by Ginny Dye
“Yes!” Felicia said, her eyes snapping with excitement. “I never get tired of looking for them.”
“Which is why you climb out the window at night sometimes to sit on the roof,” Rose said as understanding dawned.
Felicia stared at her. “You know about that?” Her face puckered with a frown. “Am I in trouble?”
Rose smiled. “If you were in trouble for it, you would have known long before now. I figured you were doing something important. That part of the roof isn’t very steep, so I decided not to say anything.” Truth be told, she had imagined Felicia crawling out on the roof with the hopes of being closer to her dead parents. It was a relief to know she was stargazing.
“Mama and I used to watch the stars move around the sky in different places, but we didn’t know anything about constellations and how the earth rotates around the sun. That’s what made us see different stars at different times of the year, you know.”
Rose gazed at her. “I can learn a lot from you,” she admitted. “I don’t know very much about the stars.”
Felicia’s grin exploded again. “I’ll be real happy to teach you. I go out almost every night now so that I can record meteor activity. Not many people get accepted as observers because you have to take very careful calculations. Once a month I mail in my observations. I’m sending the letters back to Richmond when the courier delivers Mr. Cromwell’s journals and publications.” Her smile disappeared into a frown. “I could do a better job with a telescope, but I do the best I can.”
Rose tucked that piece of information away for later thought. “I would be honored to watch them with you some nights.” She was thrilled she had found a way to connect with the little girl, but she also had to be a parent. “But you have to make sure you get enough sleep each night,” she cautioned, hiding her smile when she saw the flare of resistance in Felicia’s eyes.
“You told me you used to stay up almost all night reading sometimes,” Felicia protested. “Sleep is really not that important.”
Rose allowed her smile to slip out and decided not to point out that her status as a slave meant that was her only time to learn. “I know you believe that right now, but I happen to know that’s not true.”
“How?” Felicia demanded.
Rose didn’t mind the questions. She wanted Felicia to learn how to think for herself. “I’ve been teaching for almost four years. I know how much better a student learns when they get enough rest. I don’t believe your brain works as well if you are not getting enough sleep.”
Felicia nodded thoughtfully. “I suppose that could be true,” she murmured. “I’ll make sure I get enough sleep,” she promised. “At least most of the time,” she added impishly.
Rose leaned forward and gave her a hug. “Congratulations on being selected as a meteor observer.” A glance at her watch told her it was time to start school. “What are you going to talk about today?”
Felicia hesitated. “Can I keep it a surprise?”
Rose raised a brow but had no objection. “If you wish. I trust you to do an excellent job.”
Felicia stared at her. “You do?” she breathed. “Really?”
“Really,” Rose assured her, touched by the little girl’s hunger for her approval. She knew Felicia still held back her wholehearted love because she was afraid of being disloyal to her dead mother, but the walls were breaking down a little more each day. Rose could see her own mama’s gleaming eyes encouraging her to just keep loving Felicia. “I am looking forward to what you have to share.”
Reading and spelling had been completed when Rose raised her hand to get her class’ attention. “I have a surprise for all of you today,” she said. She watched sixty-five students snap to attention. Abby had told her the Missionary Society was trying to find another teacher to help her, but their efforts so far had been unsuccessful. She would welcome the help, but her students were so well-behaved, the large class of many different ages wasn’t a problem. Everyone helped each other, and all the children were eager to learn.
“This is story day,” one of the children called. “Is that the surprise?”
“It is indeed story day,” Rose responded, “but the surprise is that I’m not going to be the one telling the story. Felicia is.” She motioned for Felicia to come forward, and then moved to sit at Felicia’s tiny desk. She wanted to be able to watch her daughter’s face.
Felicia grinned and walked forward to the front of the room. The quick flash of nervousness in her eyes was concealed by the bright smile. “I’m going to tell you today about Maria Mitchell. She was the first American woman to work as a professional astronomer.”
“What’s an astron…omer?” one little girl asked, stumbling over the long word.
“An astronomer is someone who studies things up in space,” Felicia answered. “Things like the sun, the moon, stars, and comets,” she finished.
“A black woman was an astronomer?” Clay, a thin twelve-year-old boy who liked to tease Felicia asked.
“No. Maria Mitchell was a white woman,” Felicia announced matter-of-factly.
Rose was quiet as a silence fell on the room.
“Why are you going to tell us about a white woman?” Clay asked. “We be black.”
“We are black,” Rose corrected, waiting to see how Felicia would respond.
The little girl held her ground. “What’s wrong with being white? Some white folks are very bad people, but there are others who aren’t. If we want people to like us even though we’re black, shouldn’t we like folks even though they are white?”
Rose watched the faces of the other children, encouraged when many of them nodded. Felicia’s simple statement had said it all. The fact that it had been said by someone their own age meant they were more likely to believe it. She nodded encouragement when Felicia looked her way.
“Like I said,” Felicia continued, not missing a beat, “Maria Mitchell was the first American woman to work as an astronomer. She was born way back in 1818. She was actually very lucky because her parents believed she was equal to boys, so she got the same education they did.”
“She was white,” Clay snorted. “Of course she did.”
Rose stood. “There is no interrupting when I teach, and there will be none while Felicia is teaching. If she decides to take questions after she is done, she will let you know. For now, you will give her the same respect you give me,” she said. Felicia raised her head even higher, her eyes expressing her gratitude when they met Rose’s.
“Women today, whether they are white or black, are fighting for equality,” Felicia announced, obviously emboldened by Rose standing up for her. “You boys may think you’re better than us, but you’re not.”
Rose heard the boys shifting in their seats, but no one else interrupted.
“Maria Mitchell went to school from the time she was very young. When she was eleven, her father built his own school. She was a student, but she was also a teaching assistant.” Felicia’s eyes glowed with excitement. “Her father taught her astronomy at home. When she was just twelve years old, just two years older than me, she helped her father calculate the exact moment of an annular eclipse. An annular eclipse is when the sun and moon are exactly in line during the day. The moon slides over the sun, but it appears to be a little smaller, so the sun looks like a bright ring around the moon.”
The class was silent now, mesmerized by one of their own teaching them something they had never heard about. Some of them glanced toward the sun shining brightly through the windows, but then turned back quickly so they wouldn’t miss anything she was saying.
“Maria Mitchell became a teacher. She was actually one of the first teachers to let black children come to her school up in Massachusetts. That’s a state way north of here. Lots of slaves ran away to there before the war started. There were lots of people who didn’t like her teaching blacks, but that didn’t stop her. She knew it was the right thing to do because black children are just as smart as white children,” she added.
Rose was impressed by Felicia’s knowledge, but she was equally impressed by her teaching style. Felicia knew she was speaking of things most of the other children knew nothing about. The little girl was eager to share what she had learned, but she wanted to make sure everyone could understand her.
“In 1847, almost twenty years ago, Maria Mitchell discovered a comet. She found it on October 1st, at ten thirty at night, with a telescope.” Excitement made Felicia’s voice higher.
Rose decided not to point out that no one in the room knew what a comet was. There would be plenty of time for Felicia to teach them.
“King Christian the Eighth of Denmark gave her a gold medal for discovering that comet and now she is famous all over the world. They named the comet after her. Mitchell’s Comet!” She paused, evidently seeing the confused look on some faces. “Denmark is a country in Europe, all the way across the ocean.” She looked at Rose. “Can I bring in a map of the world tomorrow so everyone can see where it is?”
“Certainly,” Rose murmured, a sudden idea taking shape as she watched Felicia teach.
“Maria Mitchell became the first woman elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. And last year she became a professor of astronomy at Vassar College.” If possible, even more excitement snapped in Felicia’s eyes. “Vassar College is the first real college just for women,” she announced. A tiny frown crinkled her brows. “Right now they don’t let black women enroll, but that will change in time,” she said confidently. “Maybe I will go to school there one day, but there is something very exciting that is going to happen next month,” she announced. “Right here on the plantation…”
Rose looked at her with surprise. She knew she was about to discover the most important part of what Felicia had wanted to wait to reveal.
“…Something very special happens every November. It’s called the Leonid Meteor Shower. When I go out at night to watch meteors—” Felicia stopped, realizing she had lost everyone again. She bit her lip and thought for a moment. “How many of you have ever seen what looked to be a shooting star streaking across the sky?” She was relieved when most of the hands in the room went up. “It’s not really a star,” she proclaimed. “Those are meteors. They are very big chunks of rock that break off of a comet. When they get close to Earth, gravity makes them start moving really fast until they catch fire. The heat melts them away so they don’t hit the Earth. That’s what makes them look like a shooting star.”
“How do you know all this?” Clay demanded, unable to remain silent. “I only seen a few of those in my entire life. I always thought they would come down and crash on me. ”
Other children nodded their heads in agreement, their eyes wide with wonder and curiosity.
“I only see a few of them on a good night of watching,” Felicia agreed, “but on November thirteenth and fourteenth—just next month—the Leonid Meteor Shower happens.” She paused and took a long breath, watching the other students carefully. Felicia knew she had everyone’s full attention. She was making them hungry to hear what she had to say.
Rose smiled with amazement as the little girl drew out the suspense.
“Those two nights we’ll be able to see hundreds, maybe even thousands of shooting stars in the sky,” Felicia announced.
“Really?” Rose couldn’t hold back the question. Her mind filled with the image Felicia was creating. She longed to see it for herself.
“Really,” Felicia said happily. “I thought it would be a wonderful thing if all the students in the school met on the plantation to watch them together.” She caught Rose’s eyes, looking tentative for the first time.
“That’s a wonderful idea,” Rose responded. She had a clear vision of parents and children lined up on blankets, their faces lifted to the sky. She said a quick prayer it would be a clear night with no clouds. “We’ll have a family picnic and then watch the meteor shower together,” she announced. Her mind began to work through the details.
Felicia’s face exploded with a grin. “And that’s all I have to say about Maria Mitchell,” she finished.
Rose stood as Felicia came to claim her seat. “That was wonderful, Felicia,” she said, her heart melting at the pride and satisfaction shining in Felicia’s eyes. Then she turned to the rest of the class. “I know I said all of you could ask Felicia questions, but I think it would be better if we just have Felicia teach us something new every day about astronomy. When the Leonid Meteor Shower happens, we’ll all know what we are seeing. What do all of you think?”
A chorus of agreement rose from every child in the room. Felicia’s face bloomed with a smile brighter than the sunshine streaming in through the windows.
Rose beckoned to Felicia to remain behind when she released the rest of the children at the end of the day. She waited until the schoolyard emptied, and then she turned to Felicia. “How would you like to be my teaching assistant?”
Felicia stared at her with disbelief. “Could you say that again?”
Rose smiled, completely understanding the stunned joy in the little girl’s eyes. “I would like you to become my teaching assistant. You are a natural teacher, and you know so much about so many things. You can teach the students about astronomy, but you can also keep them up-to-date on things happening in the country. I don’t have time to stay as current as you do. It would help me as much as everyone else,” she admitted.
The idea that had hatched while she was listening to Felicia teach had blossomed into a complete plan by the end of the day. “You’ll have to stay current with all your studies, and you still have to take time to play every day,” she warned. “It may be too much for you, but I’d like to give it a try.”
Felicia was nodding her head so hard her braids were slapping against her back. “Yes!” she cried. “It will be just like Maria Mitchell being a teaching assistant for her father. Only I’ll be a teaching assistant for my mama!”
Rose caught her breath. This was the first time Felicia had ever referred to Rose as her mother.
Felicia realized it at the exact same moment. She caught her breath and stared deeply into Rose’s eyes. “I’ve been real afraid to call you Mama,” she murmured. There was a look of pain and loss that shadowed her eyes for a brief moment as she remembered the mama and daddy she had lost, but it was quickly swallowed by a look of intense longing. “Will it be okay if I call you Mama, Miss Rose?” she asked.
Rose’s answer was to hold out her arms and envelop the little girl in a close hug. “I can’t think of anything I would like better,” she whispered, tears burning her eyes as Felicia threw her arms around her waist and clung to her. “I love you, Felicia.”
“I love you, too, Mama,” Felicia whispered back.
Rose was exhausted when she finished class that night. The men were all still busy finishing up the harvest, but the women had returned to school two weeks earlier. They worked in the fields during the day but left in time to come to school. Her insistence about the importance of education was paying off. Her school was full, not only of the women from the plantation, but also the surrounding area. She had gone home with Felicia after school but returned after eating dinner with her family, as she did almost every night, to teach the adults.
“We’re done for the night,” Rose announced. “I’m proud of all of you,” she said. “Every single woman in this room is reading now. Congratulations!” She felt a surge of anxiety when the women nodded but remained seated, their bodies cramped into small desks built for children. She could tell by the looks on many of their faces that something was wrong. She had felt glimmers of it through the night, but she had pushed it aside to focus on teaching.
Now she perched on the edge of her desk as her eyes swept the room. There were thirty-five women looking back at her. They ranged in age from twenty-five to eighty years old. All of their eyes carried the weight of years of slavery, but they also carried the pride of education. “What is it?” she asked.
Morah, the youngest one in the
group, stood. Her eyes were fearful, but determined. She had obviously been selected to be the spokesperson. “We need your help, Rose. Our men ain’t treating us right.”
Rose decided now was not the time to correct her speaking. She was disturbed by the pain and anger radiating from the eyes of the woman almost her age. “What do you mean?” she asked, though she was certain she already knew.
“When me and Abraham were slaves together before the war, and we was married, things felt pretty equal,” Morah replied. “We were both slaves. We were both treated badly, but we made it through because we had each other. I thought when slavery ended that it meant things would be better for me.” She scowled. “Some things are worse.”
Rose’s gut tightened as most of the other women nodded their heads.
“Abraham came home a while back and told me he was now the head of the house,” she said, disgust evident in her voice. “From that point forward he been treating me like he’s better than me.” Pain shadowed the anger in her eyes. “It used to just be a lot of yelling, but now he’s taken to hitting me and the children when he don’t like something.” She waved her hand across the room. “The same thing is happening with a bunch of us. We didn’t leave the beatings we done had in slavery just to be treated bad by our men!”
Rose sighed. She had suspected something like this may happen ever since Moses brought word that a brochure from the Freedmen’s Bureau designating males as the heads of their households had landed in his men’s hands.
June opened the door and stepped inside. “I’m sorry I missed class,” she said. “Little Simon is sick.” She interpreted the look on Rose’s face. “He’s going to be fine,” she assured her, “but I didn’t want to leave him alone. Polly came by and offered to stay with him so I could come to the meeting.”
The meeting? Rose realized things must be serious if all the women had planned a meeting. She waited for Morah to continue, praying she would know what to say.