“It stays with you.”
That is how one person described the appearance of “racist imagery” in materials distributed for a tournament hosted by the University of Maryland (UMD) Club Tennis Team last weekend.
The club team president for Howard University, one of the participating schools, described it as a recognizable symbol associated with the Ku Klux Klan.
“I don’t really understand how it ended up on a tennis club document,” said Benjamin Jancewicz.
“The only way to find it is if you search for ‘racist Maryland flag.’ Then the article comes up, and the image comes up.”
Jancewicz said he was horrified when he learned the online flyer distributed for last weekend’s tennis tournament contained an image he’d created for his 2017 article on how a Confederate symbol — the red and white Crossland Banner — became, and remains, part of the Maryland flag.
“People ought to be offended as much by the illustration as they are with Confederate symbols in our flag,” Jancewicz said.
In a letter to the campus community, UMD President Darryll J. Pines said, “[…] importantly we condemned the image in no uncertain terms. It was deeply harmful and offensive, and I offer my apology for its detrimental impact on one and all.
He went on to describe the initial actions UMD took. He says the university’s recreation and wellness staff suspended the entire club tennis team indefinitely pending an investigation. He said the team’s tournament matches were forfeited, and team leaders met with other captains to apologize and take responsibility.
“It lingers on,” said Linda Thornton Thomas, president of the NAACP chapter of Prince George’s County, which includes College Park. “[…] I can’t actually believe that every single person that saw that didn’t have a similar thought to what we all have.”
Howard University’s tennis club posted a statement to Instagram saying UMD’s actions have not gone far enough. They would like the school to issue an official public apology to Howard University and its tennis club, an investigation into exactly who created the google document, sensitivity training for the Maryland team and advisors and a donation from tournament funds to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
The incident is under investigation both by the university’s Office of Student Conduct and its police department.
