Monthly Archives: June 2019

Slave history medallions unveiled at Newport event

RISHM Medallion with QR Code

The Rhode Island Slave History Medallion was displayed at the lecture held by the Newport Historical Society at the Colony House on Wednesday. The first medallion installation is scheduled for August 25 at Patriots Park in Portsmouth. [PETER SILVIA PHOTO]

The Bristol County Fifes and Drums performed in front of the Colony House as part of the Rhode Island Slave History Medallions Project on Wednesday.

Joanne Pope Melish, associate professor of history at the University of Kentucky, presented a lecture at the Colony House on Remembering Slavery as part of the Rhode Island Slave History Medallions Project. [PETER SILVIA PHOTO]

ASSOCIATED PRESS June 2019: Ruth Taylor, executive director of the Newport Historical Society and sponsor for the program’s lecture on June 19th said of RISHM:
“The objective is to identify and mark sites throughout the state that have a historical  connection to the enslavement of Native Americans and Africans, either by their involvement in the slave trade and the economy of slavery, or by their association with the lives and labor of enslaved people themselves.

Remembering Slavery: June 19, 2019

JUNETEENTH 2019, The Newport Historical Society in collaboration with the Rhode Island Slave History Medallions Project  will present an evening of activities June 19, 2019 beginning at 5 pm at The Colony House, Washington Square, Newport, R.I. free event.

  • 5 pm – Fifes and Drums
  • 5:30 pm – Joanne Pope Melish on Remembering Slavery with R.I.S.H.M
  • Charles Roberts – Pompe Stevens Medallion

The Bristol County Fifes and Drums will perform at 5:00 pm, in front of the Colony House as part of the “International Day of Drumming and Healing” organized by the “400 Years of African American History Commission“ established by Congress in recognition of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Africans in the British colonies.