Literature Brings Lessons of Slavery to Life

Old Ben: “Hope you’re not thinking of running off on that Underground Railroad.”

Harriet: “There are two rights even a slave has. One is to be free; the other, to die. If I can’t have one, I’ll have the other. “

--”Harriet Tubman’s Freedom

Train” by Jerome Ruderman

No one studies the Civil War without lingering on the peculiar institution of slavery. Students are taught that it was morally wrong, that it was one of the reasons the North and South went to war, and that it ended when Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.

But that is all in the abstract, in neat lessons compiled by historians to show the ebb and flow of issues and events. What was slavery really like for those who suffered under it?

Students in John Lopez’s eighth-grade social studies class at Oak Avenue School got some dramatic answers recently as Lopez brought historical and literary voices into the classroom.

The Temple City students watched a film based on the story of Solomon Northup, a free black man from New York who was kidnaped by slave traders in 1842 and taken to the South, where he spent 12 years before regaining his freedom.

Then, Lopez told the students to pretend that they were editorial writers for a Northern or Southern newspaper. Their assignment: to compose an essay arguing Northup’s case.

“It wasn’t just, ‘Here’s slavery, slavery is bad,’ ” Lopez said. “I wanted it to be more dynamic. I wanted them to think provocative thoughts.”

In class, students read aloud “Harriet Tubman’s Freedom Train,” a play about the life of the famous ex-slave who led hundreds of people to freedom on the Underground Railroad.

They saw “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” the Emmy-award winning story in which Cicely Tyson portrayed a woman born a slave who lives to see her grandson demonstrating for civil rights.

Lopez also worked with math teacher Jackie Luzak on an experimental program in which students did projects that blended math and history. Some built Civil War vehicles or architectural monuments. One group put on a slave auction that used math and drama to illustrate the inhumanity of slavery.

Using books and primary sources to teach history is encouraged by the state Department of Education, which last year adopted a social studies framework that stresses multicultural and literature-based learning. The idea is to make social studies come alive.

But in late April--when riots followed the verdicts in the Rodney G. King beating--the news bulldozed right over Lopez’s neatly planned history lesson.

Calling it a “teachable moment,” Lopez turned history class into an open forum in which students used their newly learned historical perspective on race relations.

“A lot of things happened before the Rodney King verdict that led up to this,” said Kiyomi Onogi. She said the frustration felt by African-Americans dated from the nation’s founding and continued long after the Emancipation Proclamation.

“There’s always been a struggle, and sometimes it flares up,” Kiyomi said. “But rioting isn’t the way to go.”

As the rioting continued through the week, Lopez asked students to air their own fears and opinions. What they didn’t do was point fingers. “I did not want to be part of the ‘them versus us’ ” mentality, Lopez said later. “I wanted to show how intolerance of any kind can cause problems.”

Throughout the spring, Lopez hammered home the dangers of intolerance, a problem he said recurs in U.S. history. To illustrate, Lopez gave them a psychological test in which he asked students whether they liked raw oysters or wanted to move to Europe. Some said they didn’t like oysters and didn’t want to move.

Next, Lopez asked them whether they had ever tasted raw oysters or visited Europe. Most hadn’t. The idea, he explained after tallying scores, was to gauge open-mindedness about places, things and especially people.

“What if I prejudged every student in my classroom the first day they came in?” Lopez asked the class. “What if they came in and I said, ‘Oh, that’s a loser student,’ and that kid was just having a bad day?” Lopez asked.

As class ended, Kevin Porter, who is African-American, said history is one of his favorite subjects this year. He said he likes the diversity of the class, which includes African-American, Latino, Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Anglo students.

“I think it’s better to have kids from all different backgrounds,” Kevin said, “because then we learn about each other and won’t grow up to be racist.”