Last updated: March 10, 2022
Article
Illuminating Black History in the Essex National Heritage Area
Essex NHA
The Essex National Heritage Area is offering several new opportunities this year to connect with the rich stories of the region’s Black heritage. With the publishing of African Americans in Essex County, Massachusetts: An Annotated Guide, by the Salem Maritime National Historical Site, there is a vast amount of material to consider.
The work on the guide represented the culmination of a two-year NPS-funded project administered by the Organization of American Historians. The guide’s primary investigators were Dr. Kabria Baumgartner and Dr. Elizabeth Duclos-Orsello who worked closely with the Essex National Heritage on its educational initiative titled The African American Experience in Essex National Heritage Area.
Essex Heritage received a National Park Service African American Civil Rights Grant for these efforts. The $50,000 grant helps the heritage area develop opportunities to better understand how to interpret and teach the history of Black communities throughout the region. The goal of this National Park Foundation-sponsored initiative is to support educators in learning about these “hidden histories'', and to share techniques and sources for engaging students with challenging topics.
As a result of this research and the publishing of the guide, the NHA will work with partners to illuminate underrepresented histories from the colonial era to the present. Essex Heritage has teamed up with local, state, and national partners. One of those partners is the North Andover Public Schools where the initiative hopes to address gaps in secondary education curricula in the field of Black history.
Collaborating with Brian Sheehy, History Coordinator at North Andover High School, Essex Heritage planned virtual collaborative educator workshops in response to students’ desire to better understand societal divisions and the historical roots of inequities.
One such workshop produced through this partnership utilizes local archives, scholars’ expertise, and community members’ input to explore historical examples of structural systemic disparities, and the fight for equity in local Black communities. The workshop’s web site, open to the public, compiles primary source documents, lessons from local teachers, and media created by students at North Andover High.
“When I asked how many of my students were surprised to consider that enslaved people existed in North Andover and Andover, almost everyone raised his or her hand. I then used the documents from the website to show the town census for enslaved people. Many admitted that they had always thought of the institution of slavery as something that happened ‘somewhere else,” said one of the teachers who led a workshop session.
“These sessions have been invaluable to me as a teacher,” said one North Andover High teacher. “I am excited to comb back through the resources over the summer to incorporate even more into my planning.
”Program participants worked with other educators from schools, museums, and historical societies to find ways of making this history relevant to students as they confront modern challenges and opportunities built on these legacies. Teachers were given the opportunity to create activity ideas based on workshop content to earn professional development credit. Numerous teachers have since submitted activity plans.
In addition to its secondary education work, Essex Heritage continues to illuminate Black heritage stories through its African American Experience in Essex National Heritage Area research initiative. To do so, the heritage area continues its partnership with Dr. Baumgartner, a Professor of History and Africana Studies at Northeastern University.
Dr. Baumgartner’s research will feed into an educator professional development workshop in May 2022 to expand understanding of the historically underrepresented Black history of Essex County. Last year, Dr. Baumgartner presented the “Unsung Heroes: Black Women in Essex County” workshop together with Dr. Elizabeth Duclos-Orsello, in partnership with Essex Heritage and Salem Maritime National Historical Site.
Essex Heritage is also currently working with local partners to prepare for a larger Black History symposium to share research and best practices for disseminating these vital stories, slated for 2023. To follow updates and access more resources, visit the Essex Heritage website.
The work on the guide represented the culmination of a two-year NPS-funded project administered by the Organization of American Historians. The guide’s primary investigators were Dr. Kabria Baumgartner and Dr. Elizabeth Duclos-Orsello who worked closely with the Essex National Heritage on its educational initiative titled The African American Experience in Essex National Heritage Area.
Essex Heritage received a National Park Service African American Civil Rights Grant for these efforts. The $50,000 grant helps the heritage area develop opportunities to better understand how to interpret and teach the history of Black communities throughout the region. The goal of this National Park Foundation-sponsored initiative is to support educators in learning about these “hidden histories'', and to share techniques and sources for engaging students with challenging topics.
As a result of this research and the publishing of the guide, the NHA will work with partners to illuminate underrepresented histories from the colonial era to the present. Essex Heritage has teamed up with local, state, and national partners. One of those partners is the North Andover Public Schools where the initiative hopes to address gaps in secondary education curricula in the field of Black history.
Collaborating with Brian Sheehy, History Coordinator at North Andover High School, Essex Heritage planned virtual collaborative educator workshops in response to students’ desire to better understand societal divisions and the historical roots of inequities.
One such workshop produced through this partnership utilizes local archives, scholars’ expertise, and community members’ input to explore historical examples of structural systemic disparities, and the fight for equity in local Black communities. The workshop’s web site, open to the public, compiles primary source documents, lessons from local teachers, and media created by students at North Andover High.
“When I asked how many of my students were surprised to consider that enslaved people existed in North Andover and Andover, almost everyone raised his or her hand. I then used the documents from the website to show the town census for enslaved people. Many admitted that they had always thought of the institution of slavery as something that happened ‘somewhere else,” said one of the teachers who led a workshop session.
“These sessions have been invaluable to me as a teacher,” said one North Andover High teacher. “I am excited to comb back through the resources over the summer to incorporate even more into my planning.
”Program participants worked with other educators from schools, museums, and historical societies to find ways of making this history relevant to students as they confront modern challenges and opportunities built on these legacies. Teachers were given the opportunity to create activity ideas based on workshop content to earn professional development credit. Numerous teachers have since submitted activity plans.
In addition to its secondary education work, Essex Heritage continues to illuminate Black heritage stories through its African American Experience in Essex National Heritage Area research initiative. To do so, the heritage area continues its partnership with Dr. Baumgartner, a Professor of History and Africana Studies at Northeastern University.
Dr. Baumgartner’s research will feed into an educator professional development workshop in May 2022 to expand understanding of the historically underrepresented Black history of Essex County. Last year, Dr. Baumgartner presented the “Unsung Heroes: Black Women in Essex County” workshop together with Dr. Elizabeth Duclos-Orsello, in partnership with Essex Heritage and Salem Maritime National Historical Site.
Essex Heritage is also currently working with local partners to prepare for a larger Black History symposium to share research and best practices for disseminating these vital stories, slated for 2023. To follow updates and access more resources, visit the Essex Heritage website.