Curriculum
Objective: To educate students at MLK about the history and culture of Church Hill and its prominence to Richmond, Virginia; to develop skills to become a productive citizen and law abiding adult. The historical segment of the unit can be taught cross the curriculums of History, English, and Mathematics.
Activities:
- Field trips to the new Black Museum of Culture (Washington, D.C.) to see artifacts from Church Hill. Students can have discussions of the significance of the building’s architecture and design. Students can study how the building was designed to accommodate the breakdown of slave houses, street and Chuck Berry’s car, and other large exhibits. Students can study the timeframe from which articles were used and their origin. Students can study which families from Church Hill contributed artifacts and why they felt it necessary to preserve the items.
- Teachers can coordinate walking tours of Historical Church Hill. Teachers can have students write research about Church Hill landmarks. Students can do research papers writing about the Black civil rights pioneers of Richmond.
- The students can write about how Jim Crowe laws were aimed at suppressing the black race. A mock retrial can be conducted on one or more of the murder cases where whites were found not guilty of crimes against blacks or discover why there were no trials at all (i.e. Emmett Till, George Stinney, Jr., Mary Turner, or James Chaney).
- Students can have an opportunity to learn about “separate but equal” and the impact it has had on their education. Interviews can be conducted with individuals who attended school during the time of segregation. Families who left the city because of white flight, can be included in the interviews.
- Students can learn about mass incarceration and how it impacts the black community.
- Students can study the resiliency modules and have discussions on how the modules and theories have affected their lives.
- MLK teachers need to integrate into the curriculum strategies to deal with traumatic events in the lives of their students. MLK has a 45-minute block that is labeled “enrichment” for teachers to have remediation sessions and/or elective teachers teach art. This time can be used for character building sessions and/or crisis intervention. Each student should have a copy of Race to Incarcerate to foster relevant discussions on the prison system. Counseling should be available for students effected by rape, drug abuse, and domestic violence. There should be required electives that deal with money management and job training skills. There should be time set aside in the school schedule to have “peace talks and restorative justice circles”. The females at MLK need to be educated about feminine hygiene and teen pregnancy. Females and males need to be educated about sexually transmitted diseases and healthy intimate relationships.
- During Black History Month, students could further learn about the rich black history and about historical Black men and women of the area. The students could have discussions about why Mary Lumpkin risked her life sneaking extra food and medical supplies to the slaves. The students need to know that when the Black slaves were freed from Lumpkin’s jail, they marched together and started one of the most prominent black communities in America – Jackson Ward. The citizens of Jackson Ward had their own bank, St. Luke Penny Savings Bank (founded by Maggie L. Walker), their own hotel The Eggleston Hotel – the only hotel where famous African Americans could stay, restaurants, shops, and an undertaker (A.D. Price). A.D. Price taught other undertakers the business of mortuary science. They need to know that one of the first negro senior citizen home was in Church Hill (The Afro Home) and was the spring board that other facilities patent their homes after. The students have discussions about Lawrence Douglas Wilder (the first African American governor) was born, raised and educated in Church Hill. The students need to learn about Arthur Ashe, first African American to win at Wimbledon, graduated from Armstrong High School. The students need to know that Max Robinson, the first African American news anchor in the United States, also graduated from Armstrong High School. They need to learn about Henry Marsh, civil rights leader and Richmond’s first African American mayor, attended George Mason Elementary School. The students need to learn about Richmonder’s Bill Bojangles and Snow Ball Crump, the famous tap dancers who entertained around the world. The students need to be taught about the Richmond gospel singing quartet, the Harmonizing Four. The group were the only African Americans asked to sing at the funeral service of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- Students can visit VCU Medical Center and learn about programs it offers. Students can participate in VCU’s middle school discovery programs to learn about in-depth science and technology projects, engineering, arts, and health sciences projects. Students can learn the school’s requirements for enrollment and how they can start working towards attendance in middle school.
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