A celebration of song, dance, drumming and history will be presented by the Rhode Island Slave History Medallions project on Friday, Feb. 28 at Newport Craft Brewery. Renowned African djembe drummer Sidy Maiga and his band will give a special performance for Black History Month.
The name “djembe” comes from the African words “Anke djé, Anke bé,” which translates to “everyone gather together in peace” and defines the drum’s purpose. Maiga is one of the world’s most accomplished djembefola, which means “one who plays the djembe.” He is Rhode Island based now but learned drumming techniques as a teen in his native Mali, a country in West Africa.
As part of the program, historian and author, Fred Zillian, along with Charles Roberts, founder of the non- profit R.I. Slave History Medallions will give a brief history, “fireside chat-style,” on the impact of the rum industry on the slave trade and colonial Rhode Island.
They will talk about the Triangle Slave Trade in Rhode Island and how rum was at the center of this economic trade and pirate activity for two centuries.
The medallion project is designed to mark the truth about Rhode Island’s significant role in the slave trade, which created great wealth for merchants in Newport, Bristol, Providence and other port cities. Upon the founding of the slave medallion project in 2019, Roberts said it will, in his words, “right some of these wrongs [of recorded history] or at least make reparations and correct the record for the Ocean State, where my family has lived since 1882.”
RISHM has installed 16 QR-coded markers across Rhode Island. Six of them are in Newport. “It makes for a fascinating history lesson while strolling our streets, whether you are a resident or a tourist,” Roberts has said. RISHM hosts guided Newport Black History Walking Tours seasonally, which gives people a chance to see these markers up close and learn about the lives of the people they represent.
Rhode Island Slave History Medallions invites the community to a special Juneteenth Semiquincentennial Living History Celebration at Fort Adams State Park in Newport.
Held on the parade grounds inside the fort, this family-friendly event will commemorate Juneteenth while also honoring the anniversary of the Revolutionary War and the history of the Battle of Rhode Island.
We invite all visitors to learn more about RISHM’s events and accomplishments in 2025 and support our Annual Campaign, from Giving Tuesday (Dec. 2, 2025) through 401 Gives Day (April 1, 2026).
RISHM relies on the generous support of private donations to continue the underrepresented but important work of marking the landscape of where slave history happened in Rhode Island.
