After the Civil War and with the advent of Reconstruction, Baltimore began offering public school education to its African American children. From 1878-1889, the Peale was the site of one of the earliest schools in Baltimore’s new Colored School system, and the first high school for African Americans in the City. The Peale is now a Center for cultural storytelling about Baltimore's people and places, but racial and economic segregation persists in Baltimore's public schools.

In a full day workshop at the Peale from 10am-4:30pm on Saturday, September 9, run by the Omnimuseum Project as part of the Be Here: EDU storytelling series, we aim to design a new storytelling program to collect and share authentic stories of Baltimore schools, past and present, as told by students and graduates. We need students, parents, educators, storytellers, designers, artists, and historians to collaborate in developing the approaches and tools that will help us learn from today's experiences of segregation in Baltimore schools. The stories gathered as a results of the workshop will guide the development of a program of exhibitions and events both at the Peale and in Baltimore's schools and communities to offer deeper understanding and contemporary expression of segregation in Baltimore's schools within a historical context.

If you or someone you know might like to participate, please let us know, and help us spread the word!