marshall School," he concluded.

"Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall's accomplishments, intellect and determination are inspiring for this generation and all those to come. His history - his upbringing and early education, his challenges and his successes - are intertwined with Baltimore history and need to be preserved and celebrated," said Senator Cardin. "I've been proud to work with Congressman Mfume, Senator Van Hollen, Senator Mikulski, Rev. Hathaway and others who truly understand the significance of P.S. 103 and what a resource it can be for West Baltimore and the nation."

"Justice Thurgood Marshall will be to Baltimore as The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. is to Atlanta. The Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site will be the economic catalyst the Upton/Marble Hill Community needs to ignite a renaissance in cultural and historic storytelling. It will be a place that empowers, educates and informs future generations on the importance of early education as the vehicle that shapes our society. It will also be the place where we continue the outstanding Civil Rights legacy of this community. Beloved Community Services Corporation is honored to be the custodians of this rich history," said Rev. Dr. Alvin Hathaway, President and CEO, Beloved Community Services Corporation.

Yesterday's introduction is part of a years-long effort to provide the site national recognition. The Maryland Delegation secured language in the John S. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act (P.L. 116-9) directing the National Park Service to complete a special resource study of Public School 103. The National Park Service found that the school met its criteria for national significance and suitability for addition to the National Park System. This legislation would recognize the former elementary school as the Thurgood Marshall Historic Site?within the NPS and help further preserve the site.

Additional Information: P.S. 103 and Justice Thurgood Marshall

• P.S. 103 is located in the Upton neighborhood of West Baltimore, Maryland.
  
• P.S. 103 was originally built in 1877 for West Baltimore's white immigrant population, but in 1911 it became a segregated African American school.
  
• Thurgood Marshall attended P.S. 103 from 1st through 8th grade, from 1914 to 1921.
  
• As an adult, Marshall's accomplishments include systematically dismantling the legal framework for Jim Crow segregation, which became the foundation of the Civil Rights Movement.
  
• As a nationally leading civil rights lawyer, Marshall won 29 cases argued before the United States Supreme Court.
  
• In 1967, Marshall was appointed the first African American Supreme Court justice and served on the court until his retirement in 1991.

Read the bill text HERE.

To see a map of the site, click HERE.