Among several class projects, this film is one of three documentaries students from Salisbury School’s Searching for Slavery class have created over the course of the year to carry out their mission of educating the public about this important history, rewriting the stories that have been recorded incorrectly, and uncovering lives that have been ignored or buried.
Student Work
Student Film Screening: Looking for Color
From the Atlantic Black Box Project on May 22, 2021
Salisbury, Connecticut: Students from Salisbury School’s Searching for Slavery class, in conjunction with the Upper Housatonic Heritage Area, are excited to screen the premiere of their film, Looking for Color on May 26, 2021, at 7:00 p.m. for Noble Horizons. Among several class projects, this film is one of three documentaries students have created over the course of the year to carry out their mission of educating the public about this important history, rewriting the stories that have been recorded incorrectly, and uncovering lives that have been ignored or buried. Continue reading.
Noble Horizons to Premiere Film by Salisbury School Students
From the Litchfield County Times on May 19, 2021
SALISBURY — Noble Horizons, a senior retirement community at 17 Cobble Road, will premiere Coloring Our Past, a film made by Salisbury School students in Rhonan Mokriski’s 2020-21 Searching for Slavery class, on May 26 at 7 p.m.
The film chronicles their discovery of the lost stories of local Black and Indigenous peoples whose contributions have been hidden from history for the last 200-plus years, an announcement said. Throughout the year, the students have conducted extensive research, field work, interviews and other efforts to uncover the lives of people who have long been buried, forgotten, or ignored, the announcement said. Continue reading.
James Mars Day
Salisbury School students honor James Mars’s legacy.
Black American Slave James Mars’s Story in Virtual Program
The Litchfield County Times on March 25, 2021
SALISBURY — Noble Horizons will host “The Life and Times of James Mars: The Story of a Connecticut Slave,” a virtual presentation, on April 1 at 7:15 p,m.
Registration for this free Zoom program is at noblehorizons.org.
Salisbury history teacher Rhonan Mokriski and his students will discuss their extensive research into the buried story of James Mars and other Black American slaves in Connecticut that have been hidden from history for over a century, an announcement said. As Mokriski explained, “We believe that efforts like this will help refute the impression that American history is inherently white.” Continue reading.
Searching for Slavery in Northwest Connecticut
Students in Rhonan Mokriski’s “Searching for Slavery in Northwest Connecticut” class at the Salisbury School are becoming public historians.
Kingswood Oxford Students Make Important Progress in Witness Stones Project
In the Kingswood Oxford News published on January 21, 2021.
The Witness Stones Project is an ongoing one in the Kingswood Oxford School history department each year that engages the students in authentic, real-world learning. The project seeks to honor the humanity and contributions of the enslaved people who helped build the community we live in today. Since its inception in 2019, students work to build on the work that was done by classmates before them. Each year, different pieces of the puzzle are uncovered, carefully put into place, and a bigger piece of the local historical fabric completed. Continue reading.
West Hartford Students Ask for Renaming of New Street to Honor Peleg Nott
Kingswood Oxford students, Regina Miller ‘22 and Aliza Sadiq ‘22 wrote a proposal to the West Hartford Town Council, in which they outlined their reasons to rename New Street in Blue Black Square after Peleg Nott. We invite you to read it here.
Salisbury School Students Chronicle the Lives of African Americans
A blog on the Atlantic Black Box Project, started on December 24, 2020.
History teacher Rhonan Mokriski and his students at the Salisbury School have been pursuing a project-based learning course in public history focused on uncovering the lives of free and enslaved African American families in northwestern Connecticut. Continue reading.
Peleg Nott’s Story
We invite you to listen to this podcast from Kingswood Oxford students Garrett Gallup and Isaias Wooden:
