The following
school projects and community events were developed by the Horton Project in
the Fall of 2000.
Books and Curriculum Donations to 15 Public Schools
Over 100 donated Horton biographies and poetry books and 15 curriculum
guides have been delivered to Chatham County Schools for use in classrooms. Over 50
copies of Naked Genius have been distributed free to local scholars and
artists to stimulate further study.
Community served: All Chatham Public Schools; artists, scholars, educators.
Community partners: Chapel Hill Historical Society, UNC Press, Chatham County
Public Schools Curriculum Office.
George Moses Horton Freedom Path Mosaic
A public art project at Horton Middle School in collaboration with 100 fifth
graders, 5 teachers, 2 artists in residence, and up to 50 volunteers. Pictures
Community served: year 2000 fifth grade class; community artists; future
students and educators; Chatham citizens
Community Partners: Horton Middle School; Chatham County artists
Artists in Residence, African Dance and Drum
Drummer Beverly Botsford and African Dancer Sherone Price at Horton Middle
School, in fifth and seventh grade classrooms. All fifth and seventh grades.
Community served: Horton Middle School 7th and 5th grades, parents and
educators
Community Partners: Horton Middle School
Oral History, Horton Middle School Eighth Grade
Two 7th grade classes were trained by folklorists from UNC Chapel Hill in
12 sessions; family interviews and a field trip to the Senior Center in
Pittsboro. Presentations November 18.
Community served: 42 7th graders; Seniors of Moncure, NC. State of North
Carolina.
Community Partners: Black Historical Society of Chatham Co.; Chatham Co.
Historical Assn.; Chatham Education Foundation; Chatham County School Board;
Horton Alumni Association.
Poetry and Performance, Horton Middle School Seventh
Grade
StreetSigns educator/actor Lynn Johnson and a choreographer will work with
Horton students in six sessions to perform their poetry.
Community served: 37 6th graders and their teachers; 500 mixed audience
Community Partners: Horton Middle School
Chorale: Commissioned work from Opera Composer Scott
Tilley
Picture
Triangle Opera composer Scott Tilley scored Horton’s poem “The Old
Carriage Horse” for performance by the Horton Chorus on November 18.
Community served: Horton students and community
Community Partners: Horton Middle School Chorus; Triangle Opera Co.
Poetry Residency with Jaki Shelton Green: Writers as
Activitsts
Poet in Residence Jaki Green taught fourth and seventh graders for a five
day intensive residency at Moncure School about local activist writers Horton,
John Hope Franklin, Pauli Murray, Paul Green, and others. Students wrote
and documented their writing in large scale mural.
Community served: Moncure School, Title 1 classrooms and educators
Community Partners: Moncure School, North Carolina Writers Network
Storytelling Residency with Barbara Lott
Picture
Storyteller in Residence and local resident Barbara Lott led
assemblies for K - 3 grades at Siler City Elementary and J.S. Waters school in
Goldston, and presented a new story based on Horton’s life at the
Jubilee November 18.
Community served: J.S. Waters School, Siler City Elementary, Horton Middle
School, and the community. Funded in part by the Wren Foundation
Community Partners: Chatham County Schools
Horton Jubilee/Unity Quilt with Glennie Beasley
Pictures
County extension homemaker agent Glennie Beasley organized local
quilting and crafts clubs and invited all local churches to create a “Unity
Quilt” based on Horton’s poem “On Summer,” which extols the beauties
of summer in Chatham. 12 panels of appliqué and 12 panels of piecework reflect
the 12 stanzas of the poem. Donated African Cloth forms the borders. Quilt
pieces displayed November 18 at Jubilee; final piecework complete February 20; plaque,
quilting bee, and presentation to Horton Middle in March.
Community served: Churches, countywide quilting community, Horton Middle
Sch..
Community Partners: St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church; Siler City Quilting
Club; Chatham Agricultural Extension Service
Community Poetry Contest
Distribution of printed educational chapbook and contest prizes. Winners
announced November 18. Judges: Ralph Earle and Trudier Harris.
Community served: Chatham county students and adults
Community Partner: Chatham County Reading Association
Horton Middle School Website Project
Students and teacher sponsor work with volunteer educator Adrienne Ehlert
Bashista to produce a website covering the George Moses Horton Project.
Community Served: Web community, Horton Middle School, students everywhere
Community Partner: Adrienne Ehlert Bashista
African Rhyming Traditions with Glenn Hinsen
UNC folklore scholar Hinson presentation on relationship between rap music,
African American slave rhymers and African culture.
Community served: J.S. Waters School and Horton Middle School.
Community Partner: Carolina Speakers
Horton Jubilee November 18
Student and scholar presentations, Oral History workshop and African Dance
workshop, with keynote speaker Dr. Trudier Harris. Pictures
Community served: Horton Middle school, Horton Alumni Association, general
public
Peripheral projects:
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Local musician Cynthia Crossen wrote and
performed a new ballad inspired by this project and by the story of George
Moses Horton.
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September 15: Private
fundraiser, Efrain Ramirez: $816.00
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October 12:
Ticket sales/auction at Gen. St. Cafe: $1,827.00. Picture
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October 28: Pittsboro
Street Fair booth: $37.00
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November 1-30: Window
display, Horton reading materials, Pittsboro Memorial Library.
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November 6: Dr. Trudier
Harris spoke in Siler City as a guest of Chatham Reading Association. 6
pm, Best Foods.
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Ongoing:
Distribution of free bookmarks to schools, libraries, and shops.
Press: Feature articles in Durham Herald,
Chapel
Hill Herald, the Independent, and News and Record, among others. See
Press Archive for specifics.
