To the editor:

I must thank my friend, Manny Manezes, for clearly identifying several sites where monuments now exist here as memorials to those who fought during the Civil War. There were African men and native Americans who joined in this conflict to emancipate enslaved peoples and save the Union. Mr. Maneze also made mention of two Slavery medallions in town, one posted at Linden Place, the other at the former DeWolf Warehouse, today the great restaurant-DeWolf Tavern. These important medallions are specific to those sites and address respective activities at those sites.

Our committee of volunteers, the Middle Passage Port Marker’s Group, has a different, though related mission. We wish to install a marker as part of the national and international movement, that does acknowledge Bristol’s role in the middle passage slave trade, but more than that, the marker-monument would tell the story of the cultures of African Americans who lived here in Bristol. They established a community referred to as New Goree in the Wood Street area from State street north toward Bayview and beyond. It’s important to erect a monument that pays due respect to the people of African descent, and also due homage to the people of the Pokanoket nation. The Slavery Medallions do not do this.

I would like to clarify some points about the Bristol Middle Passage Port Marker Project. We are a small ad hoc committee of local volunteers and other former Bristol residents. There are no officers or hierarchy among us. I am no leader. Our goal is joining with the national movement that is the Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project. We have the full support of the MPCPMP, with ongoing communication with Ann Cobb and Ann Chinn. They are the leaders of the national group and advise us. All points marked become part of the UNESCO Slave Route, requiring specific language to be inclusive with the installation.

There are literally dozens of documented arrival sites involving the slave trade from coastal Texas up the eastern seaboard to New Hampshire. Bristol is one such site. It is up to the local communities at each point, to organize and pursue the making of a marker. Ceremonies are sometimes involved with the installation of markers, but this has not always occurred. 

When the time comes for us to raise funds in order to commission the artwork, we will be working with the Bristol Historical & Preservation Society, a non-profit group. We will be supported under their umbrella to receive grants and contributions. 

Our committee believes that the Descendant Voices in Action group along with members of the Pokanoket tribe, that their leadership is vital to site selection and they write the language attached to any marker made. It is the birthright of these people and we seek to support them and work with them. It is their story to tell, not the volunteers. An open public meeting date will soon be announced to bring everyone together to share ideas and a mutual goal of establishing a proper memorial.

Stephan Brigidi
93 Highland Rd.