freedom-forum

Why Does Women Hold Up Half the Sky Matter?

Submitted by Natalie Hastings on

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In partnership with Xavier University, the Freedom Center has been working with an undergraduate course around the exhibition Women Hold Up Half the Sky.  This course takes a pedagogical approach to topics of sociology, human trafficking, maternal health and domestic violence. Students will gain a deeper understanding of sociological practice through a marriage of theoretical knowledge and practical experience. In collaboration with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center this course includes a service learning component and emphasizes theory as a tool to understand activist experiences, and practice. The students started the course with intense study of the content of the exhibition to prepare them for the experience.

Starting on Saturdays beginning March 1st from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. the students will begin their experience as tour guides in the exhibit.

As part of the internship period each week the students will write a reflection blog about their experiences, interaction with public, and their personal thoughts about the content.  This week’s blog is titled Why does Half the Sky Matter? 

We hope that you will check back each week for a new blog entry and get involved in the conversation.     

Rich Cooper

Manager of Content Development & Interpretation

 

Why does Half the Sky matter?

As I sat in the maternal health section of the Women Hold Up Half the Sky exhibit last Saturday, I looked at a bright green homemade banner that read "We lost our only surgeon". The story was of a thirty-four year old woman and successful surgeon in Uganda who lost her life in childbirth. Though she gave birth in a hospital, there were not enough nurses to attend to her, and she died without any doctors or nurses around. 

Jackson Takes Harpers Ferry

Submitted by admin on

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General Jackson's statue in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Likely the most important Federal arsenal in Virginia, Harpers Ferry was a point of conflict between the Union and confederacy almost as soon as Virginia seceded from the Union. This was important because Harpers Ferry, being an arsenal, had a large quantity of weapons and ammunition. These supplies would, of course, be invaluable to any army who controlled the arsenal. This is why General Jackson of the Army of Northern Virginia was ordered to take the arsenal.

The attack began on the 12th of September, 1862. The hills above the arsenal, Maryland Heights, held a commanding view of the Harpers Ferry for heavy guns. There was skirmishing on the heights that day. The problem with the Union defense of Harpers Ferry was that Colonel Miles concentrated on the town and arsenal of Harpers Ferry, leaving only about 1600 men and a few cannon on the heights to defend them. These troops, many being green recruits from New York, fought well on the 12th and, on the 13th, held the heights until their remaining commanding officer was wounded, the other having been too ill to take the field. The Confederate troops flanked the Federal line, and the troops retreated at the word of Colonel Ford, the officer who was sick.