Oblate Sisters of Providence is founded as the first order of Black nuns.

July 2, 1829

The Oblate Sisters of Providence is founded in Baltimore as the first community of Black Roman Catholic sisters in the U.S. The Order’s first mission is the education of girls of African descent. The Oblate Sisters are founded by French-born Sulpician priest James Nicholas Joubert (1777-1834) who flees from Haiti during its revolution, and Mary Elizabeth Lange (1789-1882), the Order’s first Mother Superior.

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“Underground railroad” term coined

Thomas Smallwood coins the expression “underground railroad,” in a newspaper column in 1842. Born a slave in PG county he teams up with Charles Torrey (pictured), a white clergyman, to help over 400 slaves escape through DC.

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Land Recognition

We acknowledge the enduring presence of many American Indian tribes who once lived in Maryland and who now, having lost their lands, live in a diaspora. Read more.

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