Author: Daniel Shogan, Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History Students will learn about the 1883 Massacre in Danville, Virginia as an example of racist mob violence against African Americans. Within the context of the massacre, they will be shown primary documents from the event. These documents will provide the students with not only a lens into the Danville of the nineteenth century, but also provide them with an opportunity to think critically about the biases present in some of the documents. After careful discussion of the events and outcomes of the massacre, the students will be given vocabulary worksheets that help to define and underline the most important elements of the narrative.

In this learning experience, the students will analyze multiple primary source documents as well as secondary information sources to understand this watershed event in Virginia and US History. The three men who will be studied in this experience ran away from their slave-holding captors and made their way to Fort Monroe. Upon arrival, military leadership at the fort claimed that the run-aways were enemy contraband and therefore could be confiscated by the Union forces. They were declared free through this war-time loophole and when the news spread, many other African Americans would soon start coming to Fort Monroe to claim their freedom as well.  Students begin by examining the records of enslaved people who ran away “to the enemy” (Union forces). Finally, students will use a Cost/Benefit analysis chart to guide their analysis of secondary information sources and develop an understanding of the concepts of resistance and a working knowledge of the event of Mallory, Baker, and Townsend sparking one of the first blows to the system of slavery.

In this learning experience, the students will complete a primary source inquiry into the impacts of Reconstruction on Black experiences in Virginia and the South. The students will use the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning structure to defend one of two claims.Students will analyze sources that depict/detail Black experiences and perspectives before, during, and after the Reconstruction. This learning experience will be most effective after students have been introduced to the what and when of Reconstruction.

The online resources featured below were curated by the Dr. Carter G. Woodson Collaborative in order to support the approved edits to the SOL curriculum framework made by the Governor’s Commission on African American History Education. The SOL standard and the approved edits appear in the first two columns of the spreadsheet followed by correlating links and a contextual overview of each resource. The final column identifies each link as open educational resources (OER) vs. copyrighted materials that cannot be edited. As there are few resources that are entirely free of cultural bias, we suggest that you refer to the Collaborative’s Support and Guidance in Selecting and Enacting Resources document in order to consider how these materials can best be utilized.

Author: Katie Frazier, Museums at W&L. Students will examine a ceramic object made by David Drake (about 1800-about 1870), an enslaved person who lived on a plantation in Edgefield, South Carolina. As an enslaved individual, Drake was denied the basic rights of learning how to read and write. Despite writing being illegal for enslaved people, David Drake was known for writing his name and poetry on the ceramics he made. He wanted to express his feelings about life, religion and his own identity as an enslaved person.  

Authored by Jasmine Dunbar (Virginia Beach History Museums). Students will examine the daily lives of enslaved individuals and the institution of slavery in early Virginian history and understand its connections to current societal issues of predjudice, racism, and white supremacy.

In this activity, students will compare and contrast the experiences and contributions of Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Van Lew, and Mary “Bowser” during the Civil War era. Students will conduct a gallery walk (in-person or virtually) to gather information about these three women using a graphic organizer.

Students will explore the enduring legacy of the cultures of enslaved people in Virginia by examining primary sources, engaging the research of Black historians, and connecting to their own experiences, interests, and cultures. Students document their thinking in a graphic organizer for formative assessment.