RISHM’s 2025 “Newport Black History Walking Tours: Lost Stories of Resistance and Freedom” season took place from late May through late October 2025. These guided tours met near the Pilot House on Bowen’s Wharf every Saturday and Sunday morning (and a few holiday Mondays and custom tours) each week during the peak season. Guests were led on a 75-minute tour through Historic Hill to visit numerous interactive granite and bronze medallion sites and followed in the footsteps – and learned the real-life stories – of enslaved and free colonial Black Americans.
The 2026 Newport Black History Walking Tours schedule will be announced on the
www.
“It was a very successful tour season. Again, this year, we time-traveled to
bring our history into the present time, educating our guests on those unsung heroes who are truly a part of our shared American story,” said Tour Coordinator Margaret Baker.
Ms. Baker added, “In addition to our usual weekend schedule, we hosted a business executive team tour, a private tour with U.S. Representatives Gabe Amo and James E. Clyburn, associates from the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, a few tours for Rhode Island slave descendants, and a Rogers High School student tour. “
On the tour, Charles Roberts declared, “I tell the unvarnished truth!” U.S. Congressman from South Carolina James Clyburn replied, “And so do I,” as Rhode Island U.S. Congressman Gabe Amo whole-heartedly agreed.
The RISHM team would like to acknowledge and thank Margaret Baker for her stewardship and leadership of these fascinating tours, all season long!
Thanks to a donation from the Heritage Harbor Foundation and a grant from EJMP Foundation of Newport, New York-based public arts sculptor Vinnie Bagwell is currently completing the maquette (miniature statue) for the first-ever statue of a person of color to be erected in Newport. This monument will pay tribute to entrepreneur and abolitionist George T. Downing. Ms. Bagwell appropriately named her larger-than-life public artwork “Among Giants.”
“We’re planning on unveiling RISHM’s Downing maquette during Black History Month in early 2026. Stay tuned!” said Charles Roberts. “In the meantime, enjoy this 360° revolving image of the full Downing statue”.
On Friday, October 3rd, Charles Roberts was the featured speaker at the Providence Athenaeum Ex Libris Lecture.
L-R: Charles Roberts, center, with Linda A’Vant-Deishinni, Executive Director, St. Martin de Porres Center in Providence (left) and Munir Mohammad, illustrator, RISHM Roots of Freedom Education Program (right).
L-R: Veronica Mays, Stages of Freedom Co-Founders Robb Dimmick and Hon. Ray Rickman, RI Secretary of State Gregg M. Amore, Newport Community Police Officer Merrie Scott, James McGaw, Robert Young, NAACP-Newport President Jimmy Winters, Hon. Newport Councilor-at-Large Stephanie Smyth.
On August 31st, the Newport County NAACP Branch hosted its 58th annual Black Regiment Monument Commemoration Ceremony at Patriots Park in Portsmouth The guest speaker this year was Rev. M. Keith Carter, the Executive Officer of the Chaplains School at the Newport Naval Base. The Master of Ceremonies was Activist, Educator, Artist, and Filmmaker Don Mays.
L-R: Ruth B. Thumbtzen, Orlando Peace, Charles Roberts, Rev. Susan Barnes, and Honor Guard Soldiers Jason Roomes and Lawrence McDonald of the Varnum Continentals Regiment.
A memorial wreath-laying ceremony and spiritual reflections were part of the program.
Mark your calendar for Monday, January 19, 2026 for the Rhode Island Martin Luther King Jr. State Holiday Commission’s annual tribute at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Providence. RISHM Executive Director Charles Roberts will be presenting the “Living the Dream Award” again next year, which honors an individual for outstanding community involvement.
RISHM Celebrates Black History Month – Stay tuned for more information about RISHM events during February 2026.
Summer 2026 – RISHM will honor Rhode Island’s Semi-quincentennial (RI250) as part of Newport’s 2026 Juneteenth Celebration at Fort Adams State Park, highlighted by the presence of the historic flagship schooner, the Amistad. More information about RISHM’s sponsorship of this program will be shared soon.
Let’s Make History Together Annual Campaign
Together, all things are possible! Your gift this Giving Season, in any amount, is urgently needed so we can continue our programming, and help foster greater understanding and bridge cultural divides.
Thank you so much for your tax-deductible contribution. To donate, please click on the button below, visit the DONATE page on our website, www.
We extend our deepest appreciation for your continued support of our work in 2026!
In addition to our private donors and sponsors, we extend our sincere gratitude to these supporters:
RI State Legislators, RI Commerce, Black Philanthropy Bannister Fund, Bank Newport, Prince Charitable Trusts, Gruben Charitable Foundation, Heritage Harbor Foundation, RI Foundation’s Newport County Fund, and Community Gifts from the generous grants and supporters over the years.
Our mission is to tell the forgotten stories of Rhode Island’s free and enslaved African-American and Indigenous peoples. Through our statewide initiative to install interactive markers at historic sites, we engage in research, present public education programs, and build community partnerships to bring awareness to our state’s dominant role in the institution of American slavery and to the effects of that legacy today. www.
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.
