On June 3, Esperanza Academy Charter High School students gathered at the National Museum of American Jewish History (NMAJH) to showcase their personal histories in the “My Home, My History” exhibition.

For the project, the students researched their family histories and the histories of the home they currently reside in, by using primary documents from the National Archives and Records Administration, census records and personal interviews.

The exhibition opened with a free evening reception to celebrate the students’ hard work. Remarks were made by Ivy Barsky, CEO of NMAJH and Gwen Goodman Director; Allison Wise, Program Director of Diversity and Inclusion at the National Archives; Danny Cortés, Executive VP and Chief of Staff at Esperanza; Celia Flores-Rivera, Social Studies Teacher and Project Lead at Esperanza and Yamaira Crissey, 15, an Esperanza Student. Afterwards, the guests viewed the exhibition and spoke to the students about what they learned.

[node:field_slideshow]

“My Home, My History are the stories that many students in Philadelphia have but don’t truly get to tell. At the end of the long journey, students feel linked even more to their family and are proud of the neighborhood they are from,” Flores-Rivera said.

“When I began this course I wasn’t much aware of my heritage or who I was beyond who I am right now. I didn't know where I came from or how history affects the present,” said Crissey. “I feel like now I have been educated in my history as a Puerto Rican woman. I know about my tribe, the Tainos. I am more aware of how they were treated by Christopher Columbus. I also learned more about how we as Latinos were discriminated against and dehumanized in the past. I feel as though learning this shows me how history ties to me.”

The “My Home, My History” exhibition will be on display through June 16.