"RACE: Are We So Different?" Exhibition at the Smithsonian - School Locker Project

When they look at our locker, you'll see a toilet
sitting on a pedestal or sort of like a trophy almost.
The toilet will be up. They'll have, I believe,
a black hand and a white hand on the golden part
that's holding the toilet up.
The toilet itself will have words, some negative words,
and some words like "segregation" and "racism".
They'll have that and it will be sort of protruding out
from the toilet. They also made a noose that's going to be
hanging from the toilet also.
So all those negative ideas that happened during the times
of segregation and apartheid and all the civil rights
movements, all this stuff, everyone can relate to this.
Because we're in a title one school, so it's a
predominantly black school. A lot of the kids, they really
don't see much outside their neighborhood but I think,
if nothing else, it will definitely open their eyes.
>> What are people going to see when they come in
and go look at it? > They're going to see a
toilet, some words, some picket signs, and they're
going to see a white hand and black hand, and words
on the locker that says "Flush the foolishness".
"Flush the foolishness" means we're flushing down all the
words that people used to say to blacks when we were slaves.
I think it was cool because we looked at how black people,
they struggled a lot and they went through a lot of things.
And I think it was kind of hard because you had to
make up what the thing was, what you wanted to do.
And I think people will really notice it because I think
it's really amazing and it's very cool
for only fifth graders to do. I never thought I would
think of something like that, but with the help of
my friends, we came up with something and we did it.