TRACES OF THE TRADE: A Story from the Deep North
A Sacred Conversation on Race
Wednesday, January 19, 7:00 pm (Zoom)
Talking about race in this country can be difficult as conversations on race are dynamic and always changing. The conversation in 1954 with Brown vs the Board of Education is a different conversation from the one during the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or the election of the first Black President in 2008 or the killing of Trayvon Martin in 2012 or the killing of George Floyd in 2020 or the stalled John Lewis Voting Rights Act of 2021. Our purpose with this conversation on Wednesday evening, January 19, is to better equip ourselves for engaging in these larger conversations.
Slavery has been described as our country’s “origin sin,” so to have a dialogue seeking reconciliation and healing will inevitably journey through the legacy of slavery and the traces of that heritage to this day.
We will watch and discuss the PBS documentary, Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North as it explores the legacy of the DeWolf family, a prominent slave trading family in Rhode Island from 1769 to 1820 and follows 10 family members as they retrace the triangle trade from Bristol, RI, to sugar plantations in Cuba, to Ghana where enslaved people were bought. Thus, the viewer sees both the history of this nation’s complicity in enslaving people and the pain of talking within a family of the slave traders’ descendants about its implications.
Our plan is to watch the one-hour documentary together on a Zoom shared screen beginning at 7pm and then engage in a conversation beginning at 8pm. James DeWolf Perry will join in our 8pm conversation. We will conclude before 9pm.
James DeWolf Perry was nominated for an Emmy Award for his role as the principal historical consultant for this documentary. After the release of the film, James cofounded the Tracing Center and served for several years as its executive director. He now leads many public programs on racial healing and equity, as well as professional workshops for educators and public history professionals. James is also the co-editor of Interpreting Slavery at Museums and Historic Sites which is aimed at improving the interpretation of slavery and race in our nation’s history. He serves on the board of directors of the Center for Reconciliation in Providence, RI.
Our goal is to learn more about our own history and how to have a purposeful conversation for racial justice, healing, and reconciliation. For more information, contact the church office or call 781-235-4424, or Rev. Richard Edens, Interim Co-Senior Minister.
