“Hate Comes Tumbling Down:” Morgan State Demolishes the Spite Wall
Filed in HBCUs on April 21, 2023
In 1917, what is now Morgan State University purchased land to build a new campus in the Lauraville neighborhood of Baltimore. The surrounding neighborhood was predominantly White. As the campus expanded, in the early 1940s White residents built a brick wall to separate the HBCU campus from their community. The structure was known on campus as the “Spite Wall.”
Over the next 80 years. the wall became an eyesore that was covered with graffiti. Early this month, the wall was demolished.
Construction of the Spite Wall in 1942
Morgan State University President David Wilson stated: “Hate comes tumbling down. Morgan is an institution that is not afraid to dig into the past and to unearth those things that are unpleasant and to make sure that they are never forgotten.”
