Restore History, Educate, and Honor Humanity
NEW HAVEN, CT —Stepna Primus, a “husband and farmer,” was enslaved by Amos Morris, Issac Forbes, and Enos Heminway, at the Morris house in New Haven. In 1796, Primus was emancipated. Also enslaved at the Morris House was his wife, Pink, “mother, wife and landowner,” who was emancipated in 1800. The lives of these two enslaved peoples have been memorialized with Witness Stones at what is now called the Pardee-Morris House. Continue reading.
By Lucy Gellman on Arts Council Greater New Haven on June 4, 2021
Sixth grader Kymani Chapman held a heavy cube steady in both hands, the letters on its face glinting. A name caught in the light: Stepna Primus, once enslaved by Amos Morris, Isaac Forbes and Enos Hemmingway in New Haven. Chapman steadied himself, feet spread wide as he lowered the stone into the ground. As he did, over two centuries of untold history came rushing back to a city that has tried to wipe them clean. Continue reading.
Students from the Foote School gathered at the Pardee-Morris House on June 2, 2021, to remember the life of Pink Primus. Students read original poetry and displayed the infographics they created to share the life of Pink with their community.
From the New Haven Museum
New Haven, Conn. (May 18, 2021)— Students from The Foote School will install commemorative Witness Stones Memorials recalling the lives of Pink and Stepna, two enslaved individuals who once lived in the Morris House, now known as the Pardee-Morris House, during a ceremony at the site on June 2, 2021, at 12:30 pm. The students will give presentations based on their research of Pink and Stepna. Continue reading.
From the Foote School News published September 17, 2020
Humanities teachers Sheila Lavey and Skye Lee made an exciting connection with the Witness Stones Project. Modeled after the Stolperstein in Europe—stone cubes with the names and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination—the Witness Stones Project places similar cubes at norther locations where individuals were enslaved. Seventh graders were introduced to the project by Dennis Culliton, director of the Guilford-based Witness Stones Project, and Khail Quotap, Director of Education at New Haven Museum. The goal is for Foote seventh graders to help place a Witness Stone at the Pardee-Morris House in New Haven this June as a tribute to Pink, an enslaved woman who was held there.
