Established as part of the
Antioch Network in 1972 as the
Homestead-Montebello Center of
Antioch College, the institution became an independent entity with a four-year program on July 1, 1980, and was named in honor of
African-American abolitionists Sojourner Truth and
Frederick Douglass. The college took possession of the
Eastern Female High School building in 2003 from the municipal government after the college paid $150,000.
Loss of accreditation and closing The college suffered from financial difficulties with its regional
accreditation being threatened several times. In March 2014, Sojourner was placed on "show cause" status with the
Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. It had until September 1, 2015, to convince its accreditor not to revoke its accreditation. On June 29, 2015, Sojourner–Douglass College filed for a 14-day
temporary restraining order against
Middle States Commission on Higher Education, which was denied on June 30, 2015. On July 1, 2015, Sojourner–Douglass College sued the
Middle States Commission on Higher Education for violating the
Civil Rights Act of 1866 by revoking their accreditation. On August 24, 2015, U.S. District Judge
Ellen Lipton Hollander ruled against restoring Sojourner-Douglass's accreditation, while the college's
lawsuit against the
Middle States Commission on Higher Education was allowed to move forward. In addition to denying the request for an injunction, Hollander dismissed two counts in the lawsuit,
racial discrimination and
breach of contract,
without prejudice. She gave the college 17 days to revise the lawsuit. In May 2016 the College listed its main central campus as well as its secondary administrative building for sale. In August 2016, the City of Baltimore listed the Eastern Female building on a foreclosure auction and sold it in 2017 despite the college leadership's objections. ==Administration==