On Sept. 26, the AP African American Studies classes had a field day to kick off their second unit, “Freedom, Enslavement and Resistance.”
History teacher Krystal Davis led the field day. The event included teaching students a small part of the overall unit, dying indigo cloth, former student presentations and a student panel led by former and current students.
Unit 2 is the largest unit of this AP course, spanning from the 16th century to 1865, according to College Board. The unit is so taxing that Davis had to split it into Unit 2A and Unit 2B. The reasoning behind this field day was deeper than the length of their new unit, though.
“Yeah, [we moved] from unit one into unit two [on the field day], but [it was done] with the concept of, ‘How are we preserving the diaspora from Africa to the Americas? How are we preserving African culture from Africa to the Americas?’” Davis explained.
One of the activities that captured the African diaspora’s preservation was the dying of indigo cloth. Students styled and dyed their cloths and were able to experience the authentic process, from the scent of the indigo to seeing the oxidation occur as the cloth dried.
This is the second consecutive year this event has taken place. However, there was only one AP African American Studies class, and it was during fifth period, which is a lunch period. This allowed Davis to provide soul food to the students as one of many demonstrations of how African culture is being preserved in the Americas.
There are now two classes for this course during second and third period, which are significantly shorter than fifth period, which is a lunch period. So, Davis combined the two periods for this field day.
In addition to these activities, students were able to showcase this course to Glenbard North High School teacher, Neil Cruz. Cruz was present because Glenbard North had been interested in adding the course for years, and he was able to see it in action. Davis saw the school’s interest in the course as an opportunity to expand the field day into something even better for the current students.
To give students a glimpse into the later parts of the course and showcase the class, students who took the course last year as juniors gave presentations and participated in a student panel. College Board requires these presentations, and they are a part of students’ composite AP exam scores.
Senior Charles Sergeant III, a current teacher’s assistant for the course, was one of four students who gave their presentation and was a leader of the student panel.
Sergeant saw the opportunity to present to students and Cruz as a blessing. “I think the most significant thing [of the field day] was the presentations that were given by me [and my peers.] That was just giving them a taste of what they’ll see at the end of the year [for] their AP African-American research project.”
The presentations and student panel gave space for current students to ask questions to Sergeant and other former students regarding the course and the AP exam in May.
This is the course’s third year at H-F, and it has experienced exponential student growth, increasing from around 18 students to approximately 40 students this year. Enriching the minds of students and their understanding of history is something that the school takes pride in, and this field day is yet another example of that commitment.
