A crowd of nearly 200 people gathered at Linden Place on Saturday, June 19 — Juneteenth — for a multi-faceted event that brought historians, Indigenous people, the African-American community, Roger Williams University, and members of the DeWolf family together for an inspirational and informative day of recognition and reconciliation. The centerpiece of the day was the unveiling of a slave history medallion that will be installed prominently on Linden Place property.

Linden Place Executive Director Susan Battle welcomed the audience and set the intention for the day. “We at Linden Place are delighted to be part of this tapestry of history that the Rhode Island Slave History Medallions project is weaving,” she said. “This tapestry will give us all a new way to see the history that is all around us, and to experience a story that is richer, fuller, deeper, and more inclusive.”

She introduced Charles Roberts, executive director of the The Rhode Island Slave History Medallion project, a place-based educational program that uses QR code technology to provide onsite information about the role various locations played in the business of slavery.

“We are here celebrating an act of remembrance, and the essence of the reality of coming together,” said Mr. Roberts. “This is a healing ceremony.”

The event drew local and state legislators, the governor, and both of Rhode Island’s U.S. senators.

“We are all here for a moment of reckoning, and recognition, and of redemption,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse. “And we are reminded also, that policy matters. We have turned a corner. The quest for racial and economic and environmental justice is alive in a way I have never seen before.”

“The spirit of Linden Place is incredible,” said Sen. Jack Reed. “We are marking the struggle for freedom three ways: the installation of the slave medallion, Juneteenth as a national holiday, and the scenic byway designation, the Revolutionary Highway, in Bristol.”

Gov.Dan McKee said, “I am honored to be participating, and to be providing whatever leadership we can from our Statehouse around the issues of equity and opportunity … When we changed the name of the state, that was a moment. This is a moment. Now we need to do something with it.”

Tracey Brown, Dancing Star, Sachem of the Pokanoket, welcomed the audience to the ancestral homeland of the Pokanoket Tribe. “We thank our ancestors who protected our land,” she said. “Today, the Pokanoket are working to restore balance to our lands here.”

Dr. William “Winds of Thunder” Guy, Sagamore of the Pokanoket Nation, gave thanks and blessings. He was recently given an honorary doctorate by Roger Williams University. “In my 79th year on this earth, it is hard to believe I received an honorary doctorate,” he said. “I am still humbled by that. I am the ninth-generation, great-grandson of King Philip. And Simeon Simons, another ancestor, was the hand-picked body guard of General George Washington and received a pension as a Continental soldier.”

“There are people from many ethnic backgrounds here today, but there is only one human race. We need to live in peace, harmony and balance with each other. I guess another word for that would be love.”

Song, dance, and poetry

The arts brought context to the event, with Harry “Hawk” Edmonds reciting a poem in his native language, and in English, and offered the traditional tobacco blessing on the earth, the moon, the sun, the four directions, all the living nations on this earth, and all the clans. Kera Washington African Dancers and Drummers of Mali, West Africa, performed, as well as the Eastern Medicine Singers, an Algonquin drum group; Indigenous singers sang ceremonial songs and dancers performed a healing dance on the grounds; and the 1st Rhode Island Regiment re-enactors offered a musket salute.

A history lesson

Charlotte Carrington Farmer and her university students presented a historical overview of slavery in Rhode Island and in Bristol. “Estimating the numbers of enslaved people in Bristol, and those trafficked by Bristolians, is difficult, and the numbers are always in flux,” she said. “However, we can estimate that on the eve of the American Revolution, Bristol was home to at least 132 enslaved peoples, which represented 11 percent of the town’s population.”

She went on to share the stories of Scipio Burt and Cato Howland and Bristol Finney (Phinney). She and her students outlined the participation of the entire town in the business of slavery, including tradesmen, merchants, farmers, and families.

“The whole of Bristol turned on the trade,” she said. “The DeWolfs did not act alone. We can say that 3,452 enslaved people were transported by other families as well, on ships with 63 captains.”

In addition, descendants of the DeWolf family were on hand, along with other local historians, to answer questions.

The focus of the event was the unveiling of the Slave History Medallion by Charles Roberts, who has been installing medallions at sites around the state that are connected to the Transatlantic slave trade. The project raises public awareness about Rhode Island’s involvement in the business of slavery and acknowledges the enslaved Africans who contributed to America’s cultural and economic development.

“We want to mark these sites so people can know our true history, one that has been hidden from the public for too long,” Mr. Roberts said. Slave History Medallions have been previously installed at Smith’s Castle in North Kingstown, Bowen’s Wharf in Newport, and Patriot’s Park in Portsmouth. Another was installed Monday at the DeWolf Tavern.

Mr. Roberts concluded the historic event, saying, “This is the conclusion of our story of living history, of bearing witness, an act of, and the art of, remembrance.”