POSTER BED, A STAPLE IN MANY HOMES AND PART OF AMERICANA FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS. IN FACT, THERE’S ONE ON DISPLAY AT THE SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE. VISITORS CAN SEE ITS IMPRESSIVE CRAFTSMANSHIP AND LEARN THE LITTLE KNOWN ORIGIN STORY. THE BED IS CALLED THE BOYD BED, AND IT’S NAMED AFTER HENRY BOYD, AN ENSLAVED AFRICAN AMERICAN FROM KENTUCKY. BOY, IT IS AMONG MANY BLACK CRAFTSMEN WHOSE WORK IS NOW BEING CELEBRATED. OUR CORRESPONDENT ALEXIS CLARK BRINGS US THE STORY OF HOW A NEW GENERATION OF STORYTELLERS AND TEACHERS ARE REVIVING BOTH THE HISTORY AND THE TECHNIQUES USED CENTURIES AGO. WHEN I SEE A PIECE OF FURNITURE, WHAT CROSSES MY MIND IS WHO IS INVOLVED IN IT? WHO CUT THE WOOD? JEROME BIAS IS VICTORIAN HOME IN GRAHAM NORTH CAROLINA, IS FILLED WITH HAND-CARVED IT PIECES HE MADE IN HIS WORKSHOP. HOW DID YOU BECOME A FURNITURE MAKER? THAT’S AN INTERESTING QUESTION. MY FIANCEE AND I WERE ENGAGED AND WE NEEDED A BED OUT SHOPPING. BIAS NOTICE A SUBSTANTIAL FOUR POSTER BED AND LEARNED IT WAS A REPLICA OF ONE CREATED IN THE EARLY 1800S BY THOMAS DAY, A FREE BLACK MAN. MY MIND WAS BLOWN. DAY BECAME ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL FURNITURE MAKERS IN NORTH CAROLINA DURING A TIME WHEN MILLIONS OF BLACK PEOPLE WERE ENSLAVED ON PLANTATIONS IN THE U.S. AT THE TIME, I THOUGHT THAT THEY COULDN’T READ OR WRITE. LITTLE DID I KNOW I COULD READ, WRITE AND DO A LOT OF MATH TO REAL COMES OVER. I WAS SO INSPIRED BY SEEING THIS BLACK ACADEMY MAKER AND SEE THIS BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF FURNITURE. BIAS YOU’VE GONE TO SCHOOL FOR INTERIOR DESIGN. DECIDED TO MAKE HIS OWN FOUR POSTER BED TEACHING HIMSELF THE TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES OF HIS ENSLAVED ANCESTORS. IT’S NOT PERFECT. IT’S GOT FLAWS. IT’S GOT PERFECTION. AT TIMES. BUT IT’S A MIX OF STUFF. IN MANY WAYS, IT’S A SYMBOL OF LIFE. BIAS WAS RECENTLY THE ARTIST IN RESIDENCE AT THE BELLE GROVE PLANTATION IN VIRGINIA IS SHENANDOAH VALLEY. I CAME TO SEE THAT I WAS NOT JUST MAKING A PIECE OF FURNITURE, BUT A PIECE OF FURNITURE THAT WAS A WITNESS. A WITNESS TO AN ENSLAVED FAMILY AND SLAVE FAMILY. HAVING LOVE, PAIN AND JOY. YOU ALSO WANT THE WORLD TO KNOW MUCH MORE ABOUT ENSLAVED PEOPLE THAN JUST THE BRUTAL HISTORY WE HEAR ABOUT. IT’S EASY TO FOCUS ON WHAT ENSLAVERS DID TO US. YOU HAVE THE PAIN AND SUFFERING. BUT THEN YOU HAVE PEOPLE WITH SKILLS AND TALENTS. I CAN, THROUGH FURNITURE, SHOW THESE PEOPLE AS BEING HUMAN BEINGS. THIS IS A WHOLE WORK OUT. WHITNEY MILLER IS A JOURNALISTS WORKING IN NEW ORLEANS WHO LOVES CRAFTING. A FEW YEARS AGO, SHE ADDED WOODWORKING TO HER SKILL SET. I TOOK A CLASS TO MAKE A TOOL CHEST AND I FELL IN LOVE WITH IT. IT WAS FUN. IT WAS DURING THIS CLASS THAT MILLER LEARNED THE STORY OF HENRY BOYD, WHO LIKE THOMAS DAY, ALSO INVENTED A BED. BUT THE BOYD BED BECAME LEGENDARY. THE OWNER OF THE WORKSHOP ALSO OWNED THE PUBLISHING COMPANY, AND THEY PUBLISH NICHE BOOKS ABOUT WOODWORKING. HE ASKED MILLER TO WRITE ABOUT BOYD. IT WAS A DEWEY’S SPRING MORNING ON A FARM IN CARLISLE, KENTUCKY, WHEN HENRY BOYD WAS BORN, AND HER ILLUSTRATED CHILDREN’S BOOK, HENRY BOYD’S FREEDOM BED. MILLER TELLS BOYD STORY FROM SLAVERY TO HIS MOVE TO CINCINNATI, WHERE HE CREATED A BED FRAME WITH A SPECIAL SCREW FASTENING SYSTEM THAT HE PATENTED IN 1833. DURING THIS TIME, HE ALSO MADE HIS HOUSE A SECRET STOP ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. THERE’S A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT DID A LOT OF GREAT, WONDERFUL, HEROIC THINGS FOR OUR CULTURE THAT WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT. AND I THINK IT’S SO IMPORTANT FOR CHILDREN TO KNOW ABOUT THESE HEROES. HELLO, SKYLER JONES. HOW HOW BIG YOU’RE KNOWN AS THE DOG TEACHER. OF COURSE. EVAN JARRETT TEACHES AT PHILADEL SOFIA’S MAYFAIR MIDDLE SCHOOL. HIS PASSION IS INTRODUCING CHILDREN TO THE BUILDING TRADES. AND THIS IS THE ONLY SHOP CLASS IN THE CITY OFFERED TO MIDDLE SCHOOLERS. WHY DO YOU THINK IT’S SO IMPORTANT TO TEACH SUCH YOUNG KIDS THESE TYPE OF TRADES? I WANT TO TRY TO REMOVE THE STIGMA THAT’S BEEN PUT ON THE TRADES. SO THERE’S THIS HISTORY OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN THE TRADES. A LOT OF STUDENTS DON’T KNOW ABOUT THEIR HISTORY, AND THEY DON’T SEE THAT REPRESENTATION. I’M TRYING TO CHANGE THE NARRATIVE, AND I THINK BY BEING A BLACK INSTRUCTOR AND JUST THE KIDS CAN ACTUALLY SEE ME IN A LEAD ROLE AND HERE THE LESSON JUST OPENS UP MANY DOORS. I’M JUST TRYING TO OPEN UP DOORS FOR STUDENTS. MY ENSLAVED ANCESTORS WOULD HAVE BEEN WOULD HAVE MADE THIS FOR JEROME BIAS. REPRESENTATION IS KEY TO OPENING THOSE DOORS. WHEN I WENT TO MUSEUM ARMS, I NEVER SAW THIS. SO IT’S IMPORTANT FOR ME TO BE SEEN AND TO DO THIS IN A PUBLIC WAY. SO I CAN SPUR OTHER FOLKS TO COME JOIN US, SEE THE RICHNESS OF OUR ANCESTORS, THE RICHNESS FROM WHICH WE COME FRO