Spotlight 4 Success

Mount Vernon's Legacy

• American Book Company

Share episode

Tramia shares her unique journey growing up near the historic grounds of George Washington's Mount Vernon, where her fascination with the dynamic layers of history and the stories of the people who lived there began. Her role at the Mount Vernon Ladies Association has allowed her to bring these narratives to life, examining the complexities of Washington's legacy and the influential women who shaped his life. Tune in to hear how Tremia's insights into Washington's shifting views on enslavement and his interactions with figures like the Marquis de Lafayette are changing the way educators and students understand the past.

Mount Vernon Website: https://www.mountvernon.org/education/for-teachers/teaching-institutes-professional-development/summer-residential-programs

Mount Vernon Website (Teacher's Section): https://www.mountvernon.org/education/for-teachers

Devin Pintozzi:

This podcast, spotlight for Success, is our way of highlighting the incredible success stories happening in education right here in our home state of Georgia and around the country. Today, we're thrilled to be joined by our special guest, Tramia Jackson, who is part of the George Washington's Mount Vernon run by the Mount Vernon Ladies Association. She has made a significant impact in the field of social studies education through her work, and we'll explore her journey, insights and the positive changes she's creating for students and teachers. So let's get started. Tramia, can you tell us about yourself?

Tramia Jackson:

Yeah, so I'm a Virginia resident. I work at Mount Vernon, I've been in museums for over 10 years and museum education for that entire time and love history and I'm excited to be here.

Devin Pintozzi:

Wonderful Tremia. Can you tell us what inspired you to work at George Washington's Mount Vernon?

Tramia Jackson:

To be honest with you, I grew up in the area, so I had been to Mount Vernon when I was really young and was really inspired by it. I love history, so being in that area and going to Mount Vernon, learning about the enslaved community there and the descendants that also have been part of Mount Vernon and that history, I just wanted to learn more and be able to share that with more students and teachers in the area.

Devin Pintozzi:

That is wonderful. Tramia, can you explain some of the things that you learned, kind of those personal things Again, we're getting into in the Georgia Council of Social Studies. One of the big focuses here is place-based learning, yep, and this is definitely a place that has a lot of history and a lot of layers to it. Absolutely, Tramia, can you explain some of those juxtapositions of things dealing with the enslavement that was going on associated with Mount Vernon, as well as the things dealing with women?

Tramia Jackson:

Sure, I mean, there are so many things about George Washington that I learned and about you know his family that I learned.

Tramia Jackson:

I learned that he was a step father which I didn't know, they were children that were at Mount Vernon and, at the same time, learning about him being, you know, general and was an enslaver but also , was something that I'd known about but hadn't really delved when I went to Mount Vernon. You delve a lot deeper into what that means. And so that juxtaposition of him being, you know, the founder, or a founder part of the founding generation, and then owning human beings, you know from the time he was really young at 11 years old he inherited his first enslaved community and then to the time of his death, then, but at the same time, learning about his changing perception and changing views on enslavement, from being at the revolution and seeing individuals like William Lee, who was his, his butler, his valet, like fighting beside him, talking to, you know, the Marquis de Lafayette about abolition. He was an ardent abolitionist. The Marquis de Lafayette was. He was an ardent abolitionist. Marquis de Lafayette was. And so he's changing his views privately, to the point that on his deathbed he issues a will that frees the 123 enslaved people that he owns outright.

Tramia Jackson:

I was talking to you earlier about his respect for women. He was the son of a single mother. Mary Ball Washington was his mother when his father died. You know she never remarried and she raised him and several other of his siblings. She, we believe he owned. She owned a business, a wig curling business of sorts, at Ferry Farm, where he's from. So I mean all his life. You know he has women in his life who are influencing him, like his mother, like Martha, who's also a single mom when he marries her and meets her, and then also women, you know, in Philadelphia who were influencing him about the presidency and about the nation. So you learn all of that. Coming to like to our teacher institute that we run every year.

Devin Pintozzi:

Wonderful.

Tramia Jackson:

In the summer it's a five-day intensive where you learn about a specific theme around Washington in the 18th century and there's six different themes that you could choose from it's women, Washington at war, leadership, enslavement, economics and I'm blanking on the last one right now but it'll come to me. But you know you get to learn these like details and the primary sources behind the collections. You get to see the grounds and again explore that place-based element of Mount Vernon's history.

Devin Pintozzi:

Wow, that is amazing.

Tramia Jackson:

I can go on a tangent, really.

Devin Pintozzi:

That is great. So for these institutes that happen in the summer, how can teachers from Georgia get involved with that or how can they participate?

Tramia Jackson:

Absolutely so. We have an online application that you can fill out. We have an online application that you can fill out on our website. Our registration period, or application period, is November 18th through January 13th and you're notified if you get accepted on April 1st. But again, it's pretty competitive. But we encourage Georgia teachers to apply.

Tramia Jackson:

We really want to see that influx of teachers

Devin Pintozzi:

is it? Is it free?

Tramia Jackson:

It's free, yes, yes it's free.

Tramia Jackson:

It's all expenses paid um. We pay for your travel, we pay for your hotel, we feed you, you get like take you on field trips and we get you swag and you have a really, really great time. And you, you meet 25 other teachers from around the country K through 12, who are learning with you.

Devin Pintozzi:

That is really something I would love to know, excuse me about. So what is the website?

Tramia Jackson:

It's mountvernon. org/ education/ for teachers. So if you go to mountvernon. org, you can go. You'll see an education tab and you can find it right there.

Devin Pintozzi:

That's pretty easy.

Tramia Jackson:

Yeah, very easy.

Devin Pintozzi:

thank you. Thank you, tremia. So this was brought to you by ABC Spotlight for Success as part of Georgia Council of Social Studies being here today and meeting with wonderful people like Tremia Jackson with Mount Vernon.

Devin Pintozzi:

Thank you so much for participating with us today.

Tramia Jackson:

Thank you for inviting me, this is wonderful.