Calling Black elders in Clark County: your help is needed

Students at George Rogers Clark High School will soon have a unique oppor­tu­ni­ty to hear first-hand what it was like for African Americans liv­ing in Clark County dur­ing the time of seg­re­ga­tion. But for that to hap­pen, their teacher needs help from the Black community.

Eloise Lynch is an English teacher at GRC. One of the cours­es she teach­es is African American Literature and Studies. As a white woman, she is reach­ing out to the Black com­mu­ni­ty for assistance.

“I work hard to ensure I am pass­ing on cor­rect his­tor­i­cal infor­ma­tion,” she says, “but I’m cer­tain I often miss his­tor­i­cal details impor­tant in con­tex­tu­al­iz­ing our var­i­ous course texts.

“I feel I must strive to acknowl­edge and com­pen­sate for my sub­ject posi­tion as a white woman. Of course, peo­ple of all races should teach African-American Studies and Literature. We can — and should — learn about our nation’s his­to­ry through study and lit­er­a­ture, but I sus­pect stu­dents will be far more pow­er­ful­ly moved by the per­son­al sto­ries of local elders they know and respect. I hope, too, that real sto­ries from real peo­ple will assert real­i­ty: the very recent trou­bling his­to­ry from which we have emerged and the per­il of return­ing to it.”

Once Eloise hit upon the idea of ask­ing local Black elders to speak to her class, she real­ized she had to find a way to reach out to them. She had already got­ten help and sup­port from the Winchester Black History and Heritage Committee, so she reached out to them again.

“They have once again vol­un­teered to help, spread­ing the news about this project. They’re the best. I am so grateful.”

Eloise is also work­ing to spread the word to ensure enough peo­ple accept the invi­ta­tion to speak to her stu­dents. When she asked me to share a fly­er she had pre­pared, I decid­ed this project war­rant­ed a more in-depth treat­ment. I asked her what she hopes her stu­dents will take away from this project.

“I hope my stu­dents bet­ter appre­ci­ate our nation’s past, present, and future ... bet­ter rec­og­nize our nation’s past mis­takes, become bet­ter aware of the forces that influ­ence our soci­ety today, and gain a bet­ter sense of their own agency to shape the future.” 

The talks will take place dur­ing the week of December 11 through 15. Black speak­ers are need­ed who lived through deseg­re­ga­tion and deseg­re­ga­tion in Clark County. They are invit­ed to share their sto­ries with stu­dents through infor­mal inter­views. To get involved, con­tact Eloise Lynch via email at eloise.lynch@clark.kyschools.us or text or call (606) 344‑9764. [View the infor­ma­tion­al fly­er]