Creative Survival
a Publication of the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society
April 16, 2021 | Issue 4
A Matter of Truth
On March 29, 2021, Mayor Jorge O. Elorza announced the African American Ambassadors Group (AAAG) Truth-Telling Historical Report. The report includes a comprehensive analysis of the City of Providence and the State of Rhode Island's role in supporting a “separate and unequal” existence for African heritage, Indigenous, and people of color.

“Today, the City of Providence is one step closer to understanding and acknowledging the depth of our history of racial injustice and it's the unfortunate continued impact on our Black and Indigenous residents,” said Mayor Jorge O. Elorza. “As outlined in this report, African heritage and Indigenous people were subjected to overt racism and mob violence by their fellow citizens, but one of the greatest threats they faced came not from individual actors, but from laws and policies promulgated by our own governments and private institutions. While I do not anticipate the City alone can repair generations of pain, violence, and systemic oppression suffered by our African heritage and Indigenous residents, we can bring our communities together to heal by discussing and accepting these uncomfortable truths. I want to thank our African American Ambassador Group and local historians for leading us through this stage of the Truth-Telling, Reconciliation, and Municipal Reparations process.”
The Report begins in pre-1600 and concludes with the African heritage legacy continued beyond 2020. It identifies the extent of the manipulation of race as a means of controlling enslaved individuals of African heritage and the role of institutions and lawmakers in perpetuating discriminatory and racist policies.

Led by the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society and 1696 Heritage Group, and journalist/editor W. Paul Davis. The team collected and analyzed historical collections, documents, and artifacts that define the African heritage and Indigenous people’s history within Providence and Rhode Island from the Rhode Island State Archives, Rhode Island Historical Society, Providence Preservation Society, Providence City Archives, and Providence Public Library.
“The report “A Matter of Truth” reveals four centuries of the recorded and documented history of a “Separate and Unequal” existence for African heritage, Indigenous, and people of color in Providence and Rhode Island through the scholarship of many historians, academic, and historical institutions,” said Keith W. Stokes, 1696 Heritage Group. “This history is essential, not only because it tells us about the past, but will help to create an environment and future policy platforms for positive change that fosters fairness, equity, and justice.”
Find the Full Report Here: A Matter of Truth
A Matter of Truth Presentations
RIBHS is available to provide online and on-site presentations to all interested parties on the research and contents of the "A Matter of Truth Report." 
"The Rhode Island Black Heritage Society is constituted for the purpose of: Procuring, collecting, and preserving books, pamphlets, letters, manuscripts, prints, photographs, paintings, and any other historical material relating to the history of the Blacks of Rhode Island; encouraging and promoting the study of such history by lectures and otherwise; and publishing and diffusing information as to such history."
THE RI BLACK HERITAGE SOCIETY riblackheritagesociety.org