A segregation tactic known as “Spite Wall” near Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland was reduced to a pile of bricks on April 11.
The university and its president, David Wilson, celebrated the destruction of the wall that was erected in the 1930s to enforce residential segregation in the area, reports WMAR-2 News. Laws restricted Black residents from living in certain areas of Baltimore.
A wall known as “Spite Wall” finally came crumbling down this morning on Hillen Rd. near Morgan State Univ. The wall, constructed in the segregated 1930’s, was used as a barrier to show where African-Americans could live. Morgan President Dr. Wilson led the ceremony. @WMAR2News pic.twitter.com/ZDI87MtQot
— Paul Jaffey (@paul_jaffey24) April 11, 2023
Despite objections from white neighbors in the area, Morgan State was able to purchase a portion of land it now sits on in 1917, according to WMAR-2 News.
The laws restricting where Black citizens could live in Baltimore weren’t enough for white residents, though, and “Spite Wall” was reportedly constructed so they wouldn’t have to see Black people on the Morgan State campus.
The last remaining portion of the wall that was torn down Tuesday was located on the site of an old Read’s Drugstore. Morgan State students and the Baltimore chapter of the Committee on Racial Equality (CORE) had staged lunch counter sit-ins at that Read’s and others in the city to protest segregation. In 1955, it was reported that Read’s would desegregate its 39 stores, reports Baltimore magazine. Although this wasn’t the first retailer to desegregate in Baltimore, the magazine reports that it’s considered a turning point for initiating other successful sit-ins.
