Restoring History & Honoring Humanity
By Jesse Williams published on ZIP06.COM on January 5, 2021.
GUILFORD — The Witness Stones Project, Inc, which had already seen significant expansion since retired Guilford social studies teacher Dennis Culliton and therapist Doug Nygren launched it in 2019, is set to grow even more in 2021 as conversations around Black Lives Matter protests last year have opened up even more avenues for the project to expand its reach. Continue Reading.
The Henry James Memorial School in Simsbury, Connecticut, will be using the Project’s curriculum and landscape markers to expand their teaching of the history of slavery in colonial Connecticut.
Henry James Memorial School‘s mission statement, “Connections, Challenge, Character,” is a reflection of the middle school’s philosophy that is essential to the experience that they provide all of their students during their time at the school. They utilize the team structure, which enables their faculty and staff to know the interests and strengths of each student, thus meeting their individual learning needs.
The Witness Stones Project, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to restore the history and honor the humanity of the enslaved individuals who helped build our communities, today announced a new affiliation with the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum in Skillman, New Jersey. The Museum will be supporting the introduction of the Project’s curriculum and landscape markers into the Hopewell Valley Regional School District.
Students who are participating in the Project will examine primary source documents, such property, church, and vital records; wills and probate inventories; and census data, in order to understand the reality of slavery and to restore the memory of those individuals who were enslaved. They will learn how to document and describe the dehumanization and paternalism of slavery; the economic and legal framework that supported slavery; and, the agency, resistance, and contributions of the enslaved to our local and national history. Finally, these students will be inviting their communities to witness as they install memorial stones for individuals who were enslaved in their town.
The mission of the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum is to tell the story of the unique culture, experiences, and contributions of the African American community of the Sourland Mountain Region.
