As we begin to unlock the stories of the Crownsville State Hospital, formerly the Hospital for the Negro Insane of Maryland, they must be recorded and preserved. The Crownsville State Hospital will be a study for many years to come and the oral tradition will be the only way to preserve the legacy of care, or lack thereof, treatment methods, death, life, and triumphs in one of America’s African American asylums.
Over the last 20 years, the Friends of the Crownsville Hospital Patient Cemetery, through the “Say My Name” ceremonies and cemetery cleanups as well as unlocking the names of more than 1,700 former patients buried in the cemetery, have begun to shed light on what really happened there.
Many former patients, nurses and doctors have stories they would like to share about their experiences there.
To capture these memories, The Friends joined the county Department of Recreation and Parks in early spring to launch a questionnaire to all residents, inviting them to take part in the “Crownsville Story” oral history project by participating in an interview on, or off camera.
Yes, the volume of stories is daunting. The Friends and the county are looking for citizens to join us as we take on the oral history project, and we also invite others involved in similar projects, to join us on Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for an Oral History Workshop at the Henry L. Hein Auditorium in Glen Burnie to share best practices. Among the best practices to be shared are those used by the Starr Center at Washington College and the Smithsonian Institution. To register for this event please visit this link www.aarecparks.org/OralHistoryWorkshop.
The workshop will focus on shared experiences, pitfalls, and the importance of preserving information gathered from the interviews for this project for the Maryland State Archives.
Joining us as a panelist at the workshop will be Antonia Hylton, a correspondent for NBC News. Hylton will share her journey with many of the people who worked at Crownsville and the numerous interviews she conducted to complete her book, “Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum” expected to hit bookstores next year.
We will also be joined by staff members from Anne Arundel County Community TV who will share tips and pointers for setting up and filming an oral interview. The workshop will be held at the Henry Hein Building in the Office of Emergency Management and AACO Community TV, 7480 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd, Glen Burnie.
Please join us. The oral tradition is critically important to the African American community. Now is the time to preserve it for all of us to see.
Also, mark your calendar to talk about the future of Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park with County Executive Steuart Pittman on June 27 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Rolling Knolls Elementary School cafeteria, 1985 Valley Road, Annapolis. https://aacounty.org/CrownsvilleParkTownHall.
Janice Hayes-Williams is a historian who studies the history of the Black community in Annapolis. Contact her at [email protected].