The white community surrounding Crownsville was becoming increasingly wary of what it perceived to be dangerous Black people roaming uncontrolled behind the hospital’s walls. Crownsville became increasingly isolated, and its isolation took on many forms. At its most literal, it was “cage” seclusion cells and labor that provided neither social contact nor vocational opportunity. At its most structural, it was part of a statewide effort to maintain separation of the races at any cost.
