Geneva, N.Y.: A mural created this spring by an eighth grade class at Geneva Middle School will be on display at the Geneva History Museum over the summer. Made by Mary Wagner's students, the mural was the culmination of a Social Studies unit on student activism at Geneva High School in the early 1970s. The study was part of the People's History of Geneva K-12 Curriculum Project, a collaborative project developed by the school district, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and the Geneva Historical Society to infuse local history into the school curriculum.
From 1972-1976 African-American students at Geneva High School walked out of school on Martin Luther King Jr's birthday to protest the school district's refusal to recognize the day as a holiday (Martin Luther King Day was not made a federal holiday until 1984). Working with Professor Beth Belanger's Art, Memory, and the Power of Place American Studies class, Ms. Wagner's students analyzed primary source documents about the boycotts and spoke with Patti Blue, who was a student at the time and participated in the civil action. Through this study, students considered how students, teachers, and community members have fought for their vision of what a school should be. They made connections between their experiences as students in Geneva's schools and the experience of other students in the past. The mural was created as an illustration of students' responses to their research. It incorporates excerpts from historical accounts, oral histories, and yearbook photos from the years of the boycott.
The People's History of Geneva Curriculum Project stemmed from the Geneva Historical Society's 2016 Community Conversation on Civil Rights in Geneva. This was followed by a teacher-community workshop funded by the Wyckoff Family Foundation that connected district teachers to the stories of a variety of community members with diverse experiences living in Geneva. The goal of the project is to create a curriculum that reflects the diversity of experiences in Geneva, a curriculum in which all students see people like themselves as active historical agents. Additional workshops funded in part by the American Studies Association will be held this summer to continue connecting teachers and community members to Geneva History. For more information about this project, contact Anne Dealy at the Historical Society at 315-789-5151.
The mural is on display in the Children's Discovery Room at the Geneva History Museum and can be viewed during the museum's regular hours. At summer's end it will be returned to Geneva Middle School for long-term display.
The Geneva History Museum is located at 543 South Main Street. Summer hours are Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturdays 12 to 5 p.m. Parking is available on the street or in the lot at Trinity Episcopal Church. Admission is a suggested donation of $3.
