Black History Month project showcases local contributions
Washington Junior High student Ally Slack stands alongside a portrait of Washington & Jefferson professor Thomas Mainwaring, author of “Abandoned Tracks,” which addresses the Underground Railroad.
Nevaeh King is among the Washington Junior High School students who participated in the school’s Black History Month project highlighting the contributions of local African Americans.
Washington Junior High School student Alyvia Deagle stands next to a portrait of Charles Fremont West, who was the first African American to play quarterback in the Rose Bowl.
Geoffrey Brown stands in front of one of the displays that line the hallway at Washington Junior High School. The project, led by teacher Erin Moore, celebrates Black History Month.
Misha Patterson, a student at Washington Junior High School, created a video presentation of an interview she conducted with her grandmother, who grew up in Washington during the era of segregation.
The hallways of Washington Junior High School are lined with artwork, poems, poster boards, maps, and other works honoring the contributions of distinguished local African Americans as students celebrate Black History Month.
The monthlong project, led by teacher Erin Moore, features four categories: notable African Americans in Washington and their accomplishments; the county’s Underground Railroad; the history of race relations – including stories of segregation and the presence of the Ku Klux Klan in the area; and activism, from equal rights champion Louis E. Waller’s participation in the Civil Rights Movement to recent Black Lives Matter demonstrations.
“I just don’t think kids realize how much history is here in town,” said Moore. “We wanted to showcase positive figures and for students to see the positive contributions African Americans have made to the county as a whole.”
During the project, students learned about the lives of people like Tar (Tower) Adams, a free Black man born in Maryland in 1788 who moved to Washington, where he was a gunsmith and played an important role in the Underground Railroad that provided safe hiding places for runaway slaves.
Misha Patterson, an eighth-grader, taped an interview with her grandmother, Clara Harper, 81, who grew up in Washington during segregation and described how Blacks were only permitted to go to the movies on Saturdays – and could only sit in the back of the theaters – and were allowed to visit the skating rink on Thursdays.
“Basically, we knew where we were to go. We didn’t have very many signs that said, ‘Whites only or Colored only.’ We were taught from a young age there were only certain establishments that you went into that you would be served,” Harper said in the video. “We went to our own places that were established and run by Black proprietors.”
Harper also described attending an integrated 6th Ward Elementary School until she entered seventh grade, which was segregated.
“It took some adjusting to get used to that,” said Harper.
Patterson said hearing her grandmother’s childhood was inspiring.
“I think being able to learn about my grandma was a good experience. It kind of inspires me to do more than I usually do, activism-wise,” said Patterson. “I’m not an out-there person. I keep to myself, keep my own opinions, but it kind of made me want to be braver.”
Moore attached QR code links to Patterson’s interview, as well as several other projects, so they can be viewed.
The eighth-graders also participated in a forum with members of the NAACP and Black Lives Matter movement, who talked about the importance of getting involved in order to make positive change.
Among the participants were college students and Washington High School graduates Zahiere Patmon and Kurt Adkins, who coordinated the Black Lives Matter peaceful protest in downtown Washington last summer, and Dr. Andrew Goudy, president of the Washington NAACP, and vice president Dave Gatling, who told students about the national organization, founded in 1908 after race riots in Springfield, Ill.
Goudy, a retired college chemistry professor, talked about how he worked his way through college at a time when there were few Blacks in college.
And he encouraged students to register and vote, which gives them a say in choosing who they want to represent them locally and nationally.
Semaj Fuse, who plays football, lacrosse and soccer, said Adkins – a football player at Seton Hill University – encouraged him to take a leadership role and be active in the community.
Eighth-graders McKenzie Patterson (who is not related to Misha) and Lily Ewing created a five-minute oral history presentation based on interviews with Patterson’s grandmother, who is Black, and Ewing’s grandfather, who is white, to share their perspectives of growing up in the Washington area.
“This project matters a lot to me. It’s probably the favorite project I’ve done,” said Patterson.
Ewing said hearing two different perspectives raised her awareness.
Her grandfather, who served in the Vietnam War, described how waiters would serve him at restaurants, but wouldn’t wait on his Black friends.
“I’ve only seen things from my perspective, from me being who I am. Hearing from other people, what their experiences were, is important,” said Ewing.
Moore said that after Black History Month ends, she plans to display the projects permanently in and around her room.