'Slavery in Boston' exhibit opens

[Judi Lynn]

Reverend Mariama White-Hammond, Mayor Michelle Wu, former state Rep. Byron Rushing, and Kyera Singleton celebrate the opening of the city’s new “Slavery in Boston” exhibit with a ribbon cutting. (Libby O’Neill/Boston Herald)

By BOSTON HERALD STAFF |
PUBLISHED: June 16, 2023 at 7:55 p.m. | UPDATED: June 16, 2023 at 7:56 p.m.

A new exhibit, “Slavery in Boston,” digs deep into the city’s role in slavery — and has renewed the debate about Faneuil Hall.

Protesters with the New Democracy Coalition protested the event to rename the tourist attraction named after Peter Faneuil, a wealthy 18th-century slave owner.

The two-story exhibit chronicles enslaved African and Native American people.

“This exhibit lays a crucial foundation for Boston to address our legacy of enslavement and support the healing process for our descendant communities,” said Mayor Michelle Wu, in prepared remarks.

“As we continue our work to combat racial and economic inequity, it is essential to address our past in ways that create space to process grief, uplift resilience, and repair the harm,” added Reverend Mariama White-Hammond, Chief of Environment, Energy and Open Space.

More:
https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/06/16/slavery-in-boston-exhibit-opens/

[malaise]

1. You post some amazing stuff

Thank you

[Judi Lynn]

3. It's overwhelming, often, seeing them for the first time. They just keep coming!

Thank you, malaise.

[wnylib]

2. When we think about America's history of slavery,

we usually think of the South. But Boston was a major slave trading port in colonial times. So was New London, CT.

Something that I discovered during genealogy research is that colonists in New England captured Native Americans in wars with them over territory and shipped them to the Caribbean sugar plantations to trade them for "seasoned" enslaved Africans. Some colonists wrote in their journals that they longed for another skirmish with Indians in order to import more enslaved Africans to New England. Connecticut was a center for that type of slave trade.

The Boston slave trade was based on newly captured Africans shipped into the Boston port where they were auctioned off. Nearly every New England village, no matter how small, had enslaved people. Clergy and magistrates had them in their households. Prosperous farmers had enslaved people to do field work.

Initially they tried enslaving Native people, but they knew the land and could escape, or had relatives nearby to free them, so the colonists in New England switched to importing Africans who did not have a nearby African village, nation or culture to help them escape.

[Judi Lynn]

4. Horrendous information! I never heard it until reading your post. It certainly was kept quiet.

Shocking.

I'm so glad you took the time to share it with DU'ers.

I can't believe it has not been commonly known earlier, and still isn't commonly known now. It's easy to imagine it's every bit as shameful as a lot of Southern history.

It takes some time to grasp. It's cold, and diabolical. Wow.

Thank you, wnylib. Anyone who reads it will remember it.

[wnylib]

5. I found it pretty gruesome when I read

about it in my research.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_slavery_in_Connecticut#:~:text=Connecticut%20blocked%20the%20importation%20of,Abolition%20Act%22%20of%20that%20year.

https://www.npr.org/2016/06/21/482874478/forgotten-history-how-the-new-england-colonists-embraced-the-slave-trade