Many rich stories about the complex history of New England remain hidden, oftentimes erased in the conventional dominant narrative histories which are told. This project, Reimagining New England Histories: Historical Injustice, Sovereignty and Freedom (RNEH) aims to foreground the silenced stories of Indigenous and African American experiences of New England. Deploying maritime histories and using the sea as a connecting element, the project will foreground the single and sometimes intertwined histories of Indigenous and Black communities. As a project, it seeks to highlight how the Indigenous communities and Black communities made sustained vigorous efforts to create spaces for their self-determination, freedom and cultural sovereignty in New England. In telling these stories the project will displace the myth of the founding of the New England colonies as a “city on the hill.”
As a project, we recognize the multi-generational work that Indigenous and Black communities in the Northeast have done to steward important histories and memories. This grant will respect and be attentive with respect to these efforts. We believe it is necessary for America to confront its past and to grapple with the its histories of Indigenous dispossession, attempted genocide and slavery.
One aim of this project is not only to acknowledge this history but to create platforms through which these histories can be told. To create these platforms, the project will undertake different modalities: a major museum exhibition, accompanying catalog, classroom resources about these histories, community forums, internships and other modes agreed upon in discussion with communities.
This project is organized by the Ruth J. Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery & Justice at Brown University, Mystic Seaport Museum, Williams College, and the Williams-Mystic Program in close partnership with tribes and local communities. Central to the project is a collaborative process with the partnering communities who actively advise and shape the contours of the project. This project acknowledges that members of these communities are key caretakers of intergenerational knowledge and practices as well as longstanding critical commentators on the devastating impacts of settler colonialism and racial slavery, and their ongoing effects in everyday life. The project is made possible through the generous support of the Mellon Foundation’s Just Futures Initiative.