This story was originally published on Feb. 28, 2025.
On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden made Juneteenth a public holiday when he signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act.
"Lots of people don't know why it's a holiday," Tracy Johnson Cooper, social studies teacher in Jackson, Tenn. said, "[So] what's the point of it?" she asked.
Cooper's students at North Side High School sought to solve that problem by inventing a new board game last year that teaches students the history behind Juneteenth and why it's now a federal holiday. They held a community chili cook-off to introduce the game and seek public feedback. Juneteenth is the day that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the U.S.
"What happened to the slaves that didn't know they were free? What happened in 1865?" The board game, "The Pursuit of Freedom," seeks to answer those very questions by providing an array of Black history trivia questions.
Cooper's community event also included music by the school band and other cross-classroom collaboration. It was even covered by PBS West Tennessee! You can watch that video here.
Credit: Tracy Cooper
Cooper, who was also a 2023-2024 PBS News Hour Classroom Invention Fellow, says that she created the game collaboratively with her students by turning each step of the development process into a creative lesson in class.
"I love our community," says Cooper. "I'm an independent artist outside of school, so I'm always creating things and trying to teach others how to use their creative gifts for positive things, so this project was right up my alley."
Cooper said she has a special shoutout to North Side High School teacher Kyasia Flournoy for being the co-sponsor for the month's activities. Flournoy's journalism students produced a short film that represents the talent at NSHS and all the different ways they celebrated Black History Month, including choir performances, speeches, poetry and interviews.
Written by Gianfranco Beran, Classroom's production assistant, and News Hour's Vic Pasquantonio.
Are you interested in learning more about how you can get involved in invention with your students? Sign up here for PBS News Hour Classroom's Invention Educator Network where teachers from various subjects and grade levels come together to discuss all things invention & innovation. Check out our Invention Education collection, including lessons on robotics.
If you would like to pitch an Educator Voice story to News Hour Classroom, contact education@newshour.org.
