Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
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I N - D E P T H 80 SEPTEMBER 2019 Battle-Baptiste had written about Lucy's home site in her first book, Black Feminist Archaeology. She urged the girls to move away from the idea of setting the word "slave" in stone in their tribute to Lucy. Rather, she encouraged them to think of her as a captive. Mikayla Johnson '20 was moved by this approach; she says, "Calling them slaves makes them seem like an object as opposed to people who fell into terrible circumstances." After a lively round of give-and-take with Battle-Baptiste, the students arrived at an epitaph: "In memory of Lucy Foster. Born into captivity in Boston. Came to her freedom in Andover. Known by God and her community." By April, with the design and epitaph settled and funds successfully raised, the students directed Updike to finish carving the stone. On a sparkling day in May, nearly 175 years after her death, seven girls from Penguin Hall placed a gravestone in the ground behind South Church in honor of Lucy Foster. It is a day they will not soon forget. Dubbing it "Dig Day," the girls made matching t-shirts for the occasion, and each student signed the lower part of the stone with a special stylus before it was concealed in the ground. Upon the suggestion of Autumn Armano '20, each student also wrote a note to Lucy that was placed in a jar and buried alongside her stone. As Elise Welch put it, "We have spent all this time talking about Lucy. This gives us a chance to talk to Lucy." Two days later, the students gave Lucy Foster the memorial service she never had. Planned with the help of Rev. Dana Allen Walsh, senior pastor at South Church, this event allowed the students to reflect publicly upon Lucy and her life. Caroline Buck told the story of finding Michael Updike carved the design of the stone for the students. PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF THE ACADEMY AT PENGUIN HALL POOLS • HOT TUBS • SAUNAS 978 - 887 - 2424 Route One, Topsfield CALL NOW for FREE Site Evaluation! No Payment Until 2020!