Remembering Alex Haley and Roots

February 15, 2010 by Ben Edwards · Leave a Comment 

Continuing with my series of posts for Black History Month featuring outstanding African Americans, today I’ll be remembering Alex Haley and his Pulitzer Prize-winning book Roots. Whenever he spoke about Roots while giving talks in various parts of the country, Alex Haley would recall how, as a young boy, he sat on the front porch of his childhood home in Henning, Tennessee and listened to his grandmother Cynthia and Great Aunt Liz, Great Aunt Till, Great Aunt Viney, and Cousin Georgia tell stories passed down in the family. These women would sit in their rocking chairs and speak about their earliest ancestor – someone who they always referred to as the “African”. They said his name was “Kintay” and also mentioned other African words he taught to his daughter Kizzy – words like “Ko” which meant “guitar” and “Kamby Bolongo” which stood for “river”. These stories fascinated and intrigued young Alex Haley but little could he imagine that many years later they would forever change his life. In 1939, at the age of 18, Alex Haley withdrew from college and enlisted in the Coast Guard. It was here that he developed his writing skills by crafting letters to those back home and also for his shipmates – essentially love letters that they could send to their girlfriends. After World War II, Haley remained in the Coast Guard and transferred into the field of journalism. In 1959, after 20 years of service, Alex Haley retired from the Coast Guard with the rank of Chief Petty Officer and the title of Chief Journalist. He then began to pursue a career in journalism by writing articles for magazines including Reader’s Digest, where Haley eventually became a senior editor. His first book, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, was published in 1965. After that project, an assignment for a magazine took him to Washington, D.C. where in his free time he visited the National Archives. Here he searched the census records of Alamance County, North Carolina and located the family of Tom Murray a blacksmith and his wife Irene. He recalled these names from the stories he heard as a boy. Tom and Irene were his great grandparents and they had been slaves. Wanting to learn more, he decided to pay a visit to the only surviving storyteller from those early days on the front porch of the family home in Henning – Cousin Georgia who was almost 80.

Alex Haley flew to Kansas City, Kansas for a reunion with Cousin Georgia. She relayed some of the same stories he had heard as a child including how the African named “Kintay” was a short distance from his village chopping wood to make a drum when he was surprised by slave catchers. She mentioned that he was taken from his homeland and put aboard a slave ship which landed in “Napolis”. Here he was sold and his name changed to Toby. The African, never accepted that name, and always took pride in his real family name “Kintay” and instilled in his daughter Kizzy a sense of who they really were. At the end of their conversation, Alex Haley recalls Cousin Georgia saying “Boy, your sweet Grandma ‘an all the rest of ‘em, they settin’ up there and watchin’ you. Now you git on outa here and do what you got to do.” Those words inspired Alex Haley to begin his 12-year search for his ancestors – a search that involved extensive travel and countless hours of research in numerous libraries and archives. During that genealogical journey, Alex Haley discovered the name of his first ancestor in America and in 1976 the story of Kunta Kinte and his descendants came to life in a book called Roots. Adapted into a television miniseries, Roots was originally broadcast in one and two-hour segments over an eight-day period in January 1977 and was seen by 130 million viewers. The sequel Roots: the Next Generations, also tremendously popular, aired in 1979. I was one of the millions of viewers who watched both programs and, as it did for countless others, Alex Haley’s work motivated me to learn more about my own family. Many years later I wrote a book that tells the tale of my Edwards ancestors – a children’s story called One April in Boston. A copy of it sits on the bookshelf in my office, side by side with a far larger book that will always mean a great deal to me – a copy of Roots signed by Alex Haley.

Since receiving the Pulitzer Prize in 1977, Roots has been published in 37 languages! Author Alex Haley died in 1992 but his legacy is quite visible today, in two spots in particular – The Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Memorial, located in Annapolis, Maryland and at his boyhood home in Henning, Tennessee. The Memorial is located at the head of the Annapolis City Harbor and marks the location where Kunta Kinte arrived. It is the only memorial in the United States to commemorate the actual name and place of arrival of an enslaved African. The beautiful memorial includes a Compass Rose, a Sculpture Group of Alex Haley reading to three children of different ethnic backgrounds as well as a Story Wall with ten bronze plaques. These plaques “share messages designed to encourage reconciliation and healing from a legacy of slavery, ethnic hatred, and oppression. They include commentary and original art about translated epigraphs from Alex Haley’s messages in Roots. The messages are universal in significance.” A few of the messages on the Story Wall plaques appear below:

When you clench your fist, no one can put anything in your hand, nor can your hand pick up anything.
Omoro Kinte, Roots

Knowledge of history can be the first step away from anger and bitterness. Truth leads to understanding. Understanding and forgiveness lead to reconciliation and healing.
• FORGIVENESS •

Your sweet grandma and all of them – they’re up there watching you.
Cousin Georgia, Roots

Knowing our family is knowing ourselves. Our values and traditions are forged through the struggle, heartache, pain, hopes and dreams of our ancestors.
• FAMILY •

The farthest-back person they ever talked about was a man they called the “African.”
Alex Haley, Roots

Alex Haley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book Roots inspires all peoples to embrace their heritage. As we discover our personal history, we realize that all members of the human family share a universal bond.
• HERITAGE •

You must hear me now with more than your ears!
Omoro Kinte, Roots

This Story Wall is dedicated to those nameless Africans, brought to the New World against their will, who struggled against terrible odds to maintain family, culture, identity and above all, hope.
• DEDICATION •

Alex Haley’s boyhood home in Henning, Tennessee is now a historical site and museum. It is located at 200 South Church Street and the hours are 10 am to 5 pm, Tuesday-Saturday; 1 pm to 5 pm, Sunday; and the museum is closed on Monday. For more information, call (731) 738-2240. West Tennessee Journal recently did an incredible segment on The Alex Haley Home and Museum and that video appears below.

Listen to excerpts from the album Alex Haley Tells the Story of His Search for Roots

View Four Treasured Video Clips featuring Author Alex Haley

Purchase Roots Today!

The Alex Haley Home and Museum (embedded below)

Video link: Alex Haley Home and Museum

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Primary Source Audio Podcast: The Boston Tea Party

December 16, 2009 by Ben Edwards · Leave a Comment 

cPrimary-Source-Podcasts220cThe Boston Tea Party took place on this very day, December 16, two hundred and thirty six years ago. Today I’ll be wrapping up my series on the tea tax and the Tea Party by providing grade school teachers with a few valuable tools: a sampling of local press coverage in the days following the “destruction of the tea”; and an opportunity for your students to “listen to” the news as it was presented in the London papers. This chance to “listen to” the news is possible through the first in a series of primary source audio podcasts – something that will be a regular feature of this blog in the year ahead. This initial audio podcast (see link below) is a reading of an article that appeared in London’s Gentleman’s Magazine in January 1774 with coverage of the events that took place in Boston on December 16, 1773. When your students listen to this, have them imagine how the people in London would have reacted to the news of the destruction of the East India Company tea. How do they think King George III might have reacted personally! With regard to local press coverage – most of the newspapers in Boston were printed weekly, either on Mondays or Thursdays, and since the Tea Party occurred on a Thursday evening, the papers printed on a Monday would be first to carry the news. These were the Boston Gazette, printed by Benjamin Edes and John Gill; and the Boston Evening Post, printed by Thomas and John Fleet. Both featured extensive coverage. A copy of the Boston Gazette was apparently taken by sailing ship to London, as one of the articles in it is exactly the same as the piece that appeared in the January 1774 issue of London’s Gentleman’s Magazine – the audio podcast you can listen to.

The Boston Evening Post issue for Monday, December 20 contains more coverage than the Gazette, including all the details of the meeting at Old South Meeting House (see PDF files below). The Boston Gazette issue for December 20 did not contain this, with the printers noting the reason – “The particular account of the proceedings of the people at their meeting on Tuesday and Thursday last, are omitted this week for want of room.” The Thursday, December 23 issue of the Massachusetts Spy, printed by Isaiah Thomas, did contain all the details of the meeting at Old South but nothing about the destruction of the tea. Of all the accounts I have been able to research, perhaps my favorite appeared in the December 23, 1773 issue of the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly Newsletter. All the other papers mentioned above were produced by patriot printers but this one was printed by Richard Draper, a Loyalist. The fact that he sided with the King does not affect the coverage. I like it because it includes details not found in other press accounts. The complete article appears below:

Just before the dissolution of the meeting, a number of brave and resolute men, dressed in the Indian manner, approached near the door of the Assembly, gave the war whoop, which rang through the house and was answered by some in the galleries, but silence being commanded, and a peaceable deportment was again enjoined til the dissolution. The Indians, as they were then called, repaired to the wharf where the ships lay that had the tea on board, and were followed by hundreds of people to see the event of the transactions of those who made so grotesque an appearance.

They, the Indians, immediately repaired on board Captain Hall’s ship, where they hoisted out the chests of tea, and when upon deck stove the chests and emptied the tea overboard; having cleared this ship they proceeded to Captain Bruce’s and then to Captain Coffin’s brig. They applied themselves so dexterously to the destruction of this commodity that in the space of three hours they broke up 342 chests, which was the whole number in those vessels, and discharged the contents into the dock. When the tide rose it floated the broken chests and the tea isomuch that the surface of the water was filled therewith a considerable way from the south part of the town to Dorchester Neck, and lodged on the shores. There was the greatest care taken to prevent the tea from being purloined by the populace. One or two, being detected in endeavoring to pocket a small quantity, were stripped of their acquisitions and very roughly handled.

It is worthy of remark that although a considerable quantity of goods were still remaining on board the vessels, no injury was sustained. Such attention to private property was observed that a small padlock belonging to the captain of one of the ships being broke, another was procured and sent to him. The town was very quiet during the whole evening and night following. Those persons who were from the country returned with a merry heart; and the next day joy appeared in almost every countenance, some on occasion of the destruction of the tea, others on the account of the quietness with which it was effected. One of the Monday’s papers says that the masters and owners are well pleased that their ships are thus cleared.

Press Coverage from the December 20, 1773 issue from the Boston Evening Post appears below:

The original article from London’s Gentleman’s Magazine – January 1774

Audio Podcast of the article in London’s Gentleman’s Magazine from January 1774

LISTEN NOW:

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD AUDIO

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Paul Revere – A Man of Many Trades

December 1, 2009 by Ben Edwards · Leave a Comment 

© iStockphoto.com/JorgeAntonio

© iStockphoto.com/JorgeAntonio

When most people think about Paul Revere they usually recall his famous Midnight Ride on the evening of April 18-19, 1775 and perhaps his involvement in the Sons of Liberty. When it comes to his work as an artisan however, besides his fine efforts as a silversmith (master goldsmith), few can name any of the other trades this talented craftsman practiced. Paul Revere was a man of many trades – in fact he is rightfully considered one of America’s first industrialists. His entrepreneurial spirit was so strong that he began what might be considered his most daring business venture, opening the first copper rolling mill in North America, when many of his contemporaries were contemplating retirement. Paul Revere loved a challenge and long hours and hard work were nothing new to him. That work ethic started at a very young age when Revere initiated his career as an apprentice in the gold and silversmith shop of his father also named Paul. The elder Revere’s shop was located on Fish Street at the head of Clark’s Wharf. Nineteen-year-old Paul was in the midst of what was likely a seven year apprenticeship when his father died in 1754. At that time, Paul’s widowed mother Deborah Revere may have become proprietor of the family business and supervised the financial end of the operation where Paul, his brother Thomas and others worked. When Paul reached the age of 21, he was old enough to take over the business himself. After volunteering for a summer of service in the French and Indian War in 1756, Paul returned to run the family shop at the Clark’s Wharf location where he produced most of his work in silver, as gold was very expensive.

During his career as a silversmith, Paul Revere supplemented his income in numerous ways including work as a dentist and engraver. He advertised as a dentist in 1768 and 1770, offering to clean teeth and wire in false teeth, and served as a dentist until the Revolutionary War. After his good friend Doctor Joseph Warren was killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill, it was Paul Revere who was eventually able to identify Warren’s body by the two false teeth he had wired in. A reference to that identification, what may be the first example of forensic dentistry, is made in this original article from the April 25, 1776 issue of the Pennsylvania Evening Post. As a copper plate engraver, one of Paul Revere’s first efforts was the North Battery Certificate produced about 1762. Later copper plate prints include the well-known engraving of the Boston Massacre; the Landing of the Troops – an engraving showing the British troops landing at Long Wharf in 1768; and engraving work for Massachusetts currency, books and magazines. Paul Revere also did lead metal engravings for newspapers including the mastheads of both the Boston Gazette and the Massachusetts Spy.

When the Revolutionary War broke out, Revere learned how to manufacture gunpowder from the owner of a powder factory in Philadelphia. He returned to Boston and oversaw the construction of a powder mill in Canton that would supply gunpowder for the newly formed Continental Army. Revere spent most of the American Revolution as lieutenant colonel in the Massachusetts State Train of Artillery and commander of Castle Island in Boston Harbor. Newspaper ads placed by Paul Revere after the Revolution tell us that he moved his silversmith shop multiple times; operated a hardware store as early as 1783; and housed both businesses together in 1787 as this original ad from the June 13, 1787 issue of the Massachusetts Centinel mentions. By 1788, while still operating his silversmith shop (run on a day-to-day basis by his son Paul Jr.) and hardware store, Revere opened a foundry and produced bolts, spikes, and nails for local shipyards. After 1792, he began to cast bells at his foundry in the North End of Boston, and was assisted by his sons Paul Revere Jr. and Joseph Warren Revere. Today some 147 bells made at the Revere Foundry still survive. Most are located in New England.

In 1794, Revere began casting cannon (naval and field pieces) for the Federal government and various state governments. In 1801, at the age of 65, Paul Revere opened the first copper rolling mill in North America. He was the first American to successfully roll copper into sheets. At his mill in Canton, Massachusetts, Revere produced sheet copper for the dome of the new Massachusetts State House in 1802 and for the hulls of many ships. Paul Revere retired in 1811 at the age of 76. Revere passed his copper business, and the good reputation it had earned, on to his son Joseph Warren Revere and two of his grandsons. He spent his final years surrounded by his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. These young boys and girls surely asked Paul Revere about the events of April 18-19, 1775, but they also knew of his many other accomplishments. Revere died on May 10, 1818 at the age of 83. The notice of his death in the Columbian Centinel included these words “During his protracted life, his activity in business and benevolence, the vigor of his mind, and strength of his constitution were unabated.” He is buried in Boston’s Granary Burying Ground.

Paul Revere was not born to wealth – he was an ordinary man who lived an extraordinary life. Revere was a patriot, a businessman, an involved citizen, and a popular and well-respected member of his community. Today, the staff at the Paul Revere House is dedicated to preserving Paul Revere’s memory and his place in American history for future generations. Because of their work, the intriguing story of Paul Revere’s Boston is alive and well at the patriot’s former home at 19 North Square. Visit the Paul Revere House and learn more about his work as an artisan, his political and civic connections, and many messenger rides including the one that would make Paul Revere famous thanks to a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. You can see samples of his silverwork on display and also view a 931 pound bell produced at the Revere Foundry in 1804.

For more insight into Paul Revere’s life read:

All are available from the Revere House Museum Shop.

Filed under: Audio, Books, Colonial Newspapers, Primary Sources, Tours
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Successful Field Trips – A Multisensory Approach

November 11, 2009 by Ben Edwards · Leave a Comment 

DeclarationInBoston

Picture what it would be like if you could teach Colonial American history by transporting your students back in time so they might experience a particular event with all of their senses precisely as it takes place. If this were possible, one of the first locations and dates I would select would be: Boston, Massachusetts – July 18, 1776. On this Back to the Future field trip of sorts, the students and I would land our DeLorean in Dock Square near Faneuil Hall. From there we’d walk down the cobblestone streets of Shrimpton’s Lane to King Street and join a large crowd gathered near the Town House (today’s Old State House). We would speak to people to get their thoughts on what we were about to witness. My students would utilize all of their senses to process and learn from the experience. Some would be moved by what they see; others would be affected by what they hear; while the remainder might mention how they were impacted by a broadside they held in their grasp that connected them to the event. Then, as our history lesson continued, from the second floor of the Town House a door would swing open and we would see Colonel Thomas Crafts step out onto the balcony. With a voice strong and loud we’d hear him say:

“Fellow citizens of Boston, I now read the recent declaration adopted by Congress in Philadelphia, July 4, 1776.” Over the cheers of the crowd he’d continue, “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America – When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another…” We’d soon hear “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Now THAT would be a remarkable way to teach history – but perhaps a little tough to get parents to sign permission slips for! So, how can you bring history to life for your students and ensure that no matter what their primary learning style, they are fully engaged? Field trips might seem like an obvious answer – but when was the last time you felt a field trip was successful for ALL of your students? I recommend that teachers look for field trips that offer added value like guides with a personal connection to or real passion for the history; free MP3 audio or CDs that support what the students will learn; and access to original primary sources. For the past six years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with thousands of students and hundreds of teachers in grade schools throughout New England during my Boston field trips and school author visits. As a fellow educator, I am keenly aware that children learn in different ways – some are auditory learners (hearing and speaking); some are visual learners (seeing and perceiving); and some are kinesthetic learners (touch and movement). When you plug into a student’s primary learning style the light bulb goes on, things become clear, learning becomes fun, and the odds are greater that they will retain the material being presented to them. I accomplish that through storytelling (including tales from my ancestors); free downloadable MP3 audio of my children’s book One April in Boston; and allowing students to hold history in their hands by sharing historically relevant items from my collection of original colonial newspapers (PDF).

Students can hold and read these historic newspapers without fear of damaging them as they are protected in rigid acid free holders. Teachers enjoy reading them too! Let me share three of these papers with you now. The first item is a copy of the August 3, 1776 issue of the Pennsylvania Evening Post. It contains a historic single line report (pictured in this post) from Massachusetts about the reading of the Declaration of Independence in Boston. For auditory style learners (like me), there is a brief MP3 audio featuring this report at the end of the post. I share this paper with the students as we stand overlooking the spot where the Declaration was read on July 18, 1776. The second item is a copy of the Massachusetts Centinel from June 13, 1787. It contains an ad by Paul Revere announcing the relocation of his hardware store and silversmith shop and listing the items he made at his new location. What makes this item fun for the students is they read it in the exact spot where Revere’s shop once stood – marked today by this often overlooked plaque. The third item is a copy of the April 10, 1775 issue of the Boston Gazette – the second to last issue printed by Edes and Gill before the Battle of Lexington and Concord. The masthead was engraved by Paul Revere. I share this paper near the site of the print shop of Benjamin Edes and John Gill which also served as a meeting place for the Sons of Liberty. In the Gazette office on December 16, 1773, Benjamin Edes and several other members of the Sons of Liberty disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians before helping dump 342 chests of British East India Company tea into Boston Harbor.

LISTEN NOW:

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD AUDIO

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The Benefits of Using Podcasting in The Classroom

October 18, 2009 by Ben Edwards · Leave a Comment 

Podcasting has been a popular method of delivering audio and video content over the internet for about the past 5 years. During this time, a growing number of teachers have embraced podcasts as an exciting way to make learning more effective and fun. Teachers have used this technology to record lectures or presentations that can be accessed by students at a later time. They have also used podcasting to record school performances and events for the benefit of students as well as their parents. Perhaps the most exciting use of this technology is its application in project-based learning. Students involved in creating podcasts must use higher levels of thinking and creativity as well as problem solving skills. They have the opportunity to use their imaginations by writing and acting out scripts while learning how to work with the technology itself.

The excellent video below reviews the benefits of podcasting from the perspective of teachers as well as students. It includes feedback from a social studies teacher and a middle school principal. Toward the end of the clip you will find links to video tutorials that can help teachers learn how to podcast in the classroom using either Garage Band or Audacity.

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