‘This is how much I cost:’ Ga. third-graders used in slave trade activity on field trip
A field trip to a historic house in Cobb County has a Paulding County mother calling for sensitivity training.
Galdese Cleaves says her daughter’s third-grade class at Abney Elementary School took a field trip to the historic Mable House earlier this month.
She told Channel 2′s Veronica Griffin that her daughter and several other students were asked to stand up and hold signs in front of them that reflected the amount of money they would be sold for today if they were slaves.
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“Imagine you have a line of kids lined up and got this bill of sale in front of them,” Cleaves described. “She said, ‘We had to hold up a sign and slave children were sold... and this is how much I cost as a car today.”
Cleaves says the woman directing the young woman spoke in a subservient tone and told the 9-year-old that slaves were like family members to their owners.
“She left there thinking that slavery was fun, that slaves had a choice, that slave owners were nice because they treated slaves like family,” Cleaves recalled. “All of this was false narrative because it was contradictory to what she already knew, and what she’s being taught at home.”
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Paulding County School District officials say they had no idea the activity was going to take place during the field trip. They released a statement to Channel 2 Action News on Friday afternoon that read:
For years, Paulding County schools have participated in educational field trips to the historic Mable House in Cobb County so students can learn about 19th century farm life, see visual art, and participate in outdoor activities. During the history lesson that took place on April 11, a Mable House storyteller asked Abney Elementary third grade students to hold placards while standing in front of their classmates. The intent was to explain the cost of slaves in comparison to other items. This lesson had never been part of the Mable House’s curriculum for Paulding County students prior to that day, nor was it described in the field trip materials or mentioned on the Mable House website. Additionally, the storyteller did not mention to the teacher that this activity would be part of the lesson or ask if it would be appropriate to have students participate.
After being informed by the teacher of what took place and receiving a concern from a parent, school administration agreed the lesson and the way it was presented was not appropriate for elementary-age students. The principal of Abney Elementary School then contacted the Mable House to insist that this activity not be part of the history curriculum for subsequent field trip classes. Additionally, the Paulding County School District has since notified the Mable House in writing that this activity should not be part of future field trips or Paulding County schools will no longer use the Mable House as a field trip destination. No Paulding County schools have scheduled field trips to the Mable House for the remainder of the school year.
Cleaves is calling for sensitivity and inclusion training. She believes the teacher should have stopped things, but instead, she helped out.
“The fact that when they got ready to do that you allowed it, and you backed up the narrator by explaining the cost analysis to the 9-year-olds in the room,” she said.
Mable House sits on land managed by Cobb County Parks, but is operated by the non-profit Friends of the Mable House.
Cobb County also released a statement to Channel 2 Action News that read:
The Mable House is on property leased by Cobb County and managed by Cobb PARKS, but the historic Mable House building and educational programs are operated by a nonprofit called “Friends of the Mable House.” The nonprofit has hosted various groups for many years, and this is the first time the county has been made aware of any complaints. County officials have contacted the group to address this complaint.
“They should not be able to do an impromptu re-enactment of a slave auction on your watch. That is unacceptable,” Cleaves said.
The school district says no more of their students will be visiting the Mable House this school year.
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