The Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School will soon be a stop on the African American Heritage Trail, as the school educates students about the history of slavery on-Island.
Currently, students are engaged in an expeditionary learning program, which gets kids out of the classroom and into active learning environments at Slough Farm, Featherstone, the Martha’s Vineyard Museum, MVY Radio, and Island Grown Initiative’s Thimble Farm.
When co-founder of the African American Heritage Trail of Martha’s Vineyard Elaine Weintraub contacted the school and suggested a segment on the history of slavery on-Island, school director Pete Steedman said he jumped at the opportunity.
“This year, considering all that is happening in our country with George Floyd and everything else, the Charter School community put together some coursework to look at racial justice issues, and we have gone through training with the entire staff,” Steedman said.
Steedman said Freedom Cartwright, who runs Freedom Rail Tours, is coming to give a virtual tour of historical sites in the South, so kids can ask questions in real time and have active discussions surrounding the civil rights movement.
He added that the book “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry,” by Mildred D. Taylor, which describes racism in America during the Great Depression and the Jim Crow Era, is being taught in sixth grade English classes.
“So we are really using African American literature to provide that historical context. Elaine always starts with an African American history lesson first, then explains the Island context,” Steedman said.
According to Steedman, kids in fifth and sixth grade “absolutely get it,” and understand how far-reaching the influence of slavery was. “I also get the sense that these kids have knowledge about this because of their upbringing on the Island. It seems like some of these conversations have already occurred, whether it’s at the kitchen table or elsewhere on the Island,” he said.
Although the Island is a sanctuary in many respects, it was never safe from the influence of slavery and racism. In order to embed this understanding in students, Weintraub had each of them paint a rock in honor of an enslaved person on Martha’s Vineyard.
In what will be the latest addition to the African American Heritage Trail of Martha’s Vineyard, the students’ rocks will be lined up in a row at the front of the Charter School, with the Heritage Trail plaque at the forefront of the display.
Visitors who are following the trail will come and see the rocks dedicated to those who lost their names, but were never forgotten.
Some students were assigned a name of an enslaved person, and provided a little history about that person’s life. Others painted rocks to honor those who had no names when they died or escaped captivity.
Weintraub explained to students that those who were enslaved could never reclaim the names they had lost from their past lives before being condemned to a life of servitude.
“We can’t ever give them back their African names because we don’t know them. So what can we do? Well, we can say, ‘We know you existed, we know it may have been hard for you, but we honor you and celebrate you,’” Weintraub said.
Bringing the concept of slavery into a local context, Weintraub said, allows young students to make a deeper connection with the coursework.
“Probably every kid in America can tell you what slavery is — sort of, but not really,” she said. “For kids to know that these things happened in a place they know well is powerful, because then it’s more real to them.”
For Weintraub, instilling this understanding in children at a young age is “incredibly important.”
She said understanding history is empowering for kids, because they can use what they’ve learned to develop positive values and gain a broader perspective on racial justice issues.
She said denying history is one of the greatest dangers when it comes to creating a better future for all. “Well, these kids won’t have that, they will always understand, ‘Well, that happened here, and we learned about it and made a trail about it.’ That gives them agency,” Weintraub said.
During one class, Weintraub said students were discussing a child slave who was sold at the age of 10. She asked the class to imagine what it might be like to be their age and be enslaved and sold to a stranger.
“One little boy said, ‘Well, think about what his family must have felt, and what they lost.’ Now that’s empathy,” Weintraub said.
Slavery on the Island: Hope the kids learn about our hero Sharper Michael (1777) and his Great Grandson William Martin
They certainly did. Sharper Michael was one of the enslaved people that the students studied. We had quite a class discussion today about him and how he was the Vineyard’s Crispus Attucks. It is an incredible story from him to William A. Martin isn’t it? Glad you shared your thoughts about him.
I’m not sure I understand this article. So if the Charter School does classes regarding slavery and paints some rocks that qualifies them to be part of the African American Heritage trail?
That just seems silly and diminishes the importance of the trail.
The enduring legacy of slavery is powerful. Glad Elaine and the Charter School are helping students to understand its impact and the lingering effect slavery has had on Black people for generations and still today! It is so important to understand history.
Yes it is so important to understand that enduring legacy, and for the students the key to understanding is to be able to relate it to their own environment. Its very important to understand how and why this horrific system was created and endured, and that some were prepared to refuse to participate. Thats important!