Sumner Hall

Sumner Hall will design, produce, and field test an educational traveling "teacher trunk" for middle and high school classrooms across the eastern shore of Maryland. The contents of the trunk will be based on the Commodore Collection, a series of documents dating from the late 1600s to the early 1800s centered on the lives of enslaved and free African Americans in the region. Student interns from Washington College will assist in the research and development of teacher lesson plans, activity toolkits, and an accompanying illustrated book. The project will reproduce selections from the Commodore Collection in high resolution acrylic facsimiles, benefitting teachers and students in Kent County and the surrounding area by providing an interdisciplinary and hands-on method for learning about local Black history.