This post has been reposted with permission from Maine Regional School Unit 21's website. Link to the original story.
KENNEBUNK, Maine - In a time when discussions about race and education have become increasingly contentious, Kennebunk High School social studies teacher Greg Smith is taking an innovative approach to teach students about racial justice and problem-solving through an elective course called "Race in America," where students are turning classroom lessons into community action.
For seniors Lucia Collin and Kathryn Manning, the discovery of a hidden church pew designated for former slaves in a local Unitarian church led to an ambitious proposal: creating a historical trail to acknowledge their town's lesser-known connections to slavery and the Atlantic slave trade.
"We are always taught about how it was in the South," the students wrote in their proposal. "The North was where people would go to escape slavery and live a better life." Their research at the Brick Store Museum revealed a different story, uncovering records of slave deals and separate housing in Colonial Kennebunk and Kennebunkport.
Their proposed solution, "Reconcile with History," would supplement the town's existing "Museum in the Streets" program with new plaques marking locations significant to local slavery history. These could include the Unitarian Church, historic shipyards, and Summer Street, where slaves once lived. The estimated cost would be about $300 per plaque, starting with five initial locations.
The semester-long course that spawned this project begins with fundamental concepts, challenging students to examine their own preconceptions about race. The first quarter is spent studying Black American history, tracking how concepts of race and racism have evolved over time. The curriculum then shifts to modern experiences, using literature about various minority experiences to build empathy and understanding.
"Fiction is the best tool out there for teaching empathy," Smith explains. "If you can't live somebody else's life, you can embody that character in a book as you read a novel."
In their project, Collin and Manning acknowledged potential pushback from the community, particularly concerns about tourism and property values. However, they point to successful similar projects in Portland, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Boston, Massachusetts, noting that Boston's Freedom Trail generates over $1 billion in annual spending.
"The first step to solving a problem is recognizing the problem exists in the first place," the students wrote, emphasizing that their project would open "new doors of educational opportunity for teachers and schools."
Other student projects focused on topics like improving course options at KHS, diversity in the hospitality industry, racial diversity in public school libraries, and patients’ ability to refuse care. Smith said while he almost never rejects a student’s initial proposal for a project, he does require they choose a topic that tackles a racial problem in a community in which they belong.
“The only rule that I put on it is that it has to be a community that they consider themselves an active member of. If they don't identify with that community, we run the real risk of the ‘white savior complex,’ where they're coming in from outside saying, ‘Oh, you're doing it wrong.’”
Smith emphasizes that while the course focuses on African American experiences as a model, the skills students develop can be applied broadly.
"I don't actually expect these students to necessarily go out and ever do anything specifically related to race again," Smith said. "But I have this opportunity to help them build skills to be changemakers in whatever field they choose."
Smith said the course's importance transcends the current political climate.
"It has nothing to do with who's in office or political parties," he says. "It is about learning to interrogate the world around us and recognize justice and injustice."
Former students have recommended the class to their siblings and friends, creating a legacy of engagement with these challenging topics. Both current students emphasized that despite the heavy subject matter, the workload remains manageable even alongside AP and college-level courses.
For Smith, seeing the students’ final presentations is one of the most gratifying moments of each school year.
“You get to see that they've done it - they've accomplished it,” Smith said. “So, I think it's the excitement of seeing them succeed and seeing them put together really extraordinary work that I don't think they knew they could do.”