By Cierra Kaler-Jones

What do you know about D.C. history? Did you know that the largest attempted escape by enslaved people took place in Washington, D.C.? Did you know that the Washington football team was the last National Football League (NFL) team to integrate? Did you know that D.C.’s Chinatown was created by Chinese immigrants as a form of protection against hate crimes? 

Twelfth-grade students in Bill Stevens’s social studies class at IDEA Public Charter School spent months conducting in-depth research and preparing multi-modal presentations that unpacked and delved into important topics in D.C. history that often do not get highlighted in the school curriculum. Their efforts serve as a preliminary event for the annual National History Day competition, which will take place at the University of Maryland at College Park in June. Across the country, students are creating submissions around the theme Breaking Barriers in History. 

On January 16, community members, administrators, and educators perused through the scholars’ interactive presentations at IDEA, which ranged from research papers and documentary films to websites, poster boards, and a musical performance. As I approached each student to learn more about their work, they shared carefully crafted presentations, in addition to their insights about their research process and thoughtful reflections. I asked questions such as,

What were the most helpful sources you found in your research?

What did you learn about history and yourself throughout the process?

I was moved by how deeply they thought about their topics and all of the truths they uncovered. One student, Aidan, researched the Washington football team (known as the Redskins) and revealed to me that the team was not only the last to desegregrate in the NFL, but integrated 26 years after most of the NFL in 1962. They integrated because the Secretary of the Interior at the time, Stewart Udall, threatened to boot the team from the federally owned D.C. stadium and felt the pressure to maintain their field. George Preston Marshall, the first owner of the team, was explicit and public about his racism; he did not want Black players on an all-white team. Bobby Mitchell became the first Black player in 1962 who went on to be inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame. When I asked Aidan about why he feels it’s important for everyone to learn D.C. history he said,

It’s important to learn because you only learn what you can see. If you go on the website, that information is missing. We have to uncover the real truth.

One student, Arkeem, researched Anthony Bowen and the Underground Railroad in D.C. When I walked up, Arkeem asked me,

Who was the first person you learned about when learning about the Underground Railroad?

I thought back to my time in school and replied,

Harriet Tubman. 

Arkeem smiled as he said, “correct,” before explaining that there were numerous other individuals who strategically organized the Underground Railroad. He then dove into his presentation about Bowen, who led 77 enslaved Africans to freedom, started the first Black YMCA, and became the first African-American employee at the United States Patent Office. His home in southwest D.C. was a key Underground Railroad site. Arkeem displayed a map which showed Bowen’s home and as he traced the map, he pointed out the proximity of his own home. When I asked about what he learned about himself during the process, he described,

After learning about Bowen I realized we lived in the same area. I went to L’Enfant Plaza to try and imagine what Bowen’s home might have looked like. There are so many similarities between us and so much history in my own neighborhood that I never knew. 

When asked about what resources Arkeem used to prepare, he told me that the class took a trip to the Washington Historical Society. They called ahead to share their topics and when they arrived, the staff had documents and photographs prepared. He tacked many of the resources to a board he put together, which gave clear visuals and enabled him to make connections across historical facts, his personal experiences, and photographs. 

Each student selected an innovative and creative way to represent their learning. Another student, Jada, discussed the history of go-go music in D.C. She had go-go music playing in a loop as she described its roots in West African beats that started in D.C. in the mid-1970s. Despite much push-back throughout the years to control and remove go-go’s heartbeat from D.C., go-go’s footprint in the culture and the community cannot be erased. When detailing her experience putting the project together, she reflected,

I learned that I’m creative and can accomplish anything I put my mind to.

Other students shared their talents with the audience and represented their knowledge through artistic and musical brilliance. One student, Anthony, strummed on his guitar as he brought us into the jazz scene in D.C. to tell the story of the Ertegun brothers. He shared,

I was inspired to do this project because I’m a jazz artist. 

Inspiration was a major theme of the day. Stevens described the learning process,

I encourage students to choose a topic, go deeper into it, be proud of it, and be responsible for it.

Stevens shared this as he pulled out the textbook. As I flipped through some of the pages he noted,

The textbook is not inspiring. I want students to be inspired.

While much history gets glossed over, erased, or distorted, these 12th grade students make the case for why the community should be more knowledgeable about the history in D.C. and its deeply rooted influence on current events.

Cierra Kaler-Jones is the Education Anew Fellow with Communities for Just Schools Fund and Teaching for Change. She is also a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Maryland, College Park studying minority and urban education.