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Solvejg Wastvedt
Marine on St. Croix

Photos: This St. Paul summer camp teaches on race, history

Students listen to stories of slavery.
It was wet, dirty and frightening for some. But students said they learned lasting lessons from historical characters portrayed along the path, including Harriet Tubman, Quaker abolitionist Lucretia Mott and others who helped slaves escape to freedom.
Caroline Yang for MPR News

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Some St. Paul middle-schoolers took on a different kind of summer challenge recently, learning about leadership and racial equity as they got an up-close look at history.

Students with the youth leadership group Dare 2 Be Real took a nighttime trip through the woods for a simulation of the Underground Railroad, the early 1800s network of safe houses and routes that guided slaves to free states and Canada.

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Listening to stories of the underground railroad.
"The last thing we want people to think is this is a game," Crutchfield said of the simulation. "It's an education program, trying to use the environment to help people have strong understanding about not just the Underground Railroad but about freedom and what it means."
Caroline Yang for MPR News
1 of 7
Students listen to stories of slavery.
It was wet, dirty and frightening for some. But students said they learned lasting lessons from historical characters portrayed along the path, including Harriet Tubman, Quaker abolitionist Lucretia Mott and others who helped slaves escape to freedom.
Caroline Yang for MPR News
2 of 7
Students are blindfolded during a simulation.
Students are blindfolded at the beginning of the simulation of the Underground Railroad. The blindfolds helped students get accustomed to walking in the dark and using each other as guides.
Caroline Yang for MPR News