Electronic Press Kit
RISHM’s mission is to highlight the overlooked histories of Rhode Island’s free and enslaved African American and Indigenous communities. Through our statewide installation of interactive bronze medallions, research, public programs, and community partnerships, we raise awareness of Rhode Island’s significant role in American slavery, and its lasting legacy to this day.
RISHM in the Press
This morning on “The Rhode Show” we welcomed Charles Roberts, Founder/Executive Director of Rhode Island Slave History Medallions, as he chatted with Brendan Kirby about the upcoming Fourth Annual Newport…
RISHM’s expanded event on June 20 will feature a keynote from Secretary of State Gregg Amore, a reenactors’ parade, music and performances by Narragansett, Pokanoket and other artists…
Newport resident Charles Roberts spoke earlier this month at the seventieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women….
With every name, event, and era, we highlighted stories of resistance and resilience, ensuring the contributions of our ancestors of color weren’t lost to time….
The “Fragility of Freedom” is something we must never take for granted…
WUN readers’ exclusive peek into Indigenous & African-American History on Historic Hill…
Logo Variations
Logos and Photos are the property of RISHM and may be used with written permission.
Media Gallery
RISHM Quick Facts
70% of all Colonial slave voyages began in Rhode Island. RI merchants with their ships were responsible for transporting more than 100,000 Africans, who were captured, trafficked and enslaved in America.
RI passed an anti-slavery statute in 1652, the very first in the US colonies, then a
Slave Importation Moratorium in 1808. Despite these, laws were largely ignored
until passage of the 13th Amendment in 1865 after the Civil War.
As a child, Executive Director Charles Roberts played in God's Little Acre, an African and African American cemetery located within the Common Burying Ground, unaware of the significance of the space around him. Determined to inform his community about Rhode Island's role in the Atlantic slave trade, Roberts founded RISHM.
In 2020, the RI General Assembly passed HR 2020-7643 sanctioning RISHM’s
educational mission and urging communities to acknowledge their history.
Reach Out
- 98 Kay StreetNewport, RI 02840
- info@rishm.org
