Brief History

A Brief Historical Note

Sojourner-Douglass College came into existence on July 1, 1980, under the leadership of its President, Charles W. Simmons, Ph.D.  Dr. Simmons conceived the idea along with Allen V.  Carter, Sr., Ph. D, Richard M. Moore and officers and members of the Homestead Montebello Churches and Community Organizations, Inc. in response to the community’s desire for educational self-determination.


Established in 1972 as the Homestead-Montebello Center of Antioch College, the Center offered an applied social science curriculum leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree.  The Center evolved under the leadership of Dr. Carter, Executive Director and Dr. Charles Simmons, Associate Executive Director, into a flourishing institution between the years 1972-1975.  When Dr. Carter resigned, Dr. Simmons and Dr. Marian Stanton-Johnson established a co-directorship and developed the Center through 1979.

The Center was accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools on June 19, 1980, after it became an independent institution under the laws of the state of Maryland on February 7, 1980.  The latest milestones in the history of the College include the Fall 2000 approval by the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) and prior approval by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education for the College to offer the Master’s degree in Applied Social Sciences in Urban Education (Reading), Human Services, and Public Administration.

In addition to the main campus at Baltimore, Sojourner-Douglass College conducts classes at five off-campus sites:  Nassau (Bahamas), Annapolis, Cambridge, Salisbury and Prince George’s County in Maryland.    The Nassau campus was initially visited and recommended for approval as a branch campus by an on-site evaluation team of the Commission on Higher Education / Middle States Association in November, 1994.  The Annapolis, Cambridge, Salisbury and Prince George’s County (Maryland campuses) operate under the provisions of MHEC requirements for off-campus instruction.

The entire Sojourner-Douglass College family (all campuses) recently engaged in an exercise of Institutional Self-Study in preparation for site-visits and re-affirmation of accreditation by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.  This process was completed in April, 2006.

Sojourner-Douglass College emphasizes close ties with the community from which it draws significant input.  Its curriculum is designed to motivate and enhance student development toward positive self-images.  The name Sojourner-Douglass was selected to honor the historical contribution of two African-American abolitionists  -  a woman and a man  -  Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass.  Sojourner-Douglass College is the only private, predominantly African-American, degree granting college in the State of Maryland.