Reposted from Washington Post
Howard University is investigating a break-in and alleged vandalism, posted on social media, of a campus building that holds historical documents and other archival material. It was unclear whether any of the materials were stolen or damaged.
The break-in occurred at Benjamin E. Mays Hall, a building on the university’s East Campus that had been home to the Howard University School of Divinity until 2015, when the school relocated, the dean of the school said in a statement. A video of the break-in that had been circulating on Instagram until it was recently deleted, showed a group of people “rummaging through Mays Hall, running through the stacks of its library, flipping through books and files, and even deploying a fire extinguisher indoors,” the Rev. Kenyatta Gilbert, the school’s dean wrote in a letter to the Howard University community on Friday. The break-in was brought to the school’s attention by alumni, who raised concern over the security of historical files that remain in the building, including early copies of the Christian Recorder, the nation’s oldest newspaper published by African Americans that predates the Civil War. The break-in was first reported on the What I'm Reading newsletter. Gilbert said that the group, whose identity was not disclosed, forced entry into the boarded-up building through a mechanical room. In response, Howard University public safety officers are ramping up patrols of the building while the university works to reassess everything in it and secure it. “The University is taking the necessary steps to ensure the School of Divinity’s most precious archival materials are in safekeeping,” Gilbert said. The Rev. Melech E.M. Thomas, an alum of the school, said in an interview that more needs to be done. “Remove, recover and restore” the materials in the building and in other forgotten places on campus, said Thomas, who was alerted to the break-in early Friday after a fellow alum sent him the video. “We don’t know what’s been stolen, lost, destroyed forever,” Thomas said, calling the images “heartbreaking to say the least.”
The now-deleted video, which Thomas had copied before it was removed and shared with The Washington Post, features three people walking into the abandoned building, commenting on old photos hanging on a wall, stained glass windows, books that were more than 100 years old, abandoned dorm rooms and “this sick broken statue” — a headless torso that a member of the group sprayed with a fire extinguisher they had found. The building appears neglected, with fallen tiles and papers strewn across floors. The account holder who posted the video — who described themselves as a “history enthusiast/explorer” on Instagram — posted an Instagram story on Saturday in which they defended the video and exploration, saying the goal was to create awareness of neglected historical items. The account also posted direct messages they said they had received thanking the group for highlighting the neglected state of the archives. The poster also said the video was made “a while back” and that it was clear they weren’t the first to explore the building. “Those of you worried about the individual spraying a fire extinguisher in my post should focus on the current state of the place,” the story said. A message seeking an interview with the account’s owner was not returned Saturday. Thomas said the video showed callousness toward what should have been treated as priceless relics documenting the history and experiences of African Americans. But he said the incident should serve as a wake-up call for the university to discover all important documents, artwork, relics and other archival material that remains vulnerable to theft, erosion or vandalism.
The materials were left in the building when the School of Divinity moved to the West Campus because of the limited capacity of the school’s new space, Gilbert said in the letter. The university had prioritized the items, moving materials important to the school’s coursework and accreditation first, as well as “high-value collections of art, administrative files, and other archival materials.” “The remainder of the school’s possessions continued to be stored at Mays Hall due to limited capacity of the school’s new space,” he said. The university has been working since 2017 to redevelop the site and have been working with the preservationists to designate much of the area the building sits on as a historic landmark district, Gilbert said.
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