Special to the Gazette
A new exhibit developed by the Museum of African American History I Boston & Nantucket (MAAH), Black Voices of the Revolution: Liberty, Emancipation, and the Struggle for Independence will explore the diverse experiences of African Americans during the tumultuous Revolutionary War period.
Opening on June 30th at the Abiel Smith School, one of two landmark properties on the Museum’s Beacon Hill campus, Black Voices of the Revolution tells the stories of Black men and women— from writers and advocates to landowners and entrepreneurs— during this world-changing global conflict. Like the Museum’s innovative exhibit, Being Frederick Douglass which is on display at the African Meeting House, some sections of Black Voices of the Revolution encourage museumgoers to interact with AI-driven, holographic images of primary sources, and the men and women who represented the African American community in Massachusetts during the period from the 1620s to 1800. Visitors can ask questions of the interactive using a voice activated program or by simply typing their queries on a touchscreen.
Funded in part by the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism, MA250, and created in partnership with the exhibit design firm TimeLooper, Black Voices of the Revolution considers the American Revolution from the Black and female perspective, showcasing ideas, information, issues, and insights not often incorporated into traditional history lessons. The Revolutionary War era was among a number of global conflicts that exploded during the 18th century. In fact, it was part of a series of rebellions involving settlers and Indigenous peoples, colonial rulers and colonists, masters and those they enslaved, and free Black communities that rocked North America.
“This timely exhibit will introduce audiences to the often-untold stories of Black men and women who contributed to their fledgling nation while fighting for their own independence,” said Dr. Noelle Trent, President & CEO, MAAH. “The brave people represented in Black Voices of the Revolution— artists, activists, farmers, soldiers, and sailors— forged a new path for those who followed.”
Black Voices of the Revolution is divided into six primary sections: Slavery and Freedom in Massachusetts: Freedom for Whom?; Divided Promises: Black Loyalties in the American Revolution; We Claimed Ourselves: Black Women and the Fight for Freedom in Revolutionary New England; Beacon Hill: Mapping Black Revolutionary Boston; New Guinea, Nantucket: Black and Wampanoag Power on an Island Edge; and Black Print Culture: Unearthing Black Voices in Massachusetts. Key figures whose lives and legacies are featured in the exhibit include:
• Crispus Attucks- an American whaler, sailor, and stevedore of African and Native American descent, Attucks is recognized as the first American killed in the American Revolution
• Elizabeth Freeman – One of the first enslaved African Americans to file and win a freedom suit in the Commonwealth
• Zipporah Potter Atkins – a free African American woman whose 1670 purchase of a home makes her the first African American to own land in Colonial Boston
• Salem Poor – An enslaved African-American man who purchased his freedom in 1769, became a soldier in 1775, and served during the American Revolution, most notably at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
• The Boston family of Nantucket – an influential Nantucket family of African and Wampanoag descent; Seneca Boston, a weaver, built his family home on Nantucket in 1774. His son Absalom was a founding member of the African Meeting House and a whaler who commanded the island’s first all-Black whaling crew.
• Phillis Wheatley Peters – Born in West African and enslaved as a child, she is considered the first African-American author of a published book of poetry.
• Prince Hall – An American abolitionist and leader in Boston’s free black community, he fought for education rights for African American children.
“Black Voices of the Revolution was created to present a more complete view of American history combining new technologies with displays of rare artifacts from our collection that were uncovered during archaeological digs in Boston and Nantucket, said Angela Tate, Chief Curator and Director of Collections at MAAH. “I want people to see this period in American history in a new way, through the eyes of the Black individuals who helped shape the ideas and ideals about what would eventually become the United States of America—and how the persistent presence of slavery challenged them.”
Our mission is to connect Colonial and early African American history and culture in Boston and the larger New England area with the abolition of slavery and current explorations of race and human rights struggles. As one of the oldest African American public history museums in the United States, the Museum is dedicated to telling the stories of African Americans in Massachusetts and New England who seeded the growth of the antebellum abolitionist movement and the 19th Century fight against segregation, discrimination, and racial inequity. The Museum was founded in 1967 and is New England’s largest museum dedicated to preserving, conserving, and interpreting the contributions of African Americans. The Museum has two locations – one in Boston’s Beacon Hill and the other on Nantucket Island – and two Black Heritage Trails® that tell the story of organized black communities from the Colonial Period through the 19th century.
Funded, in part, by the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism.