Commission to assess tragedy of Black youth at former reform school holds first meeting

At their first meeting, members of a panel researching "the history, operations, and resident deaths” at the site of a formerly segregated Maryland reform school were thanked for their service and warned to steel themselves to what they might find.

By: William J. Ford

Outlets: Maryland Matters

Published: August 5, 2026

Words: 711

Last Updated: 1 week, 6 days ago

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After visiting the site of a formerly segregated reform school in Prince George’s County where at least 230 Black youths are buried, Phyllis Hammond wrote a poem.

Hammond, 69, read “If these woods could talk” Tuesday, at the first meeting of the commission that has been charged with researching “the history, operations, and resident deaths” at the former House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children in Cheltenham. Hammond, one of nearly two dozen …

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