Each Summer I like to do at least one thing to improve my knowledge and/or teaching. Some Summers I do more than one thing. This year I attended a
National Endowment for the Humanities Landmarks of American History Workshop on the Underground Railroad and Whaling in New Bedford, MA. This was called
Sailing to Freedom. In the past I attended workshops entitled
The War of 1812 in the Great Lakes Region in Toledo, OH and one on the
Textile Industry in Lowell, MA.
Each one is a week long and provides great professional development and site visit opportunities.
So this year myself and fellow Maranacook Social Studies Teacher Mike Streeter participated in Sailing to Freedom. This took place in New Bedford which hasn't always had the best reputation. I must say I came away with a positive view of the city after this experience.
One of the first things I learned, or maybe remembered is that the famous 54th Massachusetts all-black regiment was organized in the city and they have a park named in their honor!
The focus of the workshop was to change our paradigm about the Underground Railroad. New research indicates that many slaves ran away to freedom via the Sea. In many cases they were stowaways or sometimes ship Captains wanted to help them. New Bedford was a major port and so it's no surprise that many ended up there. The next big revelation was that many of them joined whaling voyages. Since whaling voyages were 2-4 years in length it provided a great opportunity to escape slave catchers.
The advertisement above is from a New Bedford newspaper in the early 1800's and is quite typical. It shows how ship Captains attempted to absolve themselves of any legal responsibility for harboring fugitive slaves.
This is me on a replica of a whaling ship that was common in the early 1800's.
These are original harpoons used by whaling ships. New Bedford is home to a Whaling Museum and the National Whaling Historic Park.
My colleague Mike Streeter poses with a replica of a whale outside the Whaling Museum.
The workshop organizers from UMASS Dartmouth, Timothy Walker and Lee Blake, brought in speakers on both the topics of the Underground Railroad and the Whaling industry. Here is John Stauffer Professor of History at Harvard University and author of a tremendous book I just read called
Giants about Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. His lecture was a dynamic and inspiring insight into Frederick Douglass.
Part of the workshop also included the arts. Above is retired professor Everitt Hoagland. He gave a dramatic reading from famous Black fugitive slaves and also read an original poem he had written about each one. This was accompanied by a Spiritual sung by Candida Rose. It was truly amazing! We also had the chance to hear songs from the Underground Railroad performed in person by the famous duo of
Kim and Reggie Harris. They were also amazing!
Each participant in the workshop received this bag above filled with 6 different books related to whaling and the Underground Railroad. Its always nice to receive free resources like this!
We spent some time during the workshop learning about a couple of different ways to bring this material into the classroom. One thign we did was to use a children's book (in this case the book
Henry's Freedom Box ) and compose a poem from the point of view of a character in the book. I chose Henry for my poem you see above.
One part of the workshop was a one day trip into Boston. Duirng this trip we visited the USS Constitution affectionately known as "Old Ironsides". Though this is not a whaling ship, it is a floating and maintained vessel from the same era.
"Old Ironsides" is the oldest commissioned floating vessel in the world, and the nearby USS Constitution museum is amazing.
My colleague Mike Streeter is inspecting one of the guns onboard the ship in this photo.
While in Boston we also took a tour of the Black Heritage Trail that starts with this monument in Boston Common to the 54th Massachusetts regiment. The famous all-Black regiment that fought in the Civil War.
We also visited the African American History Museum and the nearby African American Meeting House. At the lecturn where I am standing, Frederick Douglass gave a famous speech in 1860.
During the week we spent a good deal of time learning about how New Bedford supported runaway slaves. They are proud to say they never had a slave catcher remove someone from New Bedford. Above is a plaque in town that honors Frederick Douglass.
The reputation of New Bedford as a place that is racially diverse and tolerant continues to this day. We had a chance to meet Jibreel Kazan who lives in New Bedford. Mr. Kazan was formerly known as
Ezell Blair Jr. When Mr. Kazan was young, he and 3 others organized the first lunch counter sitins to boycott Segregation laws in Greensboro, NC at the local Woolworth's. He went on to work closely with Martin Luther King Jr. and Congressman John Lewis. He and I are enjoying a fascinating conversation in the photo above.
Though not directly related to our topic of study, New Bedford is also famous for its connection to the story of
Moby Dick and author Herman Melville who spent time in New Bedford. Although Melville says little to nothing in his book about people of color, the book was considered a classic for a long time and romanticized the whaling industry for many people.
One of the best things, if not THE best thing, about doing these NEH Workshops is the opportunity to make new friends from across the country. Its great to have 40 Social Studies teachers together for a week not only to process what we are learning but to share ideas about best practices and what things are like elsewhere. Thanks to modern technology we can remain in touch after the workshop! Pictured above behind me are some of new friends Russ Bruxvoort of Fort Collins, CO and Amanda Wilson of Spanish Fort, AL.
Mike Streeter and I designed a Unit plan we plan to use in our classrooms as part of this workshop. Our high School students will use the book
Unspoken as a guide and will compose a sequel to the book that tells the story of the escape on the Underground Railroad by sea. It was a great experience!!
The irony of this image of Columbus is that it was painted over 100 years after he died! No accurate image of Columbus exists!
