Harriet Tubman Arrives at the Meetinghouse

The fourth grade was treated to a stellar performance by writer and actress Dr. Daisy Century last week in the Meetinghouse. She portrayed Harriet Tubman as an enslaved young girl, as a conductor on the Underground Railroad leading hundreds of people to freedom, and culminated her performance in her role as a spy, healer and cook for the Union Army during the Civil War. The students learned of the harshness of slavery through the eyes of a young Araminta Ross / Harriet Tubman and the love and devotion she had for her family.

The students were asked to write a reflection on the performance afterwards thinking back to what they already knew and what they newly discovered. There was such a wealth of varied answers communicated. One student commented that she loved learning about the relationship Harriet had with her father and all the things he taught her about nature and survival. It was as though he always knew she would need to know these skills to be so skilled in escaping to freedom. Another student astutely wondered if the father knew so much about survival, why didn't he escape? Dr. Century introduced the nuance of why some people stayed and others fled their enslavement throughout her performance. 

After the performance, Daisy asked the students questions that reflected information she had embedded into her script. They resoundingly knew all the answers. The students were also able to ask questions of Daisy. The questions were rich and plentiful and stretched beyond our allotted time. The students will continue their study of abolition with a deeper and richer context of what it meant to be an abolitionist.