{"id":560,"date":"2025-09-23T10:42:55","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T14:42:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/chloe\/?p=560"},"modified":"2025-10-06T17:21:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T21:21:34","slug":"in-critical-diaspora-studies-course-students-reimagine-marylands-19th-century-black-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/chloe\/2025\/09\/23\/in-critical-diaspora-studies-course-students-reimagine-marylands-19th-century-black-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"In Critical Diaspora Studies Course, Students Reimagine Maryland\u2019s 19th Century Black Schools"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By: Esther Ojo (KSAS ’27) and Angela Serwaa-Marfo<\/strong> (KSAS ’24)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undergraduate students in the Spring 2025 Critical Diaspora Studies semester course Freedom Education: Embodied Speculative History of Maryland Schools for African Americans in the 1800s<\/strong> <\/em>brought to life the daily patterns of Black education during Reconstruction through the execution of two original short films. The respective films were filmed at historical sites: Hosanna School<\/a> in Harford County and the McComas Institute<\/a> in Joppa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taught by Dr. Jasmine Blanks Jones<\/strong>, Chloe Center lecturer, the community-engaged course was supported in part by the Center for Social Concern\u2019s engaged scholarship initiative. Over the semester, students Nana Barimah Osei-Owusu, Sewell Cooper, Madison Diaz, Esther Ojo, and Chidi Ojukwu analyzed archival sources and embodied history as actors in dramatizations of 19th-century classrooms. The scripts, \u201cA School for Our People\u201d (Hosanna) and \u201cLearning to Be Free\u201d (McComas), were written by Baltimore-based Ghanaian theater and gourd artist Trustina Sabah and Johns Hopkins alumna Angela Serwaa-Marfo, weaving profound research with storytelling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Students
Freedom Education Course Students pose with instructor Dr. Blanks Jones, professional actors Joshua Carter and Griffin DeLisle, and playwrights Angela Serwaa-Marfo and Trustina Fafa Sabah.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To ensure that the embodiment of these films was historically accurate, the class drew on the expertise of the Executive Director of Hosanna Schools, Dr. Iris Barnes, an award-winning historian, educator, and museum professional with decades of experience. Students were able to perform inside the preserved one-room schoolhouses, where they reenacted the methods by which Black teachers and students confronted adversity through education. The finished films were premiered to an enthusiastic audience at the Upper Bay Juneteenth Festival on June 19, 2025. This work was highly commended and cherished by attendees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Angela Serwaa-Marfo, \u201cDoing the research for this project was fascinating because there was so much history to cover. Something that stuck out to me is that so much has changed in 150-160 years since Reconstruction, but so much has stayed the same. Black history matters. Our stories matter. Our humanity matters, even in instances such as simply getting an education.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esther Ojo felt that performing as a student of the late 1800s provided insight on both past and present as, \u201cReenacting these stories sheds light on the fact that many things have not changed in regard to the resources and conditions of Black students at their schools. Buildings, much like in the late 1800s, are still in dire conditions, making it hard for students to focus and actively learn. Acting out the lives of students and teachers was an enlightening experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sewell Cooper added that, \u201cPerforming A School for Our People<\/em> at Hosanna and Learning to Be Free<\/em> at McComas was hands down one of the best field trips I\u2019ve ever had. But it was more than just a fun experience\u2014it was deeply transformative.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"McComas<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Standing inside the weathered classrooms, he said, \u201cmade the work hit harder. It felt like we weren\u2019t just honoring the past, we were stepping into it and, in many ways, helping to carry it forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To prepare for the filming of these plays, the students examined archival records, visited historical sites including the Sharp Street Memorial United Methodist Church<\/a> and the Peale Museum<\/a>, and met with local educators where they engaged in conversations that highlighted how the stories of Black schooling in Maryland complicate broader narratives about Reconstruction and the struggle for civil rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Students<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For Serwaa-Marfo, scriptwriting was also a way to honor the persistence of Black educators and students whose labor built opportunities against daunting odds. She described how, through research and dialogue with the class, she came to see the plays as more than historical re-creations, but as invitations for audiences to feel the urgency of protecting memory. “Throughout the scriptwriting process, I wanted to showcase the hopes, dreams, and humanity of all the students and teachers who strove to gain an education and their freedom during the Reconstruction era in Harford County, MD,” she reflected. “Their perseverance and courage in the face of a world that refused to acknowledge their humanity, much less their rights, deserve to be remembered. I hope that people will recognize these aspects when they engage with this history.” Her process underscored the course\u2019s aim: to bridge rigorous scholarship and creative expression so that the resilience of Reconstruction-era communities could speak powerfully to the present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through acting and research, the students encountered the ventures of daily life: the sweeping of a broom before lessons began, the congested spaces full of students ranging across all ages, the perseverance of teachers balancing instruction with caretaking. As Ojo noted, questions about teachers\u2019 mobility and preparation revealed \u201chow much was demanded of educators with so little outside help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The resulting films<\/a> offer a beautiful interpretation of how African American children and teachers utilized the tool of education in the fight for freedom. Their premiere at the Upper Bay Juneteenth Festival underscored the project\u2019s commitment to sharing this history with a broader public, honoring the legacies of those who fought for learning as liberation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supported by the Chloe Center and the Center for Social Concern, the spring course Freedom Education<\/strong><\/em> illuminated both the hardships and the triumphs of those who claimed learning as a pathway to liberation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Undergraduate students in the Spring 2025 Critical Diaspora Studies semester course\u00a0Freedom Education: Embodied Speculative History of Maryland Schools for African Americans in the 1800s\u00a0brought to life the daily patterns of Black education during Reconstruction through the execution of two original short films.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":754,"featured_media":562,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[36,46],"class_list":["post-560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-anti-racism","tag-critical-diaspora-studies"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/chloe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/chloe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/chloe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/chloe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/754"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/chloe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=560"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/chloe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":579,"href":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/chloe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560\/revisions\/579"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/chloe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/chloe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/chloe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/chloe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}