February 7, 2025

From our learnings about Jamestown and in pursuit of answering the question, “Why do people move?” we are embarking on our study of African enslavement in the US. We began our lesson with a, “What we think we know & What we wonder” brainstorm (photo below), setting some expectations around the language we use to discuss enslavement and those impacted and involved, and our feelings around the subject. As you might imagine, the subject of enslavement brings with it a wide range of gut responses and emotions, all of which are valid. This is especially true for our kiddos, for many of whom this is their first time delving into this aspect of history and its realities.

To teach an accurate history of enslavement in America, we will heavily lean on primary source documents, including journals, schematics, drawings, podcasts, resources from the 1619 Project, and other multimedia sources. The harsh realities of enslavement can evoke a wide range of emotional responses, and students may process their thoughts and feelings about it at different paces. For instance, the image below—though relatively mild in its depiction given the subject—has already prompted some powerful and surprising realizations. As we continue through this unit, we ask that you welcome an open dialogue with your child around their learnings and feelings on the topic. We ask that you be open to questions, and remember, it’s OK not to have all the answers; we certainly don’t, but we can seek answers together. Please trust that we will gauge students’ sensitivities as we proceed and censor when necessary and appropriate, but we do intend to be honest with them about the reality of enslavement at the time and its continued impact on our country. 

.     

Please see here for a few resources that inform our teachings and why it is so important that we teach an accurate history. 

• NPR – Why Schools Fail To Teach Slavery’s ‘Hard History’ (4 minute listen)
• SCRIPPS News – Why Teaching Slavery In Classrooms Matters (Part 1) (15 minute watch)
• NPR Public Editor Newsletter – ‘Slave’ or ‘enslaved’ and why it matters
• Howard Zinn – A Young People’s History of the United States
• Learning for Justice – A Framework for Teaching American Slavery (Formerly Teaching for Tolerance)

Students contributed to the class agreements thoughtfully and conscientiously. See below for our class agreements for this unit. 

Subsequent lessons included an examination of the historical context for enslavement across ancient civilizations such as the Aztecs, Romans, and Egyptians to learn about similarities and differences among civilizations of the world and what life was like for enslaved Africans before they were enslaved, acknowledging a life before and celebrating black excellence through books like Born on the Water and Before the Ships Students will be asked to reflect on these civilizations when we get to details of the conditions of American Enslavement. Next week we will round out part 1 of our study with a trip to the Museum of African Diaspora in San Francisco.