Exploring the History of Race and Redemption through Fiction

The day started early for Dr. Ousmane Power-Greene, who left his home in western Massachusetts at the crack of dawn to make it to Falmouth Academy for a full day of presentations and guest lectures on Thursday, February 16th. Power-Greene is the Program Director of Africana Studies and an Associate Professor of History at Clark University, and the author of The Confessions of Matthew Strong, his newest book, which has been touted by NPR as one of the best books of the year.

Power-Greene, a friend of Falmouth Academy history teacher Suzanne Caruso, spoke to the students in her class, Perspectives on the American Experiment. He then briefly addressed the whole school at All-School Meeting, where he offered up examples of lesser-known youth who’ve made a difference in the world, such as Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl from Montgomery, Alabama, who was arrested for not giving up her seat on a segregated bus, nine months prior to Rosa Parks’ more famous act of civil disobedience.

He ended his presentation by asking if anyone knew who wrote the following quote and where it might be found, “The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party, or a class—it is the cause of humankind and the very birthright of humanity.” It surprised almost everyone to learn that this was one of twelve quotes on the U.S. passport and the only one written by a woman, Anna Julia Cooper. Born a slave, Cooper later earned a Ph.D. from the Sorbonne, making her the fourth African-American to earn a doctorate. She was an ardent advocate for civil rights and racial and gender equality in education.

Will Butler ’24 was so inspired by the uplifting of these hidden figures of history, that he started to notice the historical plaques and statues around town and would stop to look up more about them.

“It reignited something in me. It reminded me of the movie, Hidden Figures, and the real impactful people in our lives that go under the radar, most of the time. After that, as I was walking around the school and around town, I kept looking at the plaques with writing on them and would look up the names, something I’d never done before. He [Power-Greene] made me consider this, and I was surprised by how young these influential people were when they did that stuff, and that is still around today.”

Will Butler ’24

Power-Greene offered a professional development session on racial literacy, drawing from his extensive work around diversity, equity, and inclusion. He served on the President’s Commission on Race at Clark, helped write the university’s Diversity and Inclusion requirements for undergraduate students, and in 2015, served as the university’s interim Chief Officer of Diversity and Inclusion. A week later, Caruso picked up where Power-Greene left off and gave a short presentation to colleagues on the importance of learning about one’s racial identity development.

Over lunch, Power-Greene sat in on the Students for Social Justice meeting where he was asked a range of questions about race and writing, from how to be a better ally to how to find a publisher. After lunch, he switched gears and joined in the discussion of Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God in Monica Hough’s 9th-grade English class, noting how influential Neale Hurston has been to his creative practice and to Black literature.

The day wrapped up with a casual meet-and-greet with a small group of faculty, parents, trustees, and community members at Estia before Power-Greene took the stage as the guest speaker of Falmouth Academy’s Community Series. He was interviewed by Mindy Todd, host of the CAI radio show, The Point, where they discussed the history of race and redemption through fiction.

This in-person event was co-sponsored by the Woods Hole Diversity Advisory Committee and was part of the Woods Hole Black History Month Series.

It was filmed by FCTV and the recording is available on the FA website at falmouthacademy.org/community.

“Everything Change”

As part of the cross-curricular Changing Earth Program that weaves through ninth-grade science, history, and English, students traveled with their teachers on January 25th to the Massachusetts State House for a tour and to meet with local representatives, Senator Susan Moran and Representative Dylan Fernandes ’08. In an email to Senator Moran, English teacher, Monica Hough, described the purpose of the trip: “to bring students to the State House to learn how legislation is enacted and the roles that lawmakers and ordinary citizens can play in addressing causes and solutions that are intricately tied to our political, social, cultural, and economic systems.”

It was with this mindset that students walked the halls of the oldest state house in the United States and listened to their elected representatives. “This trip was perfectly timed since we had just completed a government unit,” said history teacher, Matt Barnes.

“I enjoyed hearing [Senator] Susan Moran talk about her job, the differences between the Senate and the House of Representatives, and her policy priorities,” said Sophie Gaughan ’26.

It was Moran’s passion for the housing crisis on Cape Cod that caught the attention of Elise Casso ’26. “Housing is already at a premium on the Cape and many families can’t afford to live here anymore,” said Casso. She went on to say, “As a coastal community, we’re also vulnerable to sea-level rise.”

Senator Moran’s office graciously helped to coordinate the visit, and her Constituent Services Director Arielle Vergara led a climate-change policy activity.

Students broke out into groups and were randomly assigned either the role of advocate or legislator. They were tasked with brainstorming a climate change policy in their small groups, and then “legislators” wrote a synopsis of the proposed “bill” and “advocates” created an infographic that detailed the facts and delineated a path to legislative action. Policy ideas focused on sustainability, equity, equality, endangered species, and more. Suggestions included upgrading public transportation on Cape Cod with electric vehicles and making them fare-free, better housing for the homeless, and protecting endangered horseshoe crabs and right whales.

It was this last idea, “Rights for Right Whales,” which advocated for safer and stricter whale-friendly fishing protocols, gear, and boats, as well as providing tax relief for impacted fishermen, that earned an official citation from the MA State Senate recognizing Casso, Nina McKim Kight ’26, Fay McGuire ’26, and Gaughan on their “advocacy and interest in our Commonwealth’s legislative process.”

During the Changing Earth program’s last trimester, students are working together to put their education into action by designing and implementing a project to address a timely issue of their choosing. Sia Canelos ’26, Gaughan, and Tom Tortora ’26 promoted and volunteered at the 22nd annual Cape Cod Canal Clean Up on Earth Day (April 22).

Caroline Cazeault ’26 and McGuire volunteered at Atria Assisted Living in Falmouth because, as McGuire explains, “Older people often get depressed because they’re isolated, so we plan to visit, play games, and do puzzles with them.”

Casso noticed very few recycling receptacles in downtown Falmouth and plans to write a proposal to the town selectman to make the case for more.

Although by design, Changing Earth studies the global effects of climate change because, as Hough observes, it is the greatest challenge of our time. She clarifies that it is not only about climate change. As evidenced by the breadth of students’ proposals and projects, they are being prepared to engage in an array of changes and challenges. Hough refers to the wisdom of Margaret Atwood in her email to Moran and writes that this program is really about, “everything change.”

A Voter’s Guide

Upper-school students at Falmouth Academy take a deep dive into American history and civics in a course aptly titled, Perspectives of the American Experiment. Suzanne Caruso, who is new to Falmouth Academy this year, leveraged the approaching November 8th midterm elections to design a collaborative assignment where students researched candidates and ballot questions and then created a handy voter’s guide, which Head of School Matt Green reports he took to the polls.

Students worked their way down the slate of issues and candidates from Governor to County Commissioner, scouring websites, reading newspaper articles, and listening to stump speeches in an attempt to compile as balanced and unbiased information as possible. “Researching candidates is so time-consuming!” said Ursula Junker ’23.

As they dug deeper, students noted that they were frequently stymied by fruitless searches and distracted by the rhetoric and marketing that too often eclipsed a candidate’s position or platform.

“Websites can be so uninformative and full of political jargon,” said Nate Holmes ’24. Will Butler ’24 voiced his frustration over the lack of clarity and transparency on a candidate’s website, “Cut to the chase and just tell me what you stand for!”

This timely and creative assignment embodied the curricular goals stated in the course description, “to apply intellectual frameworks to analyze leadership and to judge accountability for key decisions.” Caruso said that she designed it so that her students could experience what it is like to become an informed voter while sharpening their thinking.

Through this process, students became savvier consumers of information—assessing the reliability of sources and gaining a better understanding of the role of marketing in political campaigns. Marcus Greco ’24 made an astute observation that resonated with the class when he said, “The way the information is presented influences my opinion of the candidate.”

Although this assignment was vexing at times, as evidenced by the comment by Natalie Pil ’24, “This is really hard!” Caruso’s students gained a greater appreciation for the democratic process and the weight of civic responsibility. Pil summed it up by saying, “Doing this research is an important muscle to work.”

Cape Cod Climate Ambassadors

Maria Soares ’25 and Luke Okoshi-Michel ’26 applied for and were chosen to be Climate Ambassadors by the Cape Cod Commission, now in its third year. Since February, this cohort of students have met with climate experts and activists either virtually or in person at various locations around Cape Cod to learn about the causes and impacts of climate change, carbon-reduction strategies, resiliency planning, and equity considerations. According to the Commission’s website, this initiative aims “to educate, engage and empower young people on Cape Cod to work together to combat the impacts of climate change.” The program culminates in May with each ambassador planning and executing a small local project of interest to them.

Both students have demonstrated a strong interest in environmental sustainability. For the last three years, OkoshiMichel chose science fair projects related to healthy aquaculture. This year, he was awarded a first place sponsored by SEA Education and the Salt Pond Areas Birds Sanctuary first-place award at Falmouth Academy’s 35th Science and Engineering Fair for his study of the microplastic content of clams. Okoshi-Michel explains that for his capstone project as a Climate Ambassador, he plans to create public-service posters listing locations of water bottle refill stations, electric-vehicle charging stations, and bike paths on Cape Cod, along with relevant statistics, to “teach people the numbers.” He said he wants to raise awareness about humanity’s impact on climate change. “I want to show people how they can help.”

“Maria decided to apply for this opportunity after completing her science fair experiment looking at the effects of warming temperatures on the regeneration of planaria (Dugesia tigrina),” said her advisor, Sharon Kreamer. Soares, who is new to Falmouth Academy this year and never presented at a science and engineering fair before, placed fourth and received the Falmouth Water Stewards Upper-School Award. She and OkoshiMichel advanced to the MA Regional V Science and Engineering Fair held in March.

Soares also demonstrated her commitment to the environment this spring by organizing a school-wide clothing drive that yielded 33 bags of gently-worn or new clothes for the nonprofit, Cradles to Crayons. When asked if this was her Climate Ambassador project, she said, “No, I plan to create an advocacy infographic with basic information about climate change, local sustainability initiatives, as well as how to get involved in local government.” She plans to translate it into Portuguese and Spanish and distribute it around the Cape, Islands, and online.

Top: Maria Soares loads a van with clothing donations for Cradles to Crayons Center: Cape Cod Climate Ambassadors Maria Soares ’25 and Luke Okoshi-Michel ’26

How to College

“Work smarter, not harder,” advised Bailey Jordan ’20 of Smith College to Falmouth Academy juniors and seniors at this year’s Alumni Networking Day held on December 16th. She and six other alumni participated in a “How to College” panel moderated by College Counselor Ruth Slocum.

Taking advantage of all avenues of available support (physical and mental health, academic support, career counseling, office hours, etc.) was a consistent theme running through the panel discussion. Jordan explained that all colleges have plenty of resources to support their students. She told the assembly, “Just because someone else may have it worse than you, doesn’t mean that those resources aren’t meant to help you, too.”

The panelists also addressed having so much unstructured time in college. Camden Emery ’19 of Champlain College cautioned students to find balance. “There will always be more you can learn or do, but you need to balance academics with self-care and social time.” Josh Novak ’19 of the University of Colorado, Boulder said that he enjoyed having so much freedom at first, but then realized he was stagnating. His solution was to create his own schedule. “I went out and got a part-time job so that every day I have to get up at the same time.”

Panelists credited Falmouth Academy for preparing them well for the academic rigor of college and for cultivating the soft skills needed for success, like talking with teachers, going to office hours, initiating conversation, or asking for help or advice. Hannah Stillman ’19 of Williams College shared how she emailed a professor that she never met before and invited them out for coffee. Stillman was interested in their research and wanted to hear more about their lab, in case it might be a good fit as a possible internship down the road. Maisie Saganic ’21 of Northeastern followed up saying, “Keep in touch with professors you really like because you never know when you may need a letter of recommendation or a professional contact.”