Education
BY DIEGO COLLAZO
A group of Fort Bend ISD students is building a 3D virtual exhibit to preserve the history of the Sugar Land 95, African American laborers who died in Sugar Land under Texas’ convict leasing system. The remains of these 95 men and women were discovered in 2018 during construction at FBISD’s James Reese Career and Technical Center, Commu- nity Impact previously reported. The background In 2023, a group of four then-sophomores and now rising seniors who specialize in project direc- tion, 3D modeling and programming saw FBISD’s initiative to memorialize the history of the Sugar Land 95 and wanted to get involved after learning Students’ exhibit to preserve Sugar Land 95 history
From left: Kaiser Lee, Aaditya Puttagunta, Rayyan Siddiqui and Ahnaf Yasin stand next to the Texas Historical Marker placed near the burial site of the Sugar Land 95.
DIEGO COLLAZO COMMUNITY IMPACT
about the individuals during a Texas history class, said Ahnaf Yasin, the project’s 3D director. “We spent just one day learning about the convict leasing system, and some of us were just wondering why we didn’t spend more time on it,” Yasin said. The details The students approached FBISD with the idea of creating a virtual exhibit to document the informa- tion in an accessible and interactive way, project director and lead programmer Aaditya Puttagunta
said. With the backing of FBISD and countless hours of research and dedication, the team has put together a website and 3D exhibit. While not completed, the 3D exhibit currently consists of two scenes: a re-creation of the career and technical center, and a re-creation of Sugar Land in the late 1800s, 3D modeler Rayyan Siddiqui said. Users will be able to walk through the virtual reconstructions from the comfort of their home. See the team’s work at www.sl95.org with more scenes set to come in the future.
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