Page 12 - NCF Report – February

NCF Monthly Report – February 15 (submitted on February 21)

• Kids in Kayaks. Planning continues regarding this program. This summer, the NPS is producing its
Kids in Kayak program, funded by the Chesapeake NPS office. It is a summer program to get middle
school students in the Hampton Roads area out on the water to engage in environmental
education. The James River Association will work with Norfolk, Hampton, Newport News, and
York County schools. There will be four weeks of instruction at Fort Monroe. The four weeks will
most likely occur in July. Approximately 30 students will come out for education over two days,
and then a new 30 students will come for another 2-day program. There is no cost to students or
school systems.

NEXT STEPS:

• Aaron and Richard meet to identify opportunities to include the Center of Freedom. (by
February 28)
• Identify any other opportunities for future planning.

ARCHIVES AND LIBRARY RESOURCES (Ledgers only – Chelsea Morris)

Although other aspects of the Archives and Library resource planning are on hold, efforts continue in the
transcribing, and eventual public accessibility of two volumes of "Register of Work Done by Slave Labor at
Fort Monroe, VA." These volumes identify, by name, the hundreds of enslaved men, women, and children
who worked on the construction of the fort from 1820 until 1824. Once completed, the full transcription
will be available for researchers, genealogists, and the public. An interactive in the Fort Monroe Visitor
and Education Center features portions of the transcription and subsequent research.

As of February 3, 2020, here is where we are in the process:
Progress as of Volume 1 Volume 2 Complete Ledger
2/3/2020

Total Pages 147 187 334

Pages Transcribed 41 40 81

% of volume (pages) 28% 21% 24.25%

Total Months 21 24 45

Months Transcribed 7 6

% of volume 33% 25% 29%
(months)

Chelsea and I talked about potential ways to create awareness of this work through blog post entries. So,
we have a follow-up to explore that further with the hope of placing a blog on the FMA website in late
March. Chelsea and I are exploring similar projects at other institutions so we can more fully assess other
opportunities where we can make this information public. However, one idea that we do have is to make
the information available on eMediaVA, Virginia's premier online destination for teachers to access high-

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