Eighth Graders Explore Bowie State University and the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum

Story and photos by Sean Beach

NOV. 9, 2016: On October 19, 2016, the eighth graders at Friendship Tech Prep went to Bowie State University and the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum. At the museum, we really had a chance to experience and discover more of our history. And, we had a great time.

Bowie State University is the oldest HBCU in the state of Maryland. Located in Bowie, Maryland about 20 miles away from DC, Bowie State was first founded by the Baltimore Association for the Moral and Educational Improvement for Colored People in the year of 1865 when it was a college just for teachers. While we there, we went to a few of the buildings like the Frederick Douglass Library, the Financial Aid Department and we saw some of the dorm buildings. We also went to the new student

center which has eateries, a bookstore, and a gift shop. We went to Bowie State because our teachers wanted to show us colleges that are not that far from us. Going to historically black colleges like Bowie State University inspired the students to actually want to do something with themselves because at Bowie State there are people who look like us.

Next, we went to The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum in Baltimore, MD which was a really creative and educational museum. I was able to learn about some people that I never knew. I got to hear more about my history and where my culture started. There were different exhibits that described people like Jackie Robinson, the first African-American baseball player on an all white team as well as Martin Luther King Jr. one of the famous civil rights activists during segregation. And they had the first African-American president, Barack Obama.

Bowie State University is a great college because there are mainly African-American people there and because it is close to home. The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum is a really nice place to go. It’s a place where we get to discover more about our history as we mature.   

Sean Beach is a 8th grade scholar at Friendship Tech Prep Academy.