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The Legacy of Historical Sites featured in Black Feminist DC

For Students, By Students
Description
Six children brushing their teeth outside of school, Washington, D.C.
Six children brushing their teeth outside of school, Washington, D.C. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

 

In Spring 2023, the National Women's History Museum partnered with a class at Miss Hall's School, an independent high school for girls in Massachusetts, to create a discussion guide for select sites featured in We Who Believe in Freedom: Black Feminist DC. The students thought about the legacy of these sites and shared their reflections and questions for further discussions with NWHM. This guide, created by students for students, provides reflections and discussion questions that can facilitate deeper thinking and exploration of how historic sites still impact Americans today. The guide centers on the question, "what is the legacy of a historic site?"

Please use this guide to further engage with historic sites related to significant Black feminist activists and events in early-to-mid-nineteenth-century Washington DC. Students will explore the period in DC history through our special online map, which features sites important to Black feminist history before emancipation (the freeing of enslaved people). 

Time

45-50 minutes

Objective

To facilitate deeper exploration and discussion on select sites featured in Black Feminist DC.

Prerequisites

Students should have explored the Pre-Emancipation interactive map on the Black Feminist DC special online exhibition. Once on the page, scroll past the introductory section to find the interactive map. Once you've explored the site, please return to the corresponding reflection and discussion questions generated by Miss Hall's students.

Materials
Procedures

Warm Up:

Tell students that they will be exploring the Pre-Emancipation interactive map on the Black Feminist DC special online exhibition in order to think more deeply about the legacy of historic sites in the United States. They will be using a student-generated discussion guide to facilitate this deeper exploration and thinking.

Ask the students the following general framing questions as a way to get the conversation started:

  • Before you engage with the questions about specific sites, think about what legacy means. Is it about significance? About contributions? Does it have to depend on the “success” of actions? Is legacy something that creates positive influences on people? Something that others can add onto over time?
  •  What is the connection between the actions of people who lived in the past and the locations where they acted? Why is it important to think about the legacy of places as well as the legacy of people?
  • How does the legacy of a site shape the ways people interact with it in the present
  • How do people decide whose legacy is worth remembering? Who decides what’s included in the history of a location?

If desired, divide the students into small groups and assign each one of them a specific site listed in the guide. 

 

Activity: 

Each student/group will explore their assigned site to learn more about its history. Tell each student/group to read the historic site entry on the interactive map and to engage with the links for further exploration in resources section of the map. Have them take notes about what they learn about the site from the historic entry on the map as well as 1-2 other listed resources.

After reviewing their site, each student/group should read and engage with the student reflection. Each site's student reflection is listed below.

After they have read the facts about each site, as well as the student reflection, have the student/group respond to the discussion questions for their site. You can have them use Think Pair Share to structure their discussion time.

Historic Sites in Black Feminist DC

For the Mary Ann Shadd Cary House, the students at Miss Hall's provided the following reflection after reading more about the site's history:

"She was willing to give up her interests and rights, hoping to help more Black people all her life. Her actions and accomplishments were rare, and learning about them is important because they are very influential and can continue to make a positive impact on future generations. This house not only represents Mary Ann Shadd Cary but also represents the history of Black women in the nineteenth century."

The students then generated the following discussion questions:

  1. What encouraged Mary Ann Shadd Cary to be an abolitionist even though she was born free?
  2. What can Mary Ann’s situation indicate about a Black abolitionist’s social status?
  3. Why is Mary Ann Shadd Cary not as famous compared to other women who achieved a lot in that period?

 

For the Decatur House, the students at Miss Hall's provided the following reflection after reading more about the site's history:

"Even though Charlotte Dupee only lived in Decatur House for a short time in her life, the current representation of the site is largely related to Dupee’s story. The house has become a symbol for courage, freedom and legal rights, and its impact is not limited to the Black community but radiates to all marginalized communities in the nation. In the 20th and 21st centuries, social activists used this site to exercise their rights, especially during the Black Lives Matter movement."

The students then generated the following discussion questions:

  1. Why is it important to remember Dupee even though she lost her case?
  2. What inspired and supported Dupee to use legal means to fight for her freedom?
  3. How has Dupee’s influence showed up in recent activism regarding racial justice?

 

For the Miner’s Normal School for Colored Girls, the students at Miss Hall's provided the following reflection after reading more about the site's history:

"As a white abolitionist, even though there were many obstacles in the process of establishing the school, Miner still did not give up the opportunity to create education and freedom for Black women. The Miner Normal school played an important role in history; it was the first school that provided bBack women with support in education and training skills for future jobs."

The students then generated the following discussion questions:

  1. Looking back at the period from when the school was created, how has the significance of the school evolved as views of Washington, DC changed overtime?
  2. What does Miner’s persistence in establishing this school suggest about the importance of education for Black women?
  3. Since Miner opened the school, its name has changed over time. How did these name changes bring new significance or impact to the Black community?

 

For Alethia Browning Tanner, the students at Miss Hall's provided the following reflection after reading more about the site's history:

"Alethia Browning Tanner united and motivated the Black community, while providing them with freedom and education. Her actions demonstrated that Black women are capable of achieving financial independence and left a lasting impact for her church, school, and community in DC."

The students then generated the following discussion questions:

  1. What does Tanner’s story tell us about the necessity of education for achieving equity?
  2. What is the value of education in freedom?
  3. What is the significance of Tanner’s work to legally purchase the freedom of other enslaved people, and how did this strategy fit into the broader struggle for freedom?

 

For “The Pearl Affair” the students at Miss Hall's provided the following reflection after reading more about the site's history:

"Even though The Pearl Affair was technically a failed escape, there were still some positive changes that resulted from the attempt: for example, the Edmonson sisters became famous from their involvement in the incident, and they used this platform to continue fighting for the abolitionist cause. "

The students then generated the following discussion questions:

  1. What is the significance of these two Black women campaigning for the abolitionist movement?
  2. How would the legacy of the Pearl Affair be different if it had succeeded?
  3. What are the lasting impacts of the Pearl Affair? Why is it important to remember when thinking about movements for justice today?

 

Class Discussion:

After students have finished exploring their assigned site and answered the discussion questions, bring them back for a class discussion. Ask each student/group to share what they learned about their assigned site and their answer to one (1) of the discussion questions.

After all students/groups have shared about their site, end with a final class discussion around the following question:

How do you define “legacy”? After engaging with the questions above, has your definition changed at all? Why or why not?

Future Research / Resources

Students can continue exploring and learning about the stories of Black Feminist DC in the special online exhibition, We Who Believe in Freedom: Black Feminist DC.

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