Towson names dorms after university's first Black graduates

BALTIMORE - Two women trailblazers at Towson University now have campus dorms named after them.

In 1959, Marvis Barnes and Myra Harris became the first Black graduates at Towson.

On Saturday, residential dorms were changed to Barnes Hall and Harris Hall – after the two alumnae.

The dorms had previously been known as West Village One and West Village Two.

Harris' son said he never knew of his mother's historic achievement.

Towson was segregated since its founding in 1866 until the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed segregation in 1954.