The 826 Boston Writers’ Room at the Boston International Newcomers Academy has released a new book, The Great Cost of Freedom in partnership with United We Stand and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
These essays, reflections, and art by Ninth-Grade World History Students investigate what it meant to resist oppression throughout history in a 176-page book. From the colonization of North America, to the Haitian Revolution, to the battles we fight in the present day, The Great Cost of Freedom explores themes of freedom through essays, poetry, artwork, and graphic design.
From the Student Editorial Board:
“We are ninth-graders in Ms. Natalya’s World History class. In total, we come from three countries and speak two to three languages each. Our freshman year was great—we learned so many new things. We are teenagers who want to learn more about the world. We spent the year talking together and discussing our topics such as racism, freedom, and bullying.
“In Editorial Board, we worked to create a book together, which involved facing a problem and trying to resolve it. We used our skills to think and write creatively. In our meetings, we discussed the topics and themes of our book, wrote chapter introductions, author bios, and made many decisions about what the book looks like.
“We are students who see that the only way to move forward is by learning. The three main topics in our book are identity, the Wampanoags and the myth of the first Thanksgiving, and the Haitian Revolution. Within these topics, we discussed themes such as racism, discrimination, oppression, enslavement, war, freedom, and resistance. We hope you learn how to resist. After reading this book, we hope people don’t trust what they see about history and try to learn the true story of people fighting for their freedom. Thank you for choosing to read the book. It is our first book together. We hope you enjoy it and learn from it.”
Read The Great Cost of Freedom for free.
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