#WestHartfordCT
Witness Stones Ceremony Kicks Off Juneteenth 2022 in West Hartford
By Lili Guberman on WeHa.com on June 19, 2022
The weather celebrated along with the attendees as West Hartford’s Juneteenth celebration got underway midday Sunday in West Hartford with the installation of 14 more Witness Stones.
The arch in Blue Back square was decked out in black, red, green and yellow colored balloons and a banner commemorating the day was strung across the top. Leaders of the Witness Stones West Hartford project handed out 36 cards with the names of enslaved people for attendees to read aloud during the ceremony. Continue reading.
West Hartford to Celebrate Juneteenth on Sunday
By Fox61 on June 19, 2022
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — West Hartford will be hosting its third annual Juneteenth CommUNITY Celebration on Sunday, June 19 at Blue Back Square.
At 12:30 p.m., at Blue Back Square, the Witness Stones Project will dedicate 14 new Witness Stones. This project seeks to restore the history and honor the humanity and contributions of enslaved individuals, who in part, built our community. Continue reading.
West Hartford 2022 Juneteenth
By Ronni Newtown in We-Ha.com on June 13, 2022
West Hartford observed Juneteenth for the first time in 2020, and on Sunday – which is actually June 19th – the town will host its third annual celebration of the day marking the effective end of slavery in the United States.
On June 19, 1865, the last group of enslaved people in Galveston, TX were freed by the Union Army – more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring freedom for all who had been enslaved.
“We are so excited to be hosting our third Juneteenth event,” said Adrienne Billings-Smith, chair of the town’s Juneteenth Committee. “Every year the community has come out to support something so significant that many of us didn’t know about it until recent years.” Continue reading.
Witness Stones Project Students Take History to the Street
Through a project a year in the making, West Hartford will renamed a road in Blue Back Square to honor a mother and daughter who were held as slaves in town in the 18th century.
West Hartford to Rename Street in Honor of Two Enslaved Women
By Deidre Montague in the Hartford Courant on May 19, 2022
WEST HARTFORD — The West Hartford Town Council unanimously agreed to change the name of a city street this week, a small move that points to a larger goal — changing the town’s physical landscape to bear witness to its history and culture.
New Street in Blue Back Square will henceforth be named Dinah Road, in honor of two women named Dinah who were enslaved in West Hartford in the mid-18th century.
The change, a nearly year-long process of gathering signatures and support, was spearheaded by the Mayor’s Youth Council and the Witness Stones Project. Continue reading.
West Hartford Will Name Street After 2 Enslaved Women
By Gabby DeBenedictis on Patch.com on May 19, 2022
WEST HARTFORD, CT — The West Hartford town council voted unanimously to rename New Street in Blue Back Square “Dinah Road,” and according to the Hartford Courant the name is designed to honor two women who were enslaved in town.
The women, a mother and daughter both named Dinah, were forced to work on an estate where Hall High School is now located in the mid-1700s, the Courant reported, citing town historian Tracey Wilson. Continue reading.
Dinah Road: New Name for New Street Approved by West Hartford Town Council
By Ronni Newton on We-Ha.com on May 16, 2022
A campaign by the Mayor’s Youth Council to rename a West Hartford roadway in honor of two women who were once enslaved in town was approved unanimously by the Town Council on May 10.
Mayor’s Youth Council members Tzionya Goldfischer, a student at the New England Jewish Academy, and Sarah Granquist and Priya Sinha, both students at Hall High School, have been working closely with Town Historian Tracey Wilson to gain approval to change the name of New Street, a roadway in Blue Back Square that runs between Raymond and Isham roads, to Dinah Road. Dinah, and her daughter, who was also named Dinah, were once enslaved in the West Division of Hartford, now known as West Hartford. Continue reading.
Witness Stones West Hartford Tells the True History
Witness Stones Project Students Petitioning to Rename Street in Blue Back Square
By Ronni Newton on We-Ha.com on March 16, 2022
The only significance of the name of “New Street” in West Hartford is that it was a street newly-created about 15 years ago when Blue Back Square was built.
Three members of the Mayor’s Youth Council – all students at West Hartford high schools – are collecting signatures on a petition to change the name of that street from essentially a placeholder to something with more significance: Dinah Road. Continue reading.
