Student researchers:
Front row from left: Destiny Kindell, Keena Norris, Torie Leslie
Second row from left: Brian Burton, Ervin Hunter III, Ashland Thompson, Marcus White
Photo courtesy of the Center for Diversity Education

In everything I have attempted to do, I have tried to pursue it to the conclusion. I embarked on this documentation project with that same determination. Consequently, I end this phase of the project with the same excitement that I began it with.

The entire process has been good for me. Undoubtedly, I will take a lot of the research experience I gained with me to college this fall. Frankly, I did not get a lot of that experience while I was in high school. While working on this project I was constantly in awe as to the many hardships that the slaves endured. On the other hand, it was amazing to witness the extraordinary accomplishments that these men and women were able to obtain, especially under such terrible conditions. Buncombe County is in part what it is today because of the hard work of these individuals but more than that, it is because of their perseverance. I am thankful for the opportunity to work on such a great project.

What happened to African Americans 1850-1900? If you could have asked me this a year ago I would have said, “Do I look like a history book?” But, to my great surprise, Ms. Miles, one of the women speaking to my mom’s Building Bridges group, asked for young high schoolers to come help out researching Black History. To tell you the truth I hardly knew anything. So I signed myself up. To my great surprise I’ve learned more than I bargained for, but I’ve learned true stories—the factual stories about the pain my race went through. The more I read the more I cried and learned. Before I knew it, the project was over. I am still thirsting for more and grateful that this project opened my mind to the history of African Americans but also my heart whch struggles for the suffering of my ancestors.

Working on An Unmarked Trail exhibit was a very interesting experience for me. I am really thankful that I was chosen to be a part of the documentation project. I enjoyed visiting the Kenilworth graveyard, the Smith-McDowell House, and working in the Courthouse. I felt as if I learned more that I expected, for example, the seasoning process that the slave had to go through on their voyage to America. I never realized how cruel the slaves were treated until I was involved in this project. This documentation project not only added to my knowledge of my ancestors, but also built my social skills, which will come in use on many occasions. I am pleased about the outcome of this exhibit and hope that many people will observe closely and realize were we came from. I hope that it will make it to every school in Buncombe County.

The most interesting thing I enjoyed about this project was going to the Courthouse and looking at all the deeds. It was amazing seeing how people would treat each other. I would be reading a deed and I would find a person for sale with land and animals. It made me mad at first, but I had to understand that back in that day people were not treated equally. It was a long research project, and I am glad I participated in it. Also, I am glad to give back to the community.

This project for me has been nothing short of a life changing experience. It has opened my eyes to an ongoing yet under researched area which is every bit a part of American history. Working with real documents at the Courthouse and talking to elderly people who have memories of the era on which our research was based, has given me not only a rare opportunity but also a sense of pride. It has inspired me to want to learn more about African American history and how it has impacted various communities around our nation. Digging up deeds and census records, reading numerous personal accounts from slaves of this area, and spending time in the community has, for me, made African American history more than just words in a book. It has made me understand who I am, where I am from, and why I am here.

I think that sometimes you never know how good you are at something until you get an opportunity to try that thing. How do you get that opportunity? Well, maybe you meet someone who invites you to try something new, or maybe there are people who envision new things and work to educate people about them. For the past year I was blessed to be able to be part of a vision formed by Debi Miles and Dr. Dee James. At the same time, I found something new in myself, something bigger than me. An Unmarked Trail, brought out the historian, researcher, and even public speaker in me. All these things were never taught in high school or even college to the extent of the experience I have just participated in.

My initial job was to act as the the liaison between the high school students and our supervisors. I was to make sure they knew about the functions and the materials needed to complete project. I worked to keep them motivated and on task while conducting research at UNCA, Pack Memorial Library, and the Courthouse. I, along with the high schoolers, accompanied Dr. Dee on several interviews in the community. Along the way, I became very much interested in the research of the project and I worked with Ms. Miles to develop the notebooks that will travel with the exhibit. I have also been able to participate in multiple radio conversations to promote the project.

If I had to choose an event that really impacted me while working with An Unmarked Trail, it would have to be our visit with Alice Eley Jones, a historian in Raleigh, NC. I have always been around very knowledgeable teachers and professionals, but I was thoroughly impressed with her extensive knowledge of African American history. I wanted to be like her and know what she knew. As I think about graduate school, I keep the thought of being a historian in my head. If history teachers can appeal to their students by adding information their student can get excited about, maybe future historians can be uncovered through An Unmarked Trail.

Working with these students on An Unmarked Trail has been very important to me personally. I feel as if I have had the privilege of obeying the ancestors by helping to pass along important pieces of our story - for all of us as Americans but particularly for African American students. We have together learned some significant aspects of our identity.

The power of students digging out history for themselves is always what draws me back to a project as complex as An Unmarked Trail. That moment when they locate a previously hidden document or an eye witness account and recoginize the import of its find is the moment a teacher longs for. Jean Piaget reminded educators "Children have real understanding only of that which they invent themselves, and each time that we try to teach them something too quickly,we keep them from reinventing it themselves."

It is critical that in our history classes, and each of us as Americans, be willing to examine our history and learn from the times where democracy and the constitution were our guide along with those times where we have fallen short of its values and laws. I know each of these bright and dedicated young people will continue to use the skills they learned from this project in future endeavors for the good of all Americans.