On January 14, Day Creek Intermediate School eighth grade teachers welcomed historian Hardy Brown II, founder of Black Voice Foundation and chairman of Footsteps to Freedom, for an interactive professional learning experience. This was a preview visit of sorts, as Brown is preparing to bring an Underground Railroad presentation to eighth grade students in February. His visit gave teachers an early look at what their classes will soon experience.
Brown shared selections from his collection of more than 15,000 historical artifacts, some dating back to AD 321. Through these materials, he emphasized the realities of slavery, the resilience of enslaved people, and the courage of those who were freedom fighters.
Mrs. Morrison, an eighth grade teacher at DCIS, first met Brown during an eight-day, district-sponsored experience focused on the Underground Railroad and women’s history. She began the trip expecting to expand her knowledge slightly, but instead found that it completely transformed how she viewed American history. 8th grade teacher Mrs. Morrison said, “I felt like I knew a lot of history already. And so going on this trip, it just took me to a different level. Okay? And a different level of empathy and so forth.”
After returning, she became determined to bring her experience to Day Creek students. Explaining her motivation, Mrs. Morrison said, “I wanted to join the African-American Families and Employees to be representative for that. And I set this goal to bring it to campus because they won’t let us do field trips as much as we used to. I wanted you guys to have access to it, even though you couldn’t go on the trip, but at least you could see those documents, those books, and so forth.”
According to Mrs. Gossage, another 8th grade Social Studies teacher, Brown’s presentation brings an immersive museum experience directly to students. She explained, “He brings a sort of national underground railroad museum to us and the students and they’re going to be retracing the footsteps and then learning first hand stories of enslaved people and also people who helped slaves escape from the railroad.”
Brown’s approach allowed Day Creek’s teachers to step into the role of students. His method encouraged curiosity and hands-on exploration, modeling the same interactive experience students will soon have.
“I thought it was really cool because it was like you were holding history and it’s like something you read in your textbooks but your textbooks are new unlike the artifacts he showed us which were the originals, touched and written by the people in that time,” said Mrs. Morrison.
In addition to Underground Railroad materials, Brown’s collection includes stories connected to local history. One artifact that stood out was an old ledger book that documented a connection to Southern California history.
“He had this super old ledger book that actually had an entry that I found super interesting. It had this entry from this woman who actually traveled with Biddy Mason here to Los Angeles when she was a little girl. She actually moved to Redlands when she was older and recorded her taxes in that book,” said Mrs. Gossage, describing her assigned artifact.
Brown’s interactive teaching style, combined with students’ natural curiosity, is anticipated to create an engaging experience for each eighth grade class. With original artifacts in their hands and personal records in front of them, students will encounter history as something lived and felt, not just read on a page.
