Catonsville Nine Historical Marker

One of the many reasons that discussions of the Catonsville Nine will elicit mixed emotions in Catonsville: none of the activists were from Catonsville. They chose it for more prosaic reasons than personal attachment: it was accessible, and per Tom Lewis, because it had an open, safe place to burn the files out back. (The Catonsville Nine, Peters)

The historical marker reads:

“Catonsville Nine

On May 17, 1968, nine Catholic activists raided the Selective Service office in Catonsville and burned several hundred draft files to protest the Vietnam War. In a highly-publicized trial, the “Nine,” who included priests Daniel and Philip Berrigan, were convicted and sentenced to prison. The Catonsville action played an important role in the antiwar movement, inspiring similar acts of civil disobedience across the country.

Maryland Historical Trust Maryland State Highway Administration”

When the marker was dedicated in 2018, only two of the nine activists were still alive. Marjorie (Margarita) Melville attended the ceremony.

Maryland Historical Markers on Waymarking.com. Accessed November 1st 2020. https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/wm10Y36_Catonsville_Nine_Catonsville_MD.

Peters, Shawn Francis. The Catonsville Nine: A Story of Faith and Resistance in the Vietnam Era. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.

Prudente, Tim. "Once prosecuted, now honored, Catonsville Nine get a memorial marker." The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore) May 5th, 2018.