For nearly a month, students at Harmony Community School have walked past water fountains marked “whites only” and “blacks only” at the building's entrance.

        It's part of a dramatic Black History Month exhibit that includes effigies of a lynched man and a Ku Klux Klansman, and newspaper clippings of early 1900s lynchings.

        The Rev. Steven Wheeler, a teacher at the Bond Hill school, created the displays and placed them around the predominantly black school at the beginning of February to immerse Harmony's 465 students in African-American history.

        “When I first saw it I could not believe my eyes,” said Yonsel Blanks, 18, an African-American student. “First I got angry, then I started to think about my ancestors and their struggle to get where I am now — about to graduate from high school.”

        The Rev. Mr. Wheeler said that many students did not believe the extent to which racial segregation once existed. He said the displays, along with increased African-American history in the curriculum, have been effective.

        “It made them think,” the Rev. Mr. Wheeler said. “One student said, "I would have sucked it up just to survive.' One said, "I think I would have just died.'

        “It did inspire them to dig deeper and find heroes that look like them.”

        Harmony, a charter school for grades 7-12, was founded in 1998.

        “I founded the school because I had concerns about urban kids and cultural identity,” said Superintendent David Nordyke. “Most schools have what I would consider misrepresentation of contributions made by people other than Caucasians.”

        The Rev. Mr. Wheeler organized events throughout the month, including:

        • A visit from the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, a founding member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. He spoke Feb. 8.

        • A Jeopardy-like game show Feb. 22 for students that contributed canned goods and raised money for Our Daily Bread mission.

        DeAsa Nichols of the Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky African-American Chamber of Commerce will visit March 1.

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