Restore History, Educate, and Honor Humanity
In the Journal Enquirer on August 23, 2021
HEBRON — Eleven projects have received funding from the Hebron Greater Together Community fund through the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
The Friends of the Office of State Archaeology received $4,400 for a multidisciplinary project at the Cesar Peters home site with RHAM Middle and High School students, along with projects at the state archaeologist office, Hebron Historical Society, and the Witness Stones Project. Continue reading.
By Ronni Newton on We-Ha.comi on July 28, 2021
The West Hartford Greater Together Community Fund, which announced in January plans to award the first $25,000 of grant money to local nonprofits, announced Wednesday that seven organizations have will receive awards in the inaugural cycle.
The program, formed by The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and administered by an all-volunteer advisory committee of town residents, considered applications for grants to fund projects that would “improve or enhance the quality of life in West Hartford or otherwise contribute to address a direct need” in the town, the committee said in a news release announcing the grants. Continue reading.
By Don Snyder in Greenwich Time on July 14, 2021
Memorials to victims of the Holocaust, known as “stolpersteine” or “stumbling blocks,” are found throughout Europe from Trondheim, Norway to Thessaloniki, Greece. More than 75,000 of these brass plaques, created by German artist Gunter Demnig, have been placed outside the former homes of the victims, whose names are engraved on the plaques. “Emordet”— “Murdered” — appears under their names. Continue reading.
By Jackie Hemond in the Suffield Observer on June 30, 2021
In June, I witnessed an amazing dialogue. For two days, the Phelps-Hatheway House hosted two programs, both featuring Joe McGill, a national figure and founder of the Slave Dwelling Project. The hook for the Project is ingenious. McGill sleeps in slave quarters for a night. He has done this at 150 sites in 25 states so far. He does not review how comfortable a slave bed is. The point of his sleepovers is threefold: to preserve former slave dwellings; lift slavery from the footnotes of history; and engage his audience in a thoughtful, non-combative discussion about slavery, racism, race relations and racial equity.
We were engaged! So engaged that both programs ran overtime. The second day was a panel discussion when McGill was flanked by Dennis Culliton, Founder and Executive Director of the Witness Stones Project and Pat Wilson Pheanious, Co-Chair of the Witness Stones Project. Suffield will soon be placing a witness stone for Tamer, an enslaved woman, purchased “as a slave for life” when she was seven by Luther Loomis who lived at the corner of Bridge and Main Streets. Continue reading.
By
WEST HARTFORD — Some streets around town could get new names under an ordinance to honor people or historic events.
Local officials said there are still logistical issues to finalize, but the ordinance was largely supported by public speakers and adopted by the Town Council. Continue reading.
By Ronni Newton on We-Ha.com on June 20, 2021
West Hartford’s second annual Juneteenth celebration, held over the weekend of June 19-20, 2021, was full of joy juxtaposed by serious messages and actions, with the observation culminating late Sunday morning as a crowd gathered for the rededication of the town’s green as Unity Green.
West Hartford’s town green – that narrow triangle of land that splits the northbound and southbound lanes of South Main Street just south of Farmington Avenue and is the longtime site of banners and public gatherings – had previously been named Goodman Green, in honor of Timothy Goodman, who deeded it to First Church, which in turn has leased the land to the town since 1924. Recent research into the town’s history conducted as part of the Witness Stones project brought to light the fact that, along with some of West Hartford’s other prominent families for whom roadways and buildings have been named, Goodman was, indeed, a slaveholder. Continue reading.
By Sophie Christensen and Lily Guberman on We-Ha.com on June 19, 2021
Even before entering the cemetery, the powerful sound of Afro Caribbean drumming could be heard from a block away. The sounds of the drums traveled far, but they could not overpower the enthusiastic voices of the crowd, about50 people of many ages and backgrounds.
Sixteen speakers each placed a new Witness Stone in the cemetery. Before placing the stones, speakers shared information about the enslaved person’s life. They also shared poems and words of gratitude for the organizers of the Witness Stones Project. Similar sentiments ran through every speech: triumph and joy for Juneteenth’s status as a national holiday, but also sadness and solemn acknowledgement for the history of enslavement in West Hartford. Continue reading.
Journal Inquirer Staff on June 18, 2021
SUFFIELD — A local group is planning to hold the town’s first Juneteenth celebration Saturday on the town green. Juneteenth is a celebration of the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Texas learned that they were freed by the emancipation proclamation. The local celebration is organized by Anti-Bias, Anti-Racist Suffield, or ABAR. It will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on the town green. Continue reading.
