Genesee Elementary Sings of Douglass and Tubman

On June 6, I had the pleasure of visiting this group of 4th graders from Genesee Elementary School in Auburn, New York.

Here they stand in front of the Frederick Douglass monument in Rochester's Highland Park where they had participated in the city's Frederick Douglass Festival on June 9, the following Saturday. Their class sang "Bridge to Freedom," a song that they had written in collaboration with the folk duo Magpie and dedicate to Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. 

What an inquisitive group! I don't spend much time around children, so I really had no idea how to act or what to expect. Oh my! They bowled me over. I could not think of them as "kids" or "children" by the end of our hour together. 

They wanted to know what drew me to Douglass. They peppered me with smart questions about the process of writing a book and about Anna and Frederick Douglass. When they asked how many pages were in my book, the girl in the front row, fourth from the right, was quick enough to ask how many of those were actual writing and not notes or index. Her hand was up almost the whole time, that shoot up and wave style of raising her hand, too. Indeed, many of them had that style. 

They begged for more information about his family and descendants, sighing so mournfully over the story of Annie Douglass's death, then Anna's death. They laughed at the story of Lewis Douglass meeting Harriet Tubman down South during the Civil War. They were so excited to know that Highland Park was near where his house had been in Rochester. 

Some told me that they were even writing their own stories. The girl on one knee, third from the left, even asked how to get a story published. Another girl, almost hidden there in the back wearing a bow, wanted to know how to become a college professor. Oh, I hope they do!

Their teachers and librarians, Anne Mlod and Cinda Gilmore, cannot go without mention for having the fortitude to corral that energy into constructive endeavors like songs and writing and the dreaded "showing your work" every day. Thank you to Laurel Ullyette and Martha Swan, as well, for their good work on the Harriet Was Here project that brings such programs to fruition. 

Of course, after a hard day of singing and Douglassing, one must celebrate: Ice Cream!

Photos courtesy of Martha Swan.