Does your state have a heroine? Do you know who she is? I recently spent the day visiting the former home of my state’s heroine, the courageous Prudence Crandall. My students were also able to experience a residency with two visiting artists who used drama and “call and response” singing to help the students to better understand what African American women experienced in the 1830’s when they attempted to gain an education. In the 1830’s the State of Connecticut enacted “Black Laws” which made it illegal to teach black students from other states.  “Black Laws” were only written because Prudence Crandall advertised in The Liberator, a newspaper for abolitionists and people of color for “Young Ladies and Little Misses of Color” to come to her secondary school in Canterbury, Connecticut. Upper and middle class young ladies of color came to Canterbury to be educated at Prudence’s school. The visiting artists used various drama techniques and also exposed the students to traditional African American Spirituals. We had to close our eyes and imagine what it would be like to face the possibility of a public whipping for learning how to read. Since becoming a mother, I often feel heightened emotions when I am teaching my students about injustices from the past and modern periods. How am I supposed to be in charge of a class when I am moved to tears by such beautiful and powerful singing? We working women today are standing on the shoulders of the strong, brave working women who came before us. I have shown my gratitude towards pre-historic women in a previous post to thank them for my strong runner’s genes. If I could have the smallest speck of Prudence Crandall’s intelligence, I consider myself a success as an educator too.