Rhode Island Slave History Medallions - RISHM

10/31/2026

"Halloween – Africa Connections"...

Happy Halloween! Though Halloween has undergone a kind of Americanization in recent decades, its has a history in Christianity (All Hallow’s Eve before All Hallow’s Day) and a Celtic pagan festival called Samhain. However, similar reverence for the dead and spirits is a theme throughout the wo...

10/29/2026

ICYMI...👣✨Black History Walking Tours✨👣 2026 Season Continues Thru October 31st

🎟Tickets for RISHM’s 2026 Black History Walking Tour Season are available online! The tour starts Saturdays and Sundays 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 bo***ge 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.🫶🏿✨😘

👉🏿Buy 🎟Tickets: https://rishm.org/newport-black-history-walking-tour/

10/28/2026

I love getting a morning 🌞 walk 🚶🏾‍♂️in before more tourists hit the streets, and today in Newport, Rhode Island, was no different. The quiet gives me time to pause, read, and connect with the history around me.

This morning, I came across Second Congregational Church, built in 1735, where Charity ‘Duchess’ Quamino, the formerly enslaved entrepreneur known as the ‘Pastry 🥮Queen of Rhode Island’, was an active member. Her skill as a baker helped sustain her livelihood.

She worshipped under Rev. Ezra Stiles, who invested in a 1756 voyage to Africa through which a child he called Newport was brought into enslavement in his household. These histories share the same space and deserve our attention.

Historic panels are gateways to deeper learning, and Newport has plenty to get you started. Sometimes a morning walk becomes an invitation to look closer.

📍 Second Congregational Church
15 Clarke Street, Newport, RI

Learn more about the Black History of Newport by following ⬇️

👉🏾 Rhode Island Slave History Medallions - RISHM Newport Historical Society

🧭 Discover Newport

10/28/2026

When we discuss the institution of enslavement in America, Northern states rarely come to mind. However, New England, including Rhode Island, has a deeply documented history of enslaved Africans and their descendants whose lives, labor, and contributions were woven into the region’s development.

This week, I’m exploring some of that history, challenging common misconceptions, and sharing stories that deserve to be part of our collective understanding of America’s past.

I look forward to learning more of this history via Rhode Island Slave History Medallions - RISHM, to uncover 🕵🏾‍♂️ and share this history.

There’s much to learn here, and I’m grateful 👏🏾for the opportunity to bring these stories to you through History Before Us.

👉🏾 Discover Newport Newport Historical Society

10/27/2026

ICYMI...✨Why Your Gift Matters:✨

On April 11th, the Newport Art Museum hosted the first public viewing of the George T. Downing statue maquette. This 18-inch bronze study honors a Gilded Age hero of Newport.

On June 20th, we produced our annual Juneteenth celebration at Fort Adams as part of Rhode Island’s Semiquincentennial celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

🫶🏿✨😘Our request: a gift of $50😘✨🫶🏿
Your $50 gift supports educational materials for school groups, helps underwrite a public program and artist communication, and the funding of community outreach and transportation for students.

Funds help research, commissioning, and installation of public works that tell the fuller story of Newport’s past, along with school programs, guided tours, and lectures that reach learners of all ages.

Public art and public programs spark conversations that lead to greater understanding and stronger communities.

Will you please join us in preserving and creating history for future generations?
👉🏿To Donate:

Support inclusive history, donate to the Rhode Island Slave History Medallion Organization today!

10/26/2026

👏🏿✨🫶🏿Be a Partner in Celebration, Education, and Liberation 🫶🏿✨👏🏿

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.

We’re inviting individuals, organizations, and businesses to endorse and actively support RISHM. Your endorsement signals a commitment to honoring Black freedom, amplifying community voices, and building a future rooted in justice and joy.

👉🏿

Support inclusive history and get involved with the Rhode Island Slave History Medallion Organization today!

10/20/2026

ICYMI...👣✨Black History Walking Tours✨👣 2026 Season Continues Thru October 31st

🎟Tickets for RISHM’s 2026 Black History Walking Tour Season are available online! The tour starts Saturdays and Sundays 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 bo***ge 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.🫶🏿✨😘

👉🏿Buy 🎟Tickets: https://rishm.org/newport-black-history-walking-tour/

10/16/2026

"Investigating Newport’s Ties to Slavery"...

BU PhD student MaryKate Smolenski redesigned the tour of Newport’s Hunter House, a historical house museum, and in the process uncovered information about the lives of the enslaved and free people of color who lived there.

10/15/2026

"The hidden history of Indigenous slavery in New England and beyond"...

https://buff.ly/TffBD6q

It's a surprising and overlooked story, a blind spot in the narrative of early America: the hidden history of Indigenous slavery. As colonial powers took over Native land, white settlers were enslaving Native people. Some worked in New England. Others were kidnapped and shipped to an isolated tropic...

10/12/2026

"Why Columbus Day Courts Controversy
Christopher Columbus' arrival in North America in 1492 undoubtedly changed the world and the lives of the Indigenous people he met. But was it for the better?"

When Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas in 1492, he changed the world and the lives of the Indigenous peopl...