By Joanna Klonsky

Though Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas died nearly 30 years ago, students at the high school he attended in Yakima Valley, Washington continue to write letters to and about him. At A. C. Davis High School, American literature students have used the life and work of Judge Douglas as a lens through which to study and discuss everything from “The Scarlet Letter” to the events of 9/11, by writing letters to scholars, lawyers, and even Douglas’ family. This year, the students’ writings were published in a book, “Dear Mr. Douglas: Letters and Poems Discovering the Life of William O. Douglas.”

As told to WKCD by English teacher Douglas Johnson

“William O. Douglas went to the school where I teach English, so I thought as a way to help my students do some reflective journalism, we could write him letters about different topics in American literature. Then we wrote to lawyers about Douglas, and the lawyers wrote us back. We had Yale and Harvard scholars and Douglas’ widow write us with memories and ideas about Douglas and American lit. Now, it looks like some Iraqi soldiers will write us back as well.

“We open the class in September with a debate over 9/11. We discuss 9/11 and freedom of religion, and we frame these issues in letters to Douglas. Since he’s fictitious, it takes some of the pressure off of the students. I explain to them the idea of jihad and freedom of religion. I ask the class if the attacks of 9/11 were a show of freedom of religion or if they were just acts of violence. It’s really an exercise in questioning. They have to set up their questions and write reflective paragraphs.

“We read The Scarlet Letter. We talk about freedom of religion and freedom of speech. We also read Walt Whitman, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, and address the issue of law.

“It’s really easy to pull up some of Douglas’ casework, whether it’s Roe versus Wade, or Griswold versus Connecticut. Last year, we were able to talk about Tinker versus Des Moines when somebody locally tried to stop the viewing of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth.

“We also walk through Douglas’ home site, and we read about our town in 1905. Our school became a community partner with the William O. Douglas Trail Foundation. They’ve started a hiking trail that goes from our school to Mount Rainier!

“A.C. Davis is a Title I school with 1,700 students. Eighty-five percent or more of our students receive free and reduced lunch. Fifty percent are Hispanic. We have the same urban school issues that other people deal with--gang affiliations and dropout rates that are pretty consistent with the national norm. We have a fifty percent dropout rate and an at risk population. So most days of school for me are a used car sale. 

“I came up with the idea for this curriculum because I was trying to find a way to tap into some lessons about overcoming obstacles. I had 60 students in the junior English class for each of the first two years, and 90 this year. The goal is to get the kids hooked on something, so that they can say, “this is important to me.” I also do as much as I can to prep the students for the writing on standardized tests, and I use the same writing structures that are on the exams.

“For funding, we received a grant from Learn and Serve America. Douglas’ widow, who wrote us back, liked the project so much that she started a scholarship fund for our students. I also sell the book and donate part of the proceeds back to the scholarship fund. At the end of the year, the student that shows the most about the ideals of Douglas gets a $1000 scholarship to the college of their choice.

“I present the course in workshop format. It is idiosyncratic, but it can be applied elsewhere. I use the same workshop with the adults. They have to go through the questioning too and the reflective process. Wherever you are historically, you can dig out who your local hero is.”

Click here to read excerpts from the book, “Dear Mr. Douglas: Letters and Poems Discovering the Life of William O. Douglas.”

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