To the editor:

The Bristol Middle Passage Port Marker group met recently with our Town Council. Our original plan had been to place a memorial marker near to our waterfront in following the practice of the national movement. The purpose of a marker is to acknowledge Bristol’s role in the slave trade, but most importantly it is to mark the presence and contributions of the enslaved and their descendants. This includes people of African descent and Indigenous people. This is the story of a place and its people.


The choice location for our group was first thought to be at the State Street Dock area, however it became clear to us several days prior to the meeting that the area we had surveyed in November had been significantly altered by the construction of a large, concrete gas tank. This tank occupied exactly where we had hoped the marker would go. In light of this substantial change, it was understandable that our request would be read as an intrusion on the adjacent memorial to Michael Andrade, a fallen veteran from the Iraq war and a member of our volunteer fire department.

Learning this, we decided to withdraw from this location and told some members of the Council prior to the meeting. Not everyone received this notice, unfortunately. I spoke with just four Council members about this withdrawal.
At the meeting, we again withdrew our request for this location and expressed our deepest apologies to the Andrade family and the Veteran brothers of Michael.

We deeply regret any pain we may inadvertently have caused; never was it our intention to impose on the sacred area reserved for Michael’s memory. The placement of that concrete gas tank is extremely unfortunate, especially given its proximity to several culturally sensitive sites, including the Andrade Memorial.


After some discussion and listening to members of our community express their concerns and ideas, the Council expressed informal and unanimous support for our project, filed our motion, and told us to return at a future date with more developed plans. We will follow up when we have a designated site and fuller plan. We are actively seeking the input and leadership of the descendant community of Bristol's enslaved population and with members of the Pokanoket tribe.
Our committee will soon be calling for a public meeting to invite all interested members and the Town Council of our Bristol community.

Everyone in Bristol will have an opportunity to address the marker-sculpture-memorial, which has yet to be designed and developed. We look forward to an open discussion, where anyone may contribute toward the planning, the site, and ultimately the installation of a marker for Bristol.

A meeting date will soon be announced and we will welcome all Bristol citizens and interested parties.



Stephan Brigidi 

93 Highland Rd.