Parents fight for justice after son’s murder, securing Maryland policies to his legacy
Parents fight for justice after son’s murder, securing Maryland policies to his legacy
January 19, 2021
After their son, 2nd Lt. Richard Collins III, was killed days before graduating from Bowie State University, parents Dawn and Rick Collins vowed to protect future Americans. They discussed their mission and the foundation they started in their son’s memory on NBC’s TODAY show on January 13.
Total Spectrum Strategic Consultants Barbara Wiley Cosgriff and Alvin B. Jackson are honored to work with Dawn and Rick Collins to ensure the 2LT Richard W Collins III Foundation (The Foundation), delivers on its mission. The Foundation was established by the Collins family to honor the brief life of their son and to pursue justice on Richard’s behalf and on behalf of other families who have suffered a similar fate. During the period following Richard’s murder and the December 2019 trial of his murderer, the Foundation spearheaded two major legislative successes in the Maryland State Legislature:
- Working with the Senator Thomas V. “Mike” Miller, Jr., Majority Leader of the Maryland State Senate, a recurring $1M annual appropriation for ROTC scholarships to attend Maryland HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) was established. There are currently more than 120 Collins Scholars enrolled in the ROTC program at Bowie State University and the joint Coppin University/Morgan State University ROTC program.
- Working with the Maryland States Attorney, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Anti-Defamation League and others partner organizations, the Maryland hate crime law was successfully amended. On 1 October 2020, the Richard Collins Hate Crime Law went into effect. Now an act of violence against a protected class motivated by hate “either in whole or in substantial part” is considered a hate crime.
