"Stories of Slavery: Opening Ears to the Truth"

This is a summary of the discussions that followed the two presentations. In general, statements were not rewritten, although some were adjusted slightly and/or combined with others where appropriate. This will give you a good sense of the issues teachers discussed and ideas they have for using this with students.

Goals for Discussions

• Discuss the scholarship/content of the lectures to develop our own learning
• Discuss ways to use the our learning to improve student learning

• It's OK not to know everything about history.
• We had an interesting discussion about the comment "we are the beneficiary of slavery." It is difficult to get our students to think about slavery in their personal lives or what it means to white people. We also discussed the struggle with linking slavery to present day. Most of us agree that our kids believe slavery is ancient history and we are all looking for ways to bridge the information and make it more real in student lives.
• We discussed slavery reparations, the current day affirmative action, abolitionists, and constitution interpretation.
• We also had some interesting comments on how teachers of history pose race questions or even pit African American civil rights leaders against each other - (Booker T. Washington versus WEB Dubois or Malcolm X versus Martin Luther King) Which is right? We are all concerned but guilty of the process...it seems like there is so much rich information but teachers often trivialize the matter - take a side. Trying to make it easier for our kids to think about.
• Remembered how important using Gardner's multiple intelligences and how photos, songs help.
• Remembered how important experiential learning is
• How experientials can lead to parent complaints. re: too young for so graphic a lesson.
• Important to provide students with a data retrieval system- show them what they're looking for.

Slaves feelings about slavery

• Depends on who they are talking to... How do we find that out?
• Some slaves were treated well, some poorly.
• Treatment depended on location, levels of slavery (ie. domestic/field) temperament, personality.

• "Until we deal with roots of slavery, we can't understand slavery."
• Has white history only allowed the slave period to not be defining?
• Personal ethics, repeating pattern
• Excerpts of Colin Powell, challenging assumptions
• Heroes
• Look at contributions of later African Americans
• Why would you want to - it all contributed to who are African American heroes now.
• Give students black history from black perspectives

• Celebrated slaves, not covered
• We want them to celebrate more
• Concept of America as White based
• Power & privilege
• Theme of power & privilege
• What does this mean for you?
• Beneficiaries of privilege
• Lessons of oppression applied to other contemporary examples

• Multiple intelligences - different for each student
• Character/empathy
• Role play/bystander role - standing up for what they believe
• Put in position of players
• Historical monologues
• Journals - Family comparison - what does it mean to be born to privilege
• Journal article from a particular perspective (i.e. slave)
• Artwork or creative piece
• Employ a metaphor or icon to think deeper
• Reflection applied to essential question
• Written or oral response/reflections
• Goal setting
• Paper quilts (related to real quilts of the Underground Railroad)
• Ask wide questions (ie. questions that have wide responses)
• Media literacy questions
• Interpretation
• Participation
• Demonstrate through projects
• Private discussion

• Careful to ask before placing students in position?
• Create a risk taking environment
• Audience etiquette
• Using primary sources to help kids understand
• Questioning the source - validity
• Importance of interdisciplinary study - art, technology
• Discussion of terms
• I-stories
• Historical dialogues and monologues
• Have students examine Slave Narratives from different perspectives: Master/Slave
• Perform Readers Theater from the slave narratives
• Living museum - take on a character
• Take a look at our own racial history in the Portland/Vancouver area as we study Pacific Northwest History. Have students look in the archives for old newspaper clippings of laws that were in place that affected people of different races during various time periods. Don't forget the power of music and photography.
• There was an interesting dicussion about white teachers teaching slavery and race and the potential dangers that could come out the slave ship simulation. Most believed the presenter answered their concerns - and feel the experience of "how and who would survive this is important." We all seem to struggle with the politics of race in the classroom and how to handle it.
• We thought it would be interesting to have students research slave groups in different states - and write a collected history of slaves - see if treatment etc. differed.
• We liked the idea of looking at the bias created in collecting slave narratives.
• We also discussed the importance of looking at what it meant to be a free slave - before the Civil War - and after. Did their stories and experiences change?
• It would also be interesting to trace a family from slavery to modern day to see how there lives changed - or not - make a family album... using documents to modern time. Generational studies...
• Simulation (Interact is a good source)
• Turning Points theories
• Other moments in history of oppression
• Reader's theatre
• Look for multiple viewpoint- slave, master, mistress
• Look @ quilts related to Underground Railroad
• Experiential learning (reminded of brown eye/blue eye)
• Use of technology
• Tape them up and make a captive audience during the tape up
• Slave songs
• Dance moves and rhythms
• Poetry lessons
• Other possible readings for elementary and middle school students:
  • Julius Lester's To Be a Slave
  • 40 Acres and a Mule by Julius Lester
  • People Could Fly - book of African American Folktales
  • Poems by Langston Hughes
  • Guns, Germs, and Steel
• Films:
  • Eyes on the Prize
  • Little Rock 9
  • Ruby Bridges
  • Rosa Parks
  • Harriet Tubman - Houses of the Underground Railroad
  • The Long Road to Freedom (available on CD)

Washington State University, Vancouver | Center for Columbia River History
Evergreen School District | Klickitat School District | Vancouver School District