Middle School Field Trip to the Black Heritage Trail

By Hazel Russo-Hartung, Evelyn Crowley, and Naomi Gee-Burko

Firstly, a large thank you to Hub Town Tours and Newman’s Mr. Mazen Abdallah, for leading and organizing the middle school field trip to the Black Heritage Trail on Monday, February 24th, 2025. 

The Black Heritage Trail is a walking tour throughout Beacon Hill that explores the lives of 19th-century African Americans and escaped slaves from the southern states. There were many informational and enlightening stops on the trail such as Abiel Smith School, George Middleton House, or The Phillips School. Additionally, the trail highlights so many influential people during this time period, such as Lewis and Harriet Hayden or Sarah Roberts.

In 7th grade ELA class, the book Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs is being read and analyzed under the teachings of Mr. Abdallah. In an interview with 7th grade student, Charles Bonnefoy, he writes: “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs tells her personal story of life as a slave and her fight for freedom. The Black Heritage Trail in Boston highlights important places where abolitionists fought for the same ideals of freedom and equality that Jacobs wrote about. Both the book and the trail show how people resisted slavery.”

In 8th grade, the students are preparing to read Born a Crime by Trevor Noah. According to Laura Lechpammer, this helped the students better understand how the trail “relates to the South African apartheid which Trevor Noah was raised through.” This helped students see the struggles Noah faced growing up in a time of racial separation and connected it to other historical periods.

The tour examines stories such as the Underground Railroad and the escape from slavery and stops at many historic homes and sites. An example of a location visited was the Charles Street Meeting House, a church from the early nineteenth century. 7th grader, Chiara Guarino stated, “The most interesting information I learned was how even after the church banned any black people from sitting on the first floor, when the church was eventually sold, the new owners made sure that the church would be shared equally.” Laura stated: “My favorite stop on the heritage trail was probably the school as we got to hear about the very interesting story about Sarah Roberts who was a young African American girl who had to walk past five schools before being able to get to her own due to segregation and also the lawsuit that followed that.”

Rather than just being educational, the tour was also enjoyable for many students. Charles commented: “I really enjoyed visiting the Black Heritage Trail because it offers a chance to learn about the lives of enslaved African Americans in the 19th century. Walking through the history of their struggle for freedom shows a connection to the past. I found that it is both educational and inspiring!” 

The trail helped bring history to life, showing the challenges and victories of those who worked to make change. The significance of this trip made a lasting impression on the students, helping them connect what they learned in school to real-life history. Additionally, it helped the students understand the bravery and persistence of the people who fought for freedom from slavery. In all, the Black Heritage Trail was a great learning opportunity for the middle school and encouraged everyone to think about the challenges and struggles that the enslaved people faced.