I require this grant so that all fifth grade students in Dexter can visit the 'Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History' in Detroit, Michigan.

The fifth grade curriculum for social studies requires that children analyze the development of the slave system in the Americas and its impact upon the life of Africans. Further, (5-U2.2.2.2) asks students to describe how Africans living in North America drew upon their African past e.g. sense of family, role of oral tradition and adapted elements of new cultures to develop a distinct African-American Culture.

Our fifth grade Social Studies text does cover the ideas listed above, however it does so very briefly and does not fully explore life in Africa before the slave trade. The museum provides great aesthetic, interpretive and intellectual experiences, that will really bring this area of study to life.