From Slavery to Freedom

Before they become teenagers, my students never notice that the window at the end of the second floor hallway provides us with a view of the tallest buildings in the Cincinnati skyline. While our school is less than ten miles from the Ohio River, my students’ cultural, economic and social background does not appear to them to have any connections to the rich historical, cultural and spiritual legacy of the Ohio River. It does not occur to them that the issues of slavery, human rights and freedom will be the focus of the start of their last year at St. Joseph School.
         My fellow teachers and I have designed the beginning of our students’ eighth year to be about lessons in leadership, role modeling and the sanctity of life. The main event in this unit is our day trip to Joy Outdoor Education Center in Clarksville, Ohio. At Camp Joy, our students are challenged to set personal goals, learn positive communication and empathize with others who do not have the freedom they have as 21st century Americans. They take part in group tasks, high ropes courses, and a re-enactment of the Survival of the Underground Railroad. It is an eagerly awaited day for the adventure, but they learn there is more to it than a fun field trip.
         The history teacher, writing teacher and I follow the day with material that is essential for their understanding of their Catholic faith and their American history. The writing teacher guides them through writing a personal essay about their Camp Joy experience. Though they have studied the Holocaust and the suffering of the Jewish people, beginning with their slavery in Biblical Egypt, very few of them are aware slavery has occurred in our own country and local area. Recently, some older homes along the Ohio River and in neighboring towns have been discovered as stops along the Underground Railroad. Students first think that the Underground Railroad is an actual underground train system. Once that misconception is cleared up, it becomes apparent to them that the railroad was a courageous and mysterious idea. We discuss the role slavery has had in our identity as spiritual Americans as we discuss laws, iconic figures, civil rights, music, and language. My history colleague oversees their study of the Civil War. I introduce the historic Catholic response in Northern Kentucky to slavery in the 1800’s, and turn their attention to what our faith says.
         In religion class, we stress that we are God’s children and heirs to His Kingdom. Romans 8:15 says, “we did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear.” Jesus says that those who follow Him are close friends when He tells the disciples, “’I no longer call you slaves.’ (John 15:15)” We look at the origins and words of the songs “Amazing Grace” and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”. They begin to see their history and religion classes as relevant to their lives. One no longer is ancient history, and the other is not just filler for an hour on Sundays.
         Throughout this year, both the history teacher and I have seen the students relate these topics to world events. When Hurricane Katrina devastated the South, my students debated how connected the history of slavery was to the suffering they saw. They started fundraising in order to become part of the solution. They have been shocked to learn that the battles for freedom and human rights are not over. They prayed for the elections in Iraq, wonder what is happening in China, and know there are troubles between warring tribes in Africa. In discussing our Church’s stance on life issues, they wanted to know how they could stand up for the oppressed.
         My teenagers are typical, self-absorbed and fun-loving kids. They aren’t perfect angels, but they are God’s saints who know that they, and other human beings, are not slaves. They celebrate the freedom that their God and country have given them, and they pray for a world in which everyone’s basic human rights are respected. They graduate from St. Joseph School with a much larger sense of their world. At night in that second floor hallway, I see a skyline with lights for a bight future. From these lessons the bright lights of many of our students will conduct others to freedom and the Kingdom.