Dr. Kerric Harvey’s Fall 2018 Self and Society course, “D.C. Slavery and Digital Storytelling,” was recently treated to an educational walking tour of upper Georgetown neighborhood, generously donated by Tudor Place Historic House and Garden, and led by Tudor Place staff members Hillary Rothberg (Director of Education and Visitor Services) and Laura Brandt (Education Coordinator).
Focusing on the area’s rich antebellum Black life and culture, localized Civil War issues, and D.C.’s unique experiment in “compensated emancipation” that freed 3100 enslaved people in the capital approximately nine months before Lincoln signed the national emancipation document, the engaging and insightful 90 minute walk was followed by an interactive role-playing exercise called “Would You Run?” Designed and developed by Tudor Place, this is a creative teaching tactic that gives students the opportunity to confront the same type of complicated, high-stakes decision-making challenges as those faced by a number of real-world people during the slave era.
The October 19th educational event is the not the first time that Tudor Place has generously partnered with Dr. Harvey to enrich learning experiences for G.W. students. The landmark historic property also provided specialized educational material and unique (supervised) filmmaking access to the mansion grounds for her “Cell Phone Filmmaking and Washington’s Civil War” Dean’s Seminar during G.W.’s four-year commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.