The Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore has apologized for a past admission policy that barred black students.

The Baltimore Sun reports school President Samuel Hoi publicly apologized Thursday in a memo that detailed some of the school's racist history. The memo says the school was forced by "legal appointment" in 1891 to admit its first black student, which reportedly led to about 100 students dropping out.

In 1895, the school adopted a whites-only enrollment policy that remained in place until the school opened admission to all races in 1954. The apology comes after a campus exhibition called "Blackives" hosted a demonstration Thursday featuring the story of a would-be student who was denied admission because of his race. The memo says the exhibition has been extended.

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Information from: The Baltimore Sun, http://www.baltimoresun.com