This conference aims to critically examine how port cities across the Atlantic world commemorate their histories related to slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. Focusing on evolving narratives within institutions such as museums and educational centers, the discussion will explore the significance and impact of recent initiatives—including Liverpool's continued and multifaceted effort to acknowledge and interrogate history as a slave port in a local, national, and international context and Newport Historical Society’s new Center for Black History. By interrogating these memorial practices of prominent ports, the conference seeks to address questions of memory, representation, and reconciliation. As well, the conference will focus on the community engagement of the legacies of slavery in cultural and institutional spaces.

Papers may address (but are not limited to):

• Museum reinterpretation and exhibit design
• Community activism and demands for justice
• Comparative studies of Atlantic port cities
• Art, performance, and public history in commemoration

We particularly welcome work that engages with recent developments including Liverpool’s acknowledgement of its slave trade legacy alongside the International Slavery Museum, the inauguration of the Black History Museum in Newport, RI, and the commitment of Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, CT, to sharing Black and Indigenous maritime experiences. The conference looks forward to discussing these known institutional connections alongside other efforts that challenge or reshape dominant historical narratives.

Please prepare a 300-word abstract and a brief bio. Submissions due by October 30, 2025. The email address for submitting proposals will be available shortly. Check this page for updates.

This conference is co-organized by the Ruth J. Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice at Brown University, the International Slavery Museum, and the Centre for the Study of International Slavery at the University of Liverpool.

The background image used in “Reconsidering Port Cities” materials is:

Faden, W. (1845) Atlas of the battles of the American Revolution, together with maps shewing the routes of the British and American Armies, plans of cities, surveys of harbors, &c. [New York, Bartlett & Welford, ?] [Map] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/74175034/.