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. Guests will experience a full day of living history, music, cultural performances, storytelling, food, and activities for all ages.
The celebration will feature American reenactors, colonial reenacting camp followers, militia members, Indigenous dancers, African drummers, storytellers, vendors, children’s events, food trucks, and a gospel concert.
Join us for an engaging and meaningful afternoon of remembrance, education, and celebration at one of Rhode Island’s most historic sites.
Tickets for RISHM’s 2026 Black History Walking Tour Season are now available!  The third season of RISHM’s Newport Black History Walking Tours will begin on Memorial Day weekend on Saturday May 23, starting at 10:00am, leaving from 13 Bowen’s Wharf, the corner of Market Street and America’s Cup Avenue, near the ticket office, the Pilot House.
We will travel up to Trinity Church and into the heart of African American activity in the colony of Newport, the Historic District. We honor those who lived in bondage and resisted until they had their freedom. The tour season ends on Saturday, October 31st.
Take a walk with us across Historic Hill to learn about – and honor – Newport’s Colonial Black American History. Please join us to hear their stories of black excellence.
Thanks to everyone who attended the recent George T. Downing’s Maquette Oyster Fest Reception at the Newport Art Museum. The maquette will be on display at the museum through the end of June.
Want to contribute? Use our Fund-a-need donation form and select the Downing Commemorative Public Art Project.
This program is part of our $250K campaign to raise the funds needed to pay the artist, to fabricate and install the first statue to a person of color in Newport. Be a part of history by contributing today!
Charles L. Roberts, Executive Director of RISHM, delivers a powerful two-minute address on March 18, 2026 at the United Nations on the urgent need to confront gender inequality as a barrier to Africa’s progress and sustainable development. In this speech, he argues that meaningful change requires more than laws alone — it demands economic empowerment, grassroots gender awareness, and genuine political will.
Let’s Make History Together
Annual Campaign
Thank you one and all for your generous gifts during our recent 401Gives 2026 campaign. Â
Together, all things are possible! Your gift, 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.Â
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.
