Since March 15, the traveling exhibit
Emancipation and Its Legacies has taken up residence at Bishop George
Ahr High School. The exhibition, on loan from the Gilder Lehrman
Institute of American History, presents a chronological display of
Emancipation in the United States. Mrs. Susan Paluskiewicz, Teacher
Mentor Coordinator at Bishop Ahr, arranged for the exhibit to be
displayed as a culmination of the Year of Social Sciences.
The
exhibit provided an opportunity for the students of Bishop Ahr to learn
first-hand the history of emancipation in the United States, as well as
the skills necessary to be a historian. As part of Bishop Ahr’s
continued outreach to the elementary schools in the Diocese of Metuchen,
the Social Studies Department organized an interactive workshop for
these students to participate in.
Students from
St. James School (Woodbridge), St. Helena School (Edison), Perth Amboy
Catholic School (Perth Amboy), and Immaculate Conception School
(Spotswood), were greeted by Mrs. Lynne Braine, Social Studies Teacher,
and Mr. John Roche, Student Information Services Manager, to begin
working as historians. The session began with a discussion of the
causes of the Civil War and what information the students already knew
about the war that divided the nation. They were then introduced to the
craft of history and the skills necessary to construct a historical
narrative.
Following the introduction to the
exhibit – students were provided an opportunity to engage with the
exhibit itself. Equipped with a student resource guide and a clear
understanding of the question needed to be answered—what is
emancipation’s legacy—the students began to compile a narrative using
the primary and secondary sources collected in the exhibit. Students
were able to use detective skills to uncover the deeper meaning of the
sources and how they directly relate to emancipation.
At
the conclusion of the session, the students were asked to present their
understanding of emancipation and the legacy that it has on the United
States. The students were encouraged to recognize how each of them play
a vital role in emancipation’s continued legacy in the United States.
Students
in Mrs. Braine’s and Mr. John Roche’s Western Civilization Honors and
World History Honors classes partook in a joint class. Students were
challenged to use their historiography skills to create an argument
about the exhibit. Students had to rely on their past knowledge of
slavery and American history in order to answer the question “what is
emancipation’s legacy in the United States?”
Students
in Mrs. Taub’s AP® Art History class attended the exhibit in order to
look for connections to the art they have studied in preparation for the
AP® Exam. Students were asked to see how prejudice was presented in
the exhibit and how prejudice was reflected in the art that had been
viewed throughout the year. They finished with a discussion of the
prejudice experienced in their own life and the connections that were
made.
Ms. Nice’s English III Honors classes
viewed the exhibit through the lens of literature. Students
participated in an ekphrasis exercise. As the students viewed the
exhibit, they were asked to select one image that spoke to them. Upon
viewing it they were asked to create their own original written work
(such as poems, monologues, or stories) expressing the emotions conveyed
by the exhibit.
The Bishop Ahr community was
fortunate to have this wonderful exhibit be on display and it provided
our students and faculty an opportunity to connect with the legacy of
emancipation.
A Note from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History:
The
exhibition (Emancipation and Its Legacies) was developed by the Gilder
Lehrman Institute of American History in partnership with the National
Underground Railroad Freedom Center and is curated by David W. Blight,
Class of 1954 Professor of History at Yale University, and Susan F.
Saidenberg, the Director of Public Programs and Exhibitions at the
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.