About a dozen 8th graders from St. Philip’s School in Dallas traveled to Ghana in Africa. NBC 5’s Noelle Walker reports by looking back at the past, they’re inspired to stand tall in the future.
There's studying history from a book, and then there's walking where that history took place. That's what St. Philip's School 8th graders did in Ghana.
Most field trips require a parental permission slip, but the one that 8th-grade students from St. Philip's School in Dallas just returned from last week required a little more than that. Students needed their passports.
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WATCH HERE"Africa was a completely different space," 8th grader Quinn Forteau said. "We go to Africa because this school really focuses on finding out who you are, and your culture, and your heritage."
For the second year in a row, St. Philip's 8th graders traveled to Ghana to see history. That included visiting places from a dark chapter of history — the transatlantic slave trade.
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SIGN UP "Once we actually go there, it's like, 'Wow!' Because we learn about the Door of No Return," 8th grader Mark Murrell said. "So the Door of No Return means there's no way you're coming back," Forteau added. "The transatlantic slave trade meant that you were never going to be able to come home. Where you ended up is where you're gonna stay, and you were never going to get to come back to your homeland again."
Students visited the 'slave castles' where enslaved Africans were brought before being forced onto ships. The 8th graders stood on those beaches.
"I know that I can go out on the beach and always know that I'm going to be able to return home. I can go play on the beach, and then I can go eat some food and go talk with my friends," Forteau said. "I feel that was really powerful for me."
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"It's important for everybody to know their history," St. Philip's School Principal Kellee Murrell said. "The ability to vote, the ability to speak up; all of those things are on the backs of their ancestors who were courageous enough to speak out, and I think those are the lessons they get from them, is to say that same spirit is in you!"
The Ghana trip also included cultural exchanges, market trips, and visiting with students at Kwame Nkrumah Memorial School. St. Philip's students said the experience shifted their perceptions.
"Because in Ghana, there are a lot of kids who don't have much, but they're so happy," Mark Murrell said.
"They are able to challenge their own thinking," Principal Murrell said. "Some of those biases and things they didn't know are really being questioned, but the other thing that we see is that they are passionate about how can they get involved."
"Going back to Africa, it makes us realize, yes, we're Black," Mark Murrell said. "And yes, we're proud of it!"
"Being able to go back and figure out my roots and where I'm from," Forteau said. "Every kid should experience that."
