Dean of Middle School joins The Race & Christian Community Initiative’s Weekend

In early April, Mr. Hicks joined a diverse team of pastors, worship & ministry leaders, educators, historians, and theologians from across the Greater Boston area and New England to reexamine the legacy of chattel slavery in Massachusetts. Slavery in the Massachusetts Bay Colony was practiced in the 17th century during the tenure of Governor John Winthrop through the American Revolution, and was abolished in the commonwealth in 1783. Hicks, a Dorchester raised Boston native, said that this experience, though not a first, was the most poignant and cathartic time in which he intentionally sought out the history of slavery in Boston.

“We examined the role of the church—for good and for ill—in maintaining the institution of slavery in Boston, and we also explored the theological history of how the biblical writers wrote about this practice in the context of the ancient world. Context is everything. I think so often the narrative focuses on the South, and this is understandable, but it is equally important and proper to explore this history in the North, as well.

“I believe in lifelong learning. I teach a novel in my English 6 class by Mildred D. Taylor called Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Being an educator does not preclude me from a lifestyle of curiosity, exploration, and newfound discoveries about the past and about my community. In fact, it probably propels me to be even more inquisitive about the past—our shared history of people who live in Massachusetts.

“The participants were encouraged to take on the biblically based posture of lamentation, and we shared in one another’s lamenting. It is an ugly and painful past, but this experience was transformative and healing for me personally and for the church at large, as represented by the plethora of churches in which we worship on a given Sunday. I really felt God’s presence.”

Mr. Hicks goes on to say that the group concluded their time together with prayerful lamentation, amid many hugs, laughs and tears. Mr. Hicks will be continuing this journey as part of a much smaller ongoing working group with Unite Boston.

The transformative impact of this learning experience ties directly into other BTA middle school classes such as the aforementioned English 6, History 7, and History 8 taught by Mr. Hicks, Mr. Street, and Mr. Vazquez respectively. All three of these middle school courses address the causes and effects of American history on the present day. In particular, Mr. Street’s History 7 class titled “The History of Boston”, focuses on the specific experiences of Bostonian’s from the arrival of the Puritans through the Boston busing crisis of the 1960s and 70s. The class also addresses the legacy of slavery in Massachusetts in the 19th century with a particular focus on those who opposed it, including Lewis Hayden and William Lloyd Garrison. Mr. Street has said the History 7 class also explores “the way we treat our neighbors”.

The Race & Christian Community Initiative

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