2/1/07

Briggs-De Laine-Pearson Foundation turns citizens into teachers
By Brian Jarvis

BRIAN JARVIS/Manning Times
Linda Rosenblum, a specialist with the National Park Service, instructs participants in the craft of teaching during a training seminar at Scott’s Branch Intermediate School.

As anyone who has ever stepped in front of a classroom will tell you, teaching is more than a process; it’s an art form.

Participants from the Briggs v. Elliott training seminar last week will soon discover that for themselves as they take on a daunting mission: instructing students in the history of Clarendon County’s struggle for Civil Rights.

“History is being written here every day,” said district instructional facilitator Barbara Ragin. “It’s not a dry text, it’s not just sitting there reading about it. For the students, it really is their stories.”

Sponsored by a joint effort between the Briggs-De Laine-Pearson Foundation (BDPF) and the National Park Service, the program came about through a grant aimed to support sites of interest to African-Americans – in particular the five cases that encompassed Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark court decision that ended legal segregation in public schools.

“The purpose is to talk about the history and education of Briggs v. Elliott,” said BDPF program director Marguirite De Laine. “We really hope to teach children in the area because they’re not aware of the history. Even some teachers aren’t aware of what our ancestors went through to have better schools and to insure that students would have a better future if they apply themselves. That’s what they fought for.”

The first of the five cases – and considered by many to be the most significant – Briggs v. Elliott began in 1947 as an effort to procure a school bus for African-American children in Summerton before supplementing the larger goal of ending racial inequalities in public schools throughout the land.

By recruiting citizens from the community to teach the material, De Laine said, she hopes the program will nurture a connection between seniors and young people.

“We’re trying to bridge the gap between generations and have an interconnection,” she said.

Gearing the program to students in grades four and up, the BDPF has already secured commitments from two school districts in the county. Using an interactive approach, the teaching kits include classroom discussions, the film “With All Deliberate Speed” and a Monopoly-like game centered on the history of Briggs v. Elliott.

“Since Black History Month is only days away, we thought this would be something they could do for it,” De Laine said.