The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Black history comes alive for students
New Jersey project shows them ‘history is in your backyard.’
Elementary school students are discovering historic sites, burial grounds in town that was once on Underground Railroad.
When genealogist Shamele Jordon decided to find a way to bring history alive for students at the Lawnside Elementary School in New Jersey, she found the answer in their backyards in the African American community.
Students are discovering sites and burial grounds in the South Jersey borough, a stop on the Underground Railroad that sheltered runaway slaves. They are also learning about ancestors and historical figures who developed Lawnside.
Jordon, a researcher, teamed with Muneerah Higgs, a retired Lawnside third-grade teacher, to create a Black History Month project for third- to eighth-graders called “Visualizing Your Past.” They hope to instill pride by giving students a birds-eye view of their history.
Jordon, 54, who lived in Lawnside as a youngster, said this project shows that “history is in your backyard — it’s not just in textbooks.”
Lawnside was settled before the Civil War as “Snow Hill,” a haven for free blacks and runaway slaves on land purchased by abolitionists. The Camden County town later became Lawnside and was incorporated as the first all-black municipality north of the Mason-dixon Line.
Each week, Jordon and Higgs prepare a packet of five history cards, designed by Higgs, that depict historic figures and sites, such as the Peter Mott House, the oldest house in Lawnside. Mott, a freedman and a preacher, provided refuge for escaped slaves.
Students take a selfie in front of a historic site and produce a video or a creative document, such as a newsletter, about the topic. They get quizzed about the cards during virtual history class each week.
During a recent class, they learned about Dr. Roscoe Moore, who helped establish Lawnside’s first Red Cross chapter during World War I and, later, as a school physician, administered the smallpox vaccine to students, including Higgs. The 73-year-old retired teacher showed the students a small scar on her arm from the vaccination more than a half-century ago.
Third-grader Ava Wakins was amazed that Higgs was vaccinated by Moore in the 1950’s.
“You met him? No way, cool!” she said.
Some students are descendants of the town’s founding families. Others are newcomers just learning about Lawnside’s storied past and treasures. Three sites in the borough of about 3,000 residents are listed on the National Register of Historic Places; several more are eligible.
“They are doing exactly what we hope to see done to keep the history alive and current,” said Linda Shockley, president of the Lawnside Historical Society.
‘They are doing exactly what we hope to see done to keep the history alive and current.’
Linda Shockley
Lawnside Historical Society president