INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Public Schools is once again turning back the clock to educate and celebrate history. Tuesday, Crown Hill Cemetery hosted the 25th "Spirit of Freedom" event.
"What we're doing is exposing our students, not just African American students but all students, to the truth," said Pat Payne, director of racial equity for IPS. "A lot of that truth is still not in the textbooks, so it's our job to make sure they know the truth."
The event focuses on how African Americans impacted the Civil War. Crown Hill has more than 200 Black Civil War soldiers buried in the cemetery.
Fifth and sixth grade students moved from station to station, asking questions and listening to stories from Harriett Tubman and Abraham Lincoln reenactors.
"In the story, it shows how it happened, but it doesn't show their feelings and how they felt. How it really happened," said Sophia Avila, a sixth grade student at George Buck 94.
It takes students out of the classroom and into the elements.
"We actually have actors pretending to be the people, which is a lot more fun than a textbook," said Franklin Ansell, a sixth-grader at the School for Community Learning.
"I think it just helps to bring to life those stories students see on the page," IPS Superintendent Dr. Aleesia Johnson said.