This book was written by students from the Country School of Madison in remembrance of Tamar.
Student Work
West Hartford Witness Stones Students Argue for Change
By
WEST HARTFORD — Some streets around town could get new names under an ordinance to honor people or historic events.
Local officials said there are still logistical issues to finalize, but the ordinance was largely supported by public speakers and adopted by the Town Council. Continue reading.
Witness Stones Highlight Lyme-Old Lyme’s History of Slavery ahead of Juneteenth
West Hartford Students & Teachers Discuss the Project
West Hartford Town Council Approves Procedure for Honorary and Historic Renaming of Public Streets
By Sophie Christensen on We-Ha.com on June 9, 2021
In a January Letter to the Editor, Aliza Sadiq and Regina Miller (two Kingswood Oxford students) asked the West Hartford Town Council to rename New Street in Blue Back Square. They wish to honor Peleg Nott, who had been enslaved in West Hartford but according to research was an extraordinary man eventually elected to the honorable position of “Black governor.”
After their research for the Witness Stones Project, Aliza and Regina discovered shocking truths about the history of slavery in town. There were about “70 people enslaved in West Hartford alone, which is double the number we thought it was four years ago,” they said in the letter. Continue reading.
Student Poetry from Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School Students
Seventh-grade students from the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School wrote poems to tell the life stories of Jenny Freeman and Lewis Lewia.
Jenny Freeman
By Ilona Binch
Sun shining through the windows.
Children running through the halls.
There were joyful voices in the air
Even though nothing was right at all.
I was knitting socks and gloves
For children that weren’t mine.
My children worked for families that weren’t ours.
Their children got toys – my children got scars.
My body was their property.
To the Noyes my enslavers.
I took care of their children,
But my thoughts were of mine.
When I was “Old Jenny,”
I worked and worked not even getting a penny.
I would care, and I would clean.
I was nothing, not even a thing
When I was a “Freeman,”
I was something
I helped others be free like me.
No one should have to suffer the indignities of slavery.
[Read more…] about Student Poetry from Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School Students
The Story of Elizabeth Freeman
Students at Witness Stone affiliate the Salisbury School have been uncovering the history of slavery in Northwest Connecticut. Here they present the life of Elizabeth Freeman.
Foote School Students Recover the Life of Pink Primus
Students from the Foote School gathered at the Pardee-Morris House on June 2, 2021, to remember the life of Pink Primus. Students read original poetry and displayed the infographics they created to share the life of Pink with their community.
Marshall Miles Interviews Caleb May and Rhonan Mokriski about “Coloring Our Past”
“This movie has forced us to confront history that challenges our perception of who we are and how we became a country. Looking at the contributions local families of color like the Mars and the Cesars have had on our communities has really opened our eyes. In turn, our aim is to use our work to help form a more complete and inclusive history that highlights the contributions of all Americans. This project is not about simply uncovering the history of one Black family in America, it is also about completing the inaccurate and incomplete history of our diverse American Family.” -Nicholas Gray, Producer
Listen to the interview here.
Director’s Discussion: Coloring Our Past
Salisbury School student Caleb May leads a discussion about the film Coloring Our Past with Cesar family descendants and friends.
