Witness Stones Project, Inc.

Restoring History & Honoring Humanity

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Juneteenth Joyfully Celebrated at FloGris Museum with Jazz & Poetry

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Celebrating Juneteenth at the Florence Griswold Museum on June 22 were, from left to right, poets Marilyn Nelson, Antoinette Brim-Bell, Kate Rushin, and Rhonda Ward, along with musicians James Austin Jr, Nat Reeves, Abraham Burton, and Michael Ode. All photos by Witness Stones Old Lyme.

 

In LymeLine.com on June 16, 2024

OLD LYME—On Saturday, June 22, Witness Stones Old Lyme presented a celebratory event filled with jazz and poetry on the lawn of the Florence Griswold Museum. This event honored Juneteenth, a federal holiday celebrating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans, and offered a vibrant fusion of music and spoken word.

Over 150 attendees experienced a powerful, moving, and joyful afternoon enriched by a harmonious blend of jazz and poetry.

Attendees at the Witness Stones Old Lyme event listen intently to the poets speaking at the Juneteenth Celebration of Jazz & Poetry at the FloGris Museum

Acclaimed Connecticut poets Marilyn Nelson, Kate Rushin, Rhonda Ward, and Antoinette Brim-Bell offered a range of work that mixed humor with poignant recollections and included tributes in verse to those once enslaved in historic Lyme. The poets’ words memorably captured forgotten voices and vividly brought to life the experience of bondage in the Lyme-Old Lyme community.

The Nat Reeves Quartet performs at the Witness Stones Old Lyme Juneteenth Celebration of Jazz & Poetry at the FloGris Museum.

The celebration showcased the Nat Reeves Quartet, with Nat Reeves on bass joined by saxophonist Abraham Burton, pianist James Austin, Jr., and percussionist Michael Ode. Both Nat Reeves—a renowned figure in the jazz world for over 40 years—and Abraham Burton have contributed significantly to the genre as performers and educators, who train and inspire new generations of jazz musicians.

The Nat Reeves Quartet was one of the highlights of the Witness Stones Old Lyme Juneteenth Celebration of Jazz & Poetry at the FloGris Museum.

The quartet’s stirring presentation combined with the poets’ voices offered attendees a reflective and uplifting experience honoring the legacy and cultural contributions of African Americans.

The Juneteenth celebration, held on a former site of enslavement, highlighted the importance of remembering and honoring the past and served as a reminder of the continuing struggle for freedom and equality.

More than 150 people turned out for the Witness Stones Old Lyme Juneteenth Celebration of Jazz & Poetry at the FloGris Museum.

Witness Stones Installation Ceremony

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Richard Wyman, of Old Lyme, plays “This Little Light of Mine” and is joined unexpectedly by Nikita Waller, who sang a solo earlier, and her son Kenneth Waller-Beaulieu, 6 months, at the end of the Witness Stones Old Lyme installation ceremony held Friday, May 31, 2024, at the Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library in Old Lyme. (Dana Jensen/The Day)

 

By Dana Jensen in The Day on May 31, 2024

Old Lyme ― A ceremony was held at Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library Friday to recognize 10 more Witness Stones being placed at the Lyme Library. The Witness Stones program started in Old Lyme in 2020. The group now has a total of 48 stones in Lyme and Old Lyme. Richard Wyman and Nikita Waller performed solos. During Wyman’s final solo of the song “This Little Light of Mine“ Waller joined him. The Witness Stones program does research to learn about the slaves who lived in an area and recognizes them with a small plaque.

‘Witness Stones’ Installation Ceremony Held in Old Lyme for 10 Plaques Honoring Enslaved Persons in Lyme

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Witness Stones at the Duck River Cemetery honor Phyllis Tantiphant, Salem Freeman, and Katherine Freeman, three African Americans and one Native American who labored in servitude nearby on Meeting House Hill (today’s Johnny Cake Hill).

 

In LymeLine.com on May 30, 2024

OLD LYME – ‘Witness Stones Old Lyme’ will expand its project in 2024 to honor 10 enslaved persons, who labored in the Town of Lyme—historically known as North Lyme.

Ten new Witness Stones—historical plaques commemorating the lives of enslaved African Americans—will be placed in late May at the Lyme Public Library.

In 2021, 2022, and 2023, the Project installed a total of 38 plaques on Lyme Street, McCurdy Rd., and Old Shore Rd. in Old Lyme.

To deepen the untold story of local enslavement, ‘Witness Stones’ this year will honor Dina, Jenny, Pompey, Peter, Bristo, Suberiah, Boston, Cuff Condol, Prince Brown, and Pomp Henry.

To celebrate the town’s newly-installed Witness Stones, the Old Lyme Witness Stones Partnership is holding events in May and June. All events are free and open to the public and take place rain or shine.

Poet Rhonda Ward will speak at the Witness Stones installation ceremony on Mary 31.

Witness Stones Installation Ceremony

Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library, 2 Library Lane, Old Lyme CT
Friday, May 31, 10 a.m.

The community will gather on the lawn of the Old Lyme Library to celebrate the fourth installation of Witness Stones in the Lyme-Old Lyme area. The program offers music, poetry, and words from community partners.

Guest speakers include Rhonda Ward, Witness Stones Old Lyme poet and first New London Poet Laureate; Nikita Waller, soloist; Rick Wyman, saxophone; Martha Shoemaker, Old Lyme First Selectwoman; Melissa Fournier, Lyme librarian; Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School poets and Select Chorus.

Juneteenth Celebration with Jazz & Poetry

Florence Griswold Museum—north lawn, 96 Lyme Street, Old Lyme CT.
Saturday, June 22, 2 to 4 p.m..

The celebration in honor of Juneteenth—a federal holiday that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans—will take place on the north lawn of the Florence Griswold Museum.

The event features a quartet led by legendary bassist Nat Reeves and new work by Connecticut poets Marilyn Nelson, Kate Rushin, Rhonda Ward, and Antoinette Brim-Bell, who in 2021 created a tribute in verse to those enslaved in the historic town of Lyme. The jazz quartet includes world-renowned saxophonist Abraham Burton, celebrated pianist James Austin, Jr., and impressive percussionist Michael Ode.

On June 22, bassist Nat Reeves leads a jazz quartet at the Juneteenth Celebration with Jazz and Poetry.

The event has received generous funding from the Connecticut Office of the Arts. In case of rain, the Juneteenth celebration will take place at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, 2 Ferry Road.

Witness Stones Old Lyme joins a growing coalition of Witness Stones Project communities dedicated to restoring history and honoring the humanity and contributions of those formerly enslaved. The Old Lyme initiative was made possible through the support of the Lyme-Old Lyme community, including local institutions and the Lyme-Old Lyme Schools.

The Witness Stones Old Lyme website gives additional information about those who lived enslaved in our towns.

The Witness Stones Project in Old Lyme is vital at this time of learning about and engaging with the history of slavery in Connecticut. But this local project also has national reach as America comes to grips with its complicated past regarding the enslavement and indenture of African and Native people.

Each Witness Stone placed on Lyme Street, McCurdy Rd., Old Shore Rd., and at the Lyme Public Library includes the name of an enslaved individual, along with details about their lives and circumstances derived from land records, emancipation certificates, and other available historical documents.

An interpretive sign installed on the lawn of the Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library provides a map showing the locations on Lyme Street of the small brass plaques that are installed flush with the ground.

The Old Lyme Witness Stones Partnership

The Old Lyme Witness Stones Partnership’s goal is to expand the understanding of local history and honor the humanity and the contributions of those formerly enslaved in our community.

The partnership’s founding members include the Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library, the Florence Griswold Museum, the Lyme-Old Lyme Schools, and the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme.

Community partners include the Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center, St. Ann’s Episcopal Church, Lymes’ Youth Service Bureau, and the Old Lyme Historical Society.

The Partnership has received generous support from a Health Improvement Collaborative of Southeastern Connecticut (HIC) Partnership Grant for Racial Equity.

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