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Thursday, MARCH 9, 2023 • The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint
www.sdvoice.info
Local Youth “Herstorians” Capture Julian’s BIPOC History Girl-led drone pilots map a Julian cemetery, tell stories of people of color
PHOTOS: Root Digger Genealogy
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Girls at Cemetery
Shellie Baxter and David Lewis
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he purpose of the trip was for the girls to have the opportunity to map the Julian Cemetery. Over the course of the project the girls will research and develop the narratives of the lives of the BIPOC residents who are buried in the cemetery. The first adventure was to meet up with David Lewis, a native of Julian going back 5 generations, and the caretaker and historian of the Julian Cemetery. Lewis gave the girls a tour of the cemetery pointing out the headstones of some of the Black Pioneers, such as Susan Tull, the mother of Margaret
Robinson, Martha Boyd, the daughter of Margaret and Albert Robinson, the husband of Margaret, who owned the Robinson Hotel, which is still operating today under the name of the Julian Hotel. The girls also had the opportunity to explore the Julian Museum and discover some the information they needed for their narratives. The next day, the girls met with drone pilot instructors who gave a workshop on flying the drones in the cemetery, so they could map the Julian Cemetery. A drone with LiDar was used so that one could see what is not seen by the naked eye. Each girl
Girls Flying Drones
had the opportunity to fly the large LiDar enhanced drone. The girl’s interest in researching the history of the pioneers of Julian was impressive. The day after the girls mapped the cemetery, and there was a workshop led by Shellie Baxter. The girls searched through digital archives, viewing and documenting the community using census reports, newspaper articles, birth and death certificates, land records, and voting records. They all were methodical in their thought process, asking the right questions and developing the narratives of those they were researching.
Flying Drone
Girl Flying Drone
BUILD SKILLS HELP OTHERS EARN MONEY
Girls at Julian Museum
The girls will have the opportunity to map the Nate Harrison Serenity Ranch later in the year, where Nathan Harrison was enslaved. He migrated to California during the Gold Rush in 1848. He was the first Black to have homesteaded in San Diego County on Palomar Mountain.
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The “We the People Museum,” which is virtually located in Encanto, will display their exhibits from both research trips. Girls at Gold Mine
BACKGROUND PHOTO: By Geonadir on UnSplash
Other adventures were had by the girls, as they took a tour of the Gold Mines in Julian.