The majority of these lessons were created by educators from a range of K-12 grade levels who participated in “African Americans in the Making of Early New England,” a National Endowment for the Humanities Landmarks Workshop held in Deerfield, Massachusetts in the summer of 2017. Presented by the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, the workshop placed slavery in the north into context of the history of colonial New England.

The lessons by Deerfield Teachers’ Center (DTC) staff are designed to serve as examples of different ways you can teach about the slavery of Africans and African Americans in New England in the 18th century. Students use both primary and secondary sources as they examine different aspects of New England slavery, with the goal of incorporating names, faces, and personal experiences into their study of this topic.

Looking for more lessons about African Americans? Use the Search|Find page and select “African Americans” as the topic.