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Rhode Island
Personal narratives of the enslaved people who built Newport have been largely unknown, until now – The Boston Globe
Rhode Island Slave History Medallions’ tour walks through the history of the enslaved people who lived and worked in homes and businesses here. Nearby, the Newport Historical Society’s latest exhibit, “A Name, A Voice, A Life: The Black Newporters of the 17th-19th Centuries,” brings more evidence to these narratives.
“This is another type of historical recognition for Newport. It’s not just a wedding facility, or an entertainment venue. We have a history that began here, first with the enslavement of Africans and Indigenous people, who were here first before colonists or slaves,” says Charles Roberts, executive director and founder of the nonprofit Rhode Island Slave History Medallions. “We’re trying to make the public aware of this history and the contributions of enslaved people.”
The walking tour begins at Bowen’s Wharf, where the enslaved people who survived the brutal voyage from Africa first disembarked. The tour ambles up to Trinity Church courtyard, where historians in Colonial attire discuss stonecutters Pompe Stevens and Cuffe Gibbs. The brothers are buried in God’s Little Acre burying ground, at the northern tip of the city.
The tour continues into the densely developed Historic Hill neighborhood, where the voices of previous generations seem to whisper from the cobbled roads and 17th- to 19th-century buildings. Visitors stop at the Rev. Dr. Samuel Hopkins House (ca. 1710) on Division Street, named for the first pastor to denounce slavery from the pulpit. Across the street at Peter Bours House, Newport Gardner was one of merchant Caleb Gardner’s slaves, according to tour guide Norman Desmarais. Gardner, originally named Occramar Marycoo, was arrived in Newport and was forced into slavery at age 14. He became a leader and activist in the Black community here, and opened his own music school. He bought freedom for himself, his wife and their children, and helped launch the city’s first Black church. With his friend Pompe Stevens, he helped form the country’s first Free African Union Society, a mutual aid organization for African Americans.
Cato Vernon lived in what is now the William Vernon House (ca. 1708) on Clarke Street, owned by the Newport Restoration Foundation and a stop on the tour. He fought as a soldier in the 1st Rhode Island Regiment during the Revolutionary War. But he didn’t receive his military pension, according to tour guide Maria Hunter, and was imprisoned for failing to pay his debts after his enslaver, William Vernon, the famed slave merchant and president of the Eastern Navy Board, refused to help.
At each location on the tour, a bronze medallion with the figure of an angel memorializes the enslaved people who lived and worked there, and honors their legacies, while offering an education into a prominent piece of Newport’s cruel past. Roberts and Rhode Island Slave History Medallions have placed six medallions in Newport and 14 statewide so far, including in Bristol, North Kingstown, and East Greenwich. Seven more are under contract, with more than 35 slated for installation, he said.
“The angel image is significant to Newport history, to have souls carried to heaven on the wings of angels,” Roberts said. “The medallions have a QR code, and you walk up to it and stand in the location where history was made, and you can see the stories right there on your phone.”
In the Newport Historical Society’s headquarters nearby at the Seventh Day Baptist Meeting House (ca. 1730), a new exhibit showcases a strong Black community from the city’s founding in 1639 to the abolition of slavery in Rhode Island’s Constitution in 1842. Illustrating years of research conducted for the historical society’s extensive “Voices from the NHS Archives” database, the exhibit showcases historic documents, artifacts, and artwork to bring enslaved peoples’ stories to life.
Kaela Bleho, collections and digital access manager and exhibit co-curator, says she and research assistant and exhibit co-curator Zoe Hume originally went looking for names of Black and Indigenous individuals. But they discovered so much personal information in ship logs, personal letters, and religious and medical records during their research that an exhibit was only natural.
“We started to find people showing up in multiple places in the historic record, and through quite a lot of digging, we were able to develop more of an understanding of their life stories and experiences,” Bleho says. “When this database launched in February of this year, we were so excited to share these stories that we thought, “Of course, this should be an exhibit as well.’ This is another way to help people connect with this history.”
They bring together many of these documents with original paintings commissioned by local Black artists and pieces of material culture on loan from other historic organizations to curate the life experience of five Black Newporters. A pair of leather boots represents soldier Hannibal Collins, who served with Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry during the War of 1812; a wooden laying top used in ropemaking represents ropemaker Arthur Tikey; and a mortar and pestle alongside a portrait by Rhode Island artist Eric Telfort represent Trinity Church congregant and healer Mereah Brenton.
Bleho says that through selecting these objects and documents, they hope contemporary visitors will connect with these five stories on an individual level, and try to get to know a person who lived 200 years ago.
“It’s really hard to sum up someone’s life story in one object … so you’re trying to think of something that will give someone here and now a window into the past without reducing someone to the sum of objects they might have owned then,” explains Hume. “It’s kind of like leaving your smartphone on display. You could learn a lot from it, but not everything. So, you’ll see that everyone (in the exhibit) does have something that speaks to some element of their experience, or as much as we know about it.”
In the midst of these visual narratives, the names of 1700 Newporters of African descent written on white notecards hang from wire. They are among thousands of Black and Indigenous people identified by the Newport Historical Society during research, says executive director Rebecca Bertrand. Dozens of people across the city, from Rogers High School students to other nonprofit leaders and city councilors, hand-wrote these names for display, in a community-wide effort.
“One of the things I think is really interesting about this show is that it speaks so much to identity, and there’s a great focus on a person’s name. … In the process, we talked to people about identity and what their name means, where it came from, whether their name resonates with them, and if they like their name. It was an interesting process to talk to adults and children about that,” Bertrand says. “It’s a really powerful show for a lot of different reasons, but because of that connection to identity.”
If You Go
Newport Black History Walking Tours
Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays at 10 a.m., June 22 through Nov. 30. 75 minutes. $10-$20.
Departs from the Pilot House at 13 Bowen’s Wharf, Newport.
newportblackhistorywalkingtours.com
“A Name, A Voice, A Life: The Black Newporters of the 17th-19th Centuries” exhibit
Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free, open to the public.
At the Newport Historical Society’s Richard I. Burnham Resource Center, 82 Touro St., Newport, 401-846-0813.
newporthistory.org
As if the aftermath of her explosion at the Studio 54 party wasn’t enough to deal with, Liz also now has to figure out what to do with the six bunches of bananas that Gary accidentally ordered when he meant to order six individual bananas. But until they’re ripe enough to make banana bread, she’ll focus on the other issue. “I came across as a bitter, drunken, witch,” she tells Dolores — three words that I have to imagine also appear on the show’s casting notice.
Meanwhile, Ashley takes some of the other women to her favorite beach, and Alicia, who is used to her country club, is terrified. “This is not my vibe, I’m freaking out,” she whispers as she’s forced to carry her chair, bag, and snacks. The snacks in question are something called “pizza chips,” which appears to just be bread with sauce on it? Alicia, being the brain behind Pizza Mamma, tries to break down the science to us, saying that cheese can’t sit out in the sun, but she need not explain. She had me at pizza chips.
She also had me when she revealed that Rulla apparently met Brian while he was married to Alicia’s high school Spanish teacher. “I don’t know if this is true, Brian cheated on his first wife, my Spanish teacher,” she says with her hands over her heart, “with Rulla. I hope that’s not true because I really did like my Spanish teacher.” Yet again, I’m obsessed with how deep the ties between these women go. A game of six degrees of separation hates to see them coming. I also love Alicia starting a declarative sentence with, “I don’t know if this is true,” but she should say it in Spanish next time.
And speaking of those deep ties, we already know that there was some connection between Jo-Ellen’s sister and Jo-Ellen’s husband while they were in high school, before Jo-Ellen swooped in. But now we’re finally getting to meet Jen, who is basically subbing for Jo-Ellen at the house while she’s on a work trip. “She perpetuates this fun little game of flirting with my husband,” Jo-Ellen explains, but assures us that nothing is going on. That being said, Jen does joke that they’re like an old married couple and Jo-Ellen tells us that Jen wants his sperm to have a baby…but apart from that I guess everything is totally normal! I’m putting together a list of side characters who should be in the running to hold clams in future seasons, and so far Jen and Alicia’s Spanish teacher are leading the pack.
But when it comes to side characters, the real stars are of course Alicia’s aunts, who are thankfully back on our screens for a backyard barbecue with some of the ladies. And what better group to speak frankly to Rulla about her situation with Brian? The second Rulla alludes to bumps in the road, this beautiful coven of scorned divorcées pounce, encouraging Rulla to leave him. “Do you want to spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder?” one of them asks her, and later in her confessional Rulla even admits that those words stayed with her. I feel like we’re seeing something real with Rulla and she’s finally letting the glossy veneer slip. But the best commentary comes from Alicia’s mother, who says, “I just hope and pray that you somehow hurt him…I’m gonna pray you get him back.” Forget the usual Bravo aftershows, I want a show that’s just all of Alicia’s aunts watching and commentating on each week’s episode. The ratings will be higher than the MASH finale.
As for Liz and Kelsey’s simmering conflict, the pair finally meet up to clear the air by the water where Liz’s boat is docked. I’ve seen similar meetings play out just like this on The Sopranos, so I had to keep reminding myself that Kelsey was safe because surely Bravo would never broadcast a woman being murdered. Then again, this would be the show to break that glass ceiling. As it turns out, I had no reason to fear because the sit-down goes incredibly smoothly. Liz explains that it felt like Kelsey was co-signing the rumors by bringing them up, and Kelsey says her instinct for Liz to keep her distance from Dino actually had more to do with her own history. She explains that ten years ago she and Dino hooked up but it didn’t go well, and now his presence is a reminder of a time in her life that she’s trying to forget. She even says she has PTSD over it and now avoids him like the plague, but respects that Liz has a meaningful friendship with him. I still have a lot of questions about this, but ultimately Liz and Kelsey clear the air and reconcile.
And thank god, because then they’re able to go rail biking in peace. All of the women split up into groups to cycle their way three miles down an old railroad track, with drinks in hand of course. “Rullala, how you doing back there?” Alicia asks as they ride, which made me scream out in delight upon once again getting to hear my new favorite word: “Rullala.” It’s my mantra. I say it no fewer than 50 times a day. It’s a greeting, it’s a prayer, it’s a way of life. Better yet, when the camera cuts to Rulla, she finally wins me over. Mid-cycle she’s shaking a cocktail shaker and pouring her tequila into a wine glass. Leave Brian and his bullshit at home, this is the woman that I want to see on my screen.
I’m even more enamored with her once they get to their location and she’s horrified to discover Alicia’s financial situation. She’s telling the ladies about not feeling valued given that her husband won’t put her name on the house or business, and Rulla, being a financial planner, springs into action. Seeing this smart, powerful side of her, especially as she’s trying to empower Alicia, is a great look and is far more compelling than watching her meekly defend her cheating husband. It gives a glimpse at what an independent Rulla might look like on this show in a couple of seasons.
But she’s not the only one supporting Alicia — Kelsey steps up to play Billy in a role-play so Alicia can practice airing her grievances. Sidebar: everyone talks about these women looking alike, but the real problem is that all of their partners have such similar names. Alicia’s is Billy, Kelsey’s boyfriend’s is Bill, Rulla’s is Brian, Jo-Ellen’s is Gary, Liz’s is Gerry, Ashley’s is Jared, and thankfully Rosie’s is just Rich. But oh my god, how am I supposed to keep that all straight? Anyway, the little role-play Alicia does ends up being heartbreaking, as she gets emotional saying that he makes her feel worthless in their relationship. But the fact that we’re talking about this so much feels promising, and I hope we get to see Alicia ultimately bring all of these feelings to Billy. And if he doesn’t listen, I hope her aunts attack him.
The conversation then turns to how Liz has been gelling with newbie Ashley, and they joke about how Ashley is a little scared of her. When the Studio 54 party comes up, Liz says that that wasn’t her finest moment and wasn’t a good representation of what she’s really like. “Alicia, you said she’s always like that,” Rosie says, throwing Alicia right under the bus. “Don’t flip that shit, don’t do that to me, don’t put shit in my mouth,” Alicia fires back, as Dolores looks on like a proud mother. “She twisted my words, you’re a fucking troll,” Alicia yells, saying that Rosie fucked her. It’s a line-o-rama of iconic outbursts, one after another: “Welcome to Rhode Island, bitch, this is how we roll,” then, “Fucking thirsty bitch, so thirsty its scary,” and finally, “I need to get out of here cause I’m gonna end up killing her.” Our first death threat!
But the craziest part of this comes when Alicia and Rosie step away from the group for a moment. It’s allegedly to sidebar, but I was convinced it was so Alicia could murder her with fewer witnesses. Alicia tells her that if she apologizes everything will be good, Rosie apologies, and then things are good. “Did she just hug her?” someone asks from the circle, shocked. The series has had a lot of incredible moments thus far, but this one is what is most promising about its longevity as a Housewives show. The secret sauce of these shows is resilience — the ability to be as angry at someone as humanly possible, and move on like nothing happened so they can do it all over again. Long, drawn-out grudges make for bad television (as RHOBH proves), so this cast’s ability to reconcile and move on will be the thing that makes it great.
New East Bay Bike Path bridges are open and ready for bikes
What’s it like to ride over the new East Bay Bike Path bridges? We sent a reporter to try them out.
I’ve long thought bike paths are among Rhode Island’s premier attractions, up there with the beaches, the mansions and the bay.
We like to knock government, but credit where it’s due, the state has done an amazing job building out an incredible pedaling network.
It’s clearly a priority.
At least I thought it was.
But they’ve just dropped the ball on what should have been a beautiful new stretch.
The plan was to finish a mile-long connector from the East Providence end of the Henderson Bridge all the way to the East Bay Bike Path.
There was even $25 million set aside to get it done.
Except WPRI recently reported that it’s now been canceled.
The main fault lies with the Trump administration, which is no friend of bike paths, and moved to kill that $25 million.
But it gets complicated, as government funding always does.
To try to rescue that money, the state DOT reportedly worked with the administration to refunnel it into a road project. Specifically, the $25 million will now be spent helping upgrade the mile-long highway between the Henderson Bridge and North Broadway in East Providence, turning it into a more pleasant boulevard.
That totally sounds worthy.
But it’s insane to throw away the bike path plan.
Especially for a particular reason in this case.
They’d already put a ton of money into starting it.
When state planners designed the new Henderson Bridge between the East Side and East Providence, they included a bike path.
It’s a beauty – well protected from traffic by a barrier, a great asset for safely riding over the Seekonk River.
The plan was to continue it another mile or so along East Providence’s Waterfront Drive, ultimately connecting with the East Bay Bike Path, which runs all the way to Bristol. Which, by the way, is one of the nicest bike paths you’ll find anywhere.
But alas, that connector plan has been canceled.
So the expensive stretch over the Henderson Bridge to East Providence is now a bike path to nowhere. Once the bridge ends, the path on it continues a few hundred yards or so and then, just … ends.
Too bad.
We were so close.
Most of the stories on the issue have been about the complex negotiation to rescue the $25 million by rerouting it to that nearby highway-to-boulevard project. But I don’t want to get lost in the weeds of that bureaucratic process here because it loses sight of the heart of this story.
Which is that an amazing new addition to one of the nation’s best state bike path systems has just been scrapped.
You can knock the Rhode Island government for blowing a lot of things.
The PawSox.
The Washington Bridge.
But they’ve done great with bike paths.
And especially, linking many of them together.
Example: not too many years ago, Providence bikers had to risk dicey traffic on the East Side to get to the more pleasant paths in India Point Park and on the 195 bridge to the East Bay Path.
But the state fixed that by adding an amazing connector that starts behind the Salvation Army building and beautifully winds along the water of the Seekonk River for a mile or so.
That makes a huge difference – and no doubt has avoided some bike-car accidents.
We were close to a comparable stretch on the other side of the river – that’s what the $25 million would have done.
But it’s now apparently dead.
Online commenters aren’t happy about it.
On a Reddit string, “Toadscoper” accused the state of being “complicit” with the feds in rerouting the money from bikes to cars.
And there was this fascinating post from FineLobster 5322, who apparently is a disappointed planner who worked on the project: “Mind you money has already been spent on phase one so rejecting it at this point is wasting money and also against the public interest … but what do I know? I only worked on the project as an engineer … I didn’t get into this to build more highways. I do it … to give back to communities and give them more access to their environment.”
Wow. One can imagine the state planning team is devastated. That’s not a small consideration. Good people go into government to make life better in Rhode Island, and it’s a bad play to take the spirit out of the job by first assigning a great human-scale project and then, after a ton of work, trashing it.
A poster named Homosapiens simply said, “We just accept this?”
Hopefully not.
The first stretch of the path over the Henderson Bridge is done, money already sunk.
What a shame to leave that as a path to nowhere.
It doesn’t have to happen.
Between Governor McKee and our Washington delegation, there’s got to be a way to get this done.
There’s got to be.
mpatinki@providencejournal.com
WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — Two people are dead and another person seriously hurt after a crash involving two vehicles on the highway in Warwick Saturday.
Rhode Island State Police said the crash happened around 1:34 p.m. on the ramp from Route 113 West to I-95 South.
According to police, a Hyundai SUV that was driving in the middle lane of the highway started to drift to the right, crossed the first lane, and then crossed onto the on-ramp lane. The car struck the guardrail twice before driving through the grass median.
The Hyundai then struck the driver’s side of a Mercedes SUV that was on the ramp, causing the Mercedes to roll over and come to a rest. The impact sent the Hyundai over the guardrail and down an embankment.
The driver of the Hyundai, a 73-year-old man, and his passenger, a 69-year-old woman, were both pronounced dead at the hospital.
A woman who was in the Mercedes was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital in critical condition.
State police said all lanes of traffic were reopened by 4:30 p.m.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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