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Access the interviews on the Early Black Berea website
(This might be done either by having students go to the school computer
center, or by simply copying the text of the interviews for student
use).
After a close reading of the texts of the interviews,
have students construct an overlapping event timeline for the stories.
Focus on: What brought their families to Berea? What work did they
do? What kinds of opportunities did they have in Berea, or elsewhere
in Kentucky? What kinds of social/economic/political pressure did they
experience? Were there common factors that led them (or other members
of their families to leave Berea)? This can be done as a whole-class
discussion, or as a small group activity which is then merged into
a class event-line.
[Some explanation of the nature of education at Berea
College may be necessary. Students will imagine that the label, college,
meant the same thing in the nineteenth century as today. They will
need to understand that many students came for basic education (Foundation
School, with basic literacy the primary outcome, equivalent to common
school or grade school; Preparatory School, which was like high school
for college preparation; Normal School, which was like high school,
but the level of preparation for teachers of public common schools
(grades 1-8).]
Once students have completed the event timeline for the
oral interviews, begin a detailed study of the historical period, 1865-1877,
and the social history of the period, 1877-1914. Make certain that
an emphasis is placed on the creation of a segregated society. Once
this unit is completed, present students with the following research
assignment:
In reviewing the event timeline that we have constructed
from the interview transcripts, explain how the social/political/ and
economic changes in the years before 1914 is reflected in the personal
experiences of these African Americans.
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