On March 29, BSD Equity & Family Engagement invited students, families, educators and community members to attend a special educational opportunity to learn more about American history. Dr. Terry Anne Scott, associate professor of United States History and Chair of the History Department at Hood College, Maryland shared, A Virtual Tour of Montgomery, Alabama, from Enslavement to Modern Day.

During her presentation, Dr. Scott walked the virtual audience through what one attendee called an “amazing, whirlwind journey” from the banks of the Alabama River where enslaved Black people disembarked ships and trains, through Dexter Avenue Baptist Church where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pastored, and finished at the location where the late John Lewis completed his historic march.

Curriculum developers from the BSD history department, district educators, counselors, students, families and community members attended the session to learn alongside Dr. Scott. Many attendees shared that they learned things they had never known from her presentation and others unlearned the misconceptions they had thought to be true. Following the presentation, attendees proclaimed the presentation as “a gift” and “enlightening” for their learning. One attendee stated that it was a powerful, “intellectual and emotional journey.”

Dr. Scott has authored multiple books and publications, the most recent among them titled, “Lynching and Leisure: Race and the Transformation of Mob Violence in Texas.” Her research and teaching interests focus largely on urban history, the intersection of sports and race, African American social and cultural history, and political and social movements. In 2014 Dr. Scott was nominated for a Distinguished Teaching Award at the University of Washington and formally recognized as an Outstanding University of Washington Woman.

This presentation was supported through partnership with the Bellevue Schools Foundation and their grants for BOOM. The Foundation supports BOOM events, which are intended to inspire, build community and provide opportunity to connect with leaders of color so that each and every BSD student can reach their full potential. Upon her request, Dr. Scott’s presentation was not recorded. However, BSD will continue to host future events and speakers to extend learning and understanding beyond Black History Month.


The Bellevue School District acknowledges that we learn, work, live and gather on the Indigenous Land of the Coast Salish peoples, specifically the Duwamish and Snoqualmie Tribes. We thank these caretakers of this land, who have lived and continue to live here, since time immemorial.