Middle College Students Experience History and Service in Jackson Ward

On Friday, April 3rd, a group of Middle College students set out on foot to the Jackson Ward community, where they would pick up more than a bit of historical knowledge. These students participated in a service-learning project with the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site, to include a trash clean-up along the self-guided, street walking tour created by the museum. The students first participated in the museum and house tour, which further developed their knowledge of Richmond’s rich African-American history and one woman’s story of determination and community empowerment.  Following the tour, they put on gloves, clutched the “picker-upers” and headed out to clean up the walking tour for visitors coming in for the weekend’s sesquicentennial celebrations around the city. By the end of the project, students cleared four heaping bags of trash, expanded their knowledge of historic Jackson Ward, and deepened their appreciation for the individuals and groups that never gave up and persevered through adversity and set-backs, like the construction of Interstate 95, built right through the heart of the community.

At each stop on the walking tour, a different student shared a piece of history gained through prior research, enriching the experience for everyone, including the rangers who accompanied them on the walk. On the way back to the museum, students encountered 83-year-old barber and life-long Richmond resident, William Nathaniel Branch, who shared his experiences as a young man in the Jackson Ward area, including some memories of Maggie Walker’s Penny Savings Bank and the St. Luke’s headquarters.

Middle College students have faced set-backs in their own lives, but are persevering with their minds on their future educational and career goals. They emerged from this project even more determined to succeed, both on their GED tests and in their transition to college. One student remarked in a group email to her classmates, “Have faith, hope, courage and carry on. If Maggie Walker could do it in the times she lived in, we definitely can.  Have a Maggie Walker mindset!”

Blog post written by Kristin Hott, Academic Coordinator & Instructor

The Middle College at Reynolds is a college transition program which includes GED to college academic instruction, employment coursework and college knowledge workshops to help students pursue their goal of a college education and career pathway success. For more information about the Middle College at Reynolds click here.