Student Writing
and Artwork

Writing about Theophilus Niger

After spending weeks researching wills, deeds, birth and death records, and other documents found in local archives and then exploring online resources such as ancestryclassroom.com and other relevant sources, students worked individually and collaboratively to piece together a biographical timeline reflecting Theophilus Niger's history. The most basic elements of the timeline are reflected on the brass Witness Stones memorial, which will be placed at the edge of Horse Pond in Madison, near where Theophilus Niger lived, first as an enslaved man, later as a husband and father, and eventually as a free man in his own home.

Their assignment called on students to use the facts they had gathered to write individual biographical sketches about Mr. Niger, taking into account some of the themes they had discussed as a class, including dehumanization, paternalism, the economics of slavery, treatment of the enslaved, and agency and resistance. When the bio aimed at restoring his history was complete, students then began to think more creatively about ways in which they could honor Mr. Niger's humanity. Inspired in part by a visit from Jumoke McDuffie-Thurmond, a poet whose work reflects his archival research into his enslaved ancestors, many students opted to write poetry. Others created visual art, and one even composed music. Each submission is accompanied by an artist's/poet's/composer's statement explaining their intentions in their work.