Rhode Island’s role in the trans Atlantic slave trade and the overlooked African American history tied to it were at center stage at a recent lecture from local historian Keith Stokes at the University of Rhode Island.
“They weren’t just simply chattel property,” Stokes said. “They were people with culture, identity and history.”
Stokes spoke on early black communities and how they were created in the Northeast before the Emancipation Proclamation.
Stokes’ lecture was centered on Newport, R.I., which was the most active seaport and slave trading center in British North America, according to Stokes. During the slave trade, about 934 vessels delivered enslaved people, 72% of them from Newport.
“Every major building was built from slave labor and funded by slave trade,” Stokes said.
Stokes highlighted the type of slave labor used in the Northeast. Due to the region’s poor soil, most enslaved people worked as tradespeople, deckhands and factory workers. By the late 1700s, northern states began abolishing slavery while the South remained active into the 1860s.
In that time before the Emancipation Proclamation, Stokes compared seaports to the internet and how they were a hot spot for deals, meetings and networking. Which helped form early minority communities in the states.
“They did everything they possibly could to maintain and later reclaim their African identity,” Stokes said.
The presentation explored cultural traditions that endured across generations, including naming practices rooted in West African heritage. Those traditions, Stokes said, remain visible today in family histories and communities.
For some in attendance, those connections felt personal.
“There’s a lot of local African American history that I haven’t explored, and a lot of it was revealed to me today.” Romeo Brooks, a third-year Africana Studies and History major, said.
The lecture also challenged common perceptions of where African American history is centered, particularly for those more familiar with narratives focused on the American South.
“It definitely expanded my understanding, especially of African American history in the North,” Brooks said.
In addition to examining the past, Stokes highlighted the ways early African communities in America organized themselves, forming institutions centered on education, religion and mutual support.
“We’re going to ensure that every African child has an education,” Stokes said, describing efforts by early free Black communities to establish schools and support future generations.
Stokes also connected historical struggles to present-day issues, emphasizing the importance of education and continued awareness.
Stokes addressed rhetoric that is typically shared about immigrants, describing it as a cycle of discrimination that gets repeated constantly, just with a different group.
“We as Americans have been very discriminatory to certain immigrant groups,” Stokes said. “The discriminatory strategies used then are very similar to those used today.”
Stokes then mentioned America’s history of dehumanization of immigrants, saying certain groups don’t contribute to society and portraying them as criminals. The same practices used from the 18th century persist today.
“It’s up to us to understand that history, prepare for that, and challenge it,” Stokes said.
Brooks said events like the lecture play an important role in expanding public understanding of history.
“I think it’s important to have these kinds of lectures,” Brooks said. “Staying educated is how we progress as a society.”
As discussions around history and education continue, this lecture served as a reminder that understanding the past requires looking beyond familiar narratives and looking at the nation’s history from a different lens than the ones commonly repeated in schools and culture.
