Category Archives: RI Slave History Medallion

RISHM Installation Ceremony at Trinity Church

Trinity Church and Slavery during the Colonial Period

Trinity Church was founded in 1698 as a mission of the Church of England. Early parishioners included slave owners and traffickers, such as George Gibbs II, who is interred in the Trinity Church graveyard.

Cuffe Gibbs, the slave of George Gibbs II, is buried in God’s Little Acre on Farewell Street in Newport. His brother, the enslaved artisan, Pompe Stevens, carved the original ‘Soul Effigy’ angel image, placed at this site location, for the gravestone of his deceased brother Cuffe, in 1768.It was the first signed African American decorative artwork to be made in North America.


Trinity Church, Sunday October 30, 2022, Queen Anne Square, Newport, RI

Barrington and the Early Roots of Slavery

Slavery in Barrington, Rhode Island
In 1653 settler-colonists laid claim to “Sowams,” the ancestral home of the Pokanoket. Though the Pokanoket never relinquished their claim, settler-colonists soon occupied the land, including modern-day Barrington. Among these settler-colonists were the Willet, Myles, and Browne families, who enslaved 14 Africans. By 1774, 57 of the town’s 601 inhabitants were enslaved, including 18 classified as Indigenous.

Rhode Island Slave History Medallion Installation Ceremony
October 2, 2022. Barrington Public Library & Town Hall
281 County Road, Barrington, Rhode Island

Juneteenth, Linden Place, Bristol, Saturday June 19, 2021

THE NEW NATIONAL HOLIDAY, JUNETEENTH, A SHARED HISTORICAL COMMEMORATION.

At Linden Place, We Acknowledging the Land of the Enslavers George and James DeWolf, Blessed by the Algonquin, Pokanoket Wampanoag tribes with historic documentation from Roger Williams University. As Senator Sheldon Whitehouse said, “This may be Bristol County but it’s Wampanoag Country”. Truly a A Spiritual Healing took place along our new Nationally Designated Historic Scenic Byway in Bristol.

Juneteenth Weekend, DeWolf Tavern, Bristol, Monday June 21, 2021

THE NEW NATIONAL HOLIDAY, JUNETEENTH, A TIME OF RACIAL HEALING

On June 21, at the DeWolf Tavern, DeWolf family descendants, Dain and Constance Perry screened the documentary “Traces of Trade, a film tracing their journey back to African with nine of the DeWolf family members willing to tell the story of their forefathers, the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. The Perry’s led an audience on a soul searching journey to discover that moment within themselves that strives to find our common humanity. That moment is the Path to Racial Healing.

Installation Ceremony at Smith’s Castle, North Kingstown, RI


Saturday, October 10, 2020 – 10am to 11am
55 Richard Smith Drive, North Kingstown, RI

This dedication featured remarks by RISHM director Charles Roberts, Smith’s Castle Vice-president and Education Committee chairperson Robert A. Geake and members of their education committee. A blessing of the land in the original Narragansett language was given by Loren Spears of the Tomaquag Museum. The Mixed Magic Exult Gospel Choir will perform spiritual tributes. Members of the Rhode Island First Black Regiment will honor the enslaved Patriots with a musket salute. This program was made possible by the Rhode Island Slave History Medallions organization and the Friends of Smith’s Castle and Preserve RI. For more information: Smith’s Castle, North Kingstown