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Kindergartner Sanniyah Williams didn't know about segregation before her mother took her to the Durham Western Heritage Museum on Sunday afternoon.
As the girl wandered around the exhibit, "With an Even Hand: Brown v. Board at Fifty," large black-and-white photographs depicting events surrounding the legal end to segregation in schools caught her eye.
But Sanniyah's attention waned as she and her mother, Syreeta Walker, walked through rows of legal documents and newspaper articles, all part of the exhibit on loan from the Library of Congress. Walker said despite the girl's young age, Sanniyah learned a lot.
"She knew about Martin Luther King Jr., but that's about it," Walker said. "It's a good enlightening."
Many of the children visiting the exhibit Sunday were Sanniyah's age or a little older. The Omaha Public Schools offered free passes to students and families to view the exhibit Sunday. About 1,800 took advantage of the opportunity, said Mick Hale, the director of education for the museum.
"We're thrilled to be able to provide people with a tool that can be used for education," he said.
About 2,500 secondary students from private and public schools in the Omaha area and Iowa had seen the exhibit prior to this weekend. The exhibit is at the museum until Jan. 15.
Judy Schafer brought two of her grandchildren, Nick, 11, and Colleen, 9, to see the exhibit. Nick had just finished reading a book about segregation and was curious about it.
"I think it's important for them to know this was an ugly part of our history," Schafer said.
For some, the experience was even more personal. Gilbert Wood grew up in Oklahoma and experienced segregated schools firsthand. His wife, Janette, a teacher for OPS, said the exhibit was not only important for children to see, but gave adults an opportunity to reflect on the past.
"This is history. Many of these things we lived through," Gilbert Wood said.
(C) 2006 Omaha World-Herald. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved
