City of Philadelphia is a UNESCO Site of Memory

The City of Philadelphia is one of 31 documented U.S. Middle Passage Arrival Sites recently approved by the UNESCO Slave Route Project as “Sites of Memory” associated with the Transatlantic Slave Trade. “Sites of Memory” or “Sites of Conscience” are “historic sites, museums and memory initiatives that activate the power of places of memory to engage the public with a deeper understanding of the past and inspire action to shape a just future.” The Philadelphia Middle Passage Ceremony & Port Marker Project submitted the request to UNESCO for consideration as a Site of Memory and has been granted permission to use the official logo.

This designation occurs in conjunction with national and international commemorations of the 400th Anniversary of the first documented arrival of captive Africans to the English North American colony of Virginia in 1619. Several Philadelphia organizations are unfolding plans for events in 2019 to commemorate the 400th Anniversary. I urge the City of Philadelphia (and the Special Committee on 400 Years of African American History) to place the significance of this historical event within the context of its own role in the Slave Trade, the role of the slave trade in the founding of the City as well as the Nation, and the impact of silencing this history on descendent communities.

The UNESCO designation affords our City with a unique opportunity for critical analysis and dialogue needed to address historical dissonance and historical trauma in our divided society.

Acknowledge, acknowledge, acknowledge–Philadelphia is a documented port of entry for Africans during the Transatlantic Human Trade.

*Recorded Ships Importing Africans into Pennsylvania and NJ (1760 – 1800)

* Data obtained from Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, Emory University.

The Port of Philadelphia on the Delaware River is one of more than 175 Middle Passage ports–ports of entry for enslaved Africans during the 350 years of the transatlantic human trade, in 50 nations of North, Central, and South America, the Caribbean, and Europe. Each year since 2013, The Philadelphia Middle Passage Ceremony & Port Marker Project (PhillyMPC) has observed Ancestral Remembrance Day on Penn’s Landing commemorating the nearly 2 million Africans who perished in the Middle Passage. On August 5th, 2016 a new historical marker “The Pennsylvania Slave Trade” was unveiled on Penn’s Landing, thanks to a nomination submitted by Charles Blockson, Curator Emeritus of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection, with letters of support from the local community.

Image: PHMC Historical Marker for “The Pennsylvania Slave Trade” unveiled on Ancestral Remembrance Day Philly, Penn’s Landing. 8/5/2016.

PhillyMPC continues to compile and disseminate research on the transatlantic slave trade (especially as it relates to Philadelphia), to hold healing and remembrance ceremonies and other events to encourage discussion, reflection and community initiatives toward reparation and reconciliation. PhillyMPC will celebrate Ancestral Remembrance Day 2019, with a series of events from August 5th to the 25th. We seek to work with other cultural, educational, civic and historical organizations to look critically at the institution of slavery in the Delaware Valley.

The Delaware River, flows through the African-American past and present. It represents the pain of the Middle Passage, our connection to Ancestral homelands across the Atlantic; the triumphant survival of the descendants of those Africans, and our call for healing and hope for future generations.

Photo Story:

Philadelphia Middle Passage Project – Sites of Memory

Denise Valentine, Founder
The Philadelphia Middle Passage Ceremony & Port Marker
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Philly Middle Passage Project

This site fulfils the quality criteria set by the UNESCO Slave Route Project in conjunction with the International Network of Managers of Sites and Itineraries of Memory.

How an earthquake delivered a little slave girl to Philadelphia in a silver dish.

A story etched in the rim of a beautiful silver dish in the archives of the Philadelphia History Museum at Atwater Kent has intrigued me to no end. It tells of a massive earthquake that devastated the town of Port Royal, Jamaica on June 7th, 1692. Port Royal–a major shipping and commercial center in the West Indies, and haven to pirates–including the fabled Blackbeard–plunged into the bay killing thousands. The story goes that found floating in a cradle, along with the silver dish, was a little Negro child; both were the property of Thomas Norris who had perished in the quake. Both were brought back to Philadelphia by merchant, Isaac Norris. It is a true story. The treasured dish has a provenance, a pedigree, an honored place in a museum. No one bothered to name the slave girl; nor her father who died in the tsunami following the earthquake in an attempt to save his so-called master.

For years I searched for the little girl’s name and her fate. Philadelphia street names, monuments and maps were my compasses on the journey. Plantation diaries, oral histories and folklore were my primary sources of inspiration along the way. In a strange confluence of time and place, odd coincidences began to come into view.

In the course of my research in archival materials, I realized how often Philadelphia streets [some of which I had lived on or near] were named for slave owners and/or merchants who trafficked in human cargo: Norris, Butler, Chew, Carpenter, Dickinson, Washington, Morris, Girard and Master.

 I finally found something in Deborah Norris Logan’s diary, along with the provenance of the silver dish. Strange because my great-grandmother, Jane Briscoe Oakley is from Portland, Jamaica. She raised my mother on Norris Street in Philadelphia. Serendipitous, because last year I found myself in Port Royal standing at the edge of the sea that had swallowed most of Port Royal. Apparently, according to the diary, the little girl was passed down from one member of the Norris family to another, property, just like the silver dish. Eventually, she gave birth to a daughter, who was gradually emancipated. Still, no one mentioned her name.  And that’s how an earthquake delivered a little slave girl to Philadelphia in a silver dish.

 

 

The silver dish is now on display in Reconstructions Gallery of the exhibit, Philadelphia Assembled at the Perelman Building.

 

The Master Narratives: is series of stories which have emerged from my research in archival material, particularly, plantation diaries, oral histories and folklore. Through a process I call “unforgetting and reconnecting” people, places and objects began to reveal connections to my ancestral homelands and historical parallels between old and new Philadelphia neighborhoods.

“Unforgetting and Reconnecting” is a historical exhibition of archival materials and ephemera from the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art Library & Archives. Curated by Philadelphia Assembled collaborator and storyteller Denise Valentine and digital librarian Karina Wratschko.

The objects in this exhibition including rare books dating from the 1700s, manuscripts, illustrations, Kara Walker’s 1997 pop-up silhouette book, Freedom: A Fable, and Jeannie Day Roggio’s family Red Book were all encountered on this journey to uncover ancestral connections to contemporary Philadelphia neighborhoods.

You are all invited to a Gallery Talk on November 5th, 3 To 5PM.
Join Denise Valentine, Jeannie Day Roggio (descendant of Pierce Mease Butler) and special guest, Gwen Ragsdale (Lest We Forget Slavery and Holocaust Museum). Location: Library Reading Room, second floor, Perelman Building.
Free.
“Unforgetting and Reconnecting”

The Library Reading Room, (Open Tues – Fri, 10a – 5p)

Philadelphia Museum of Art Library and Archives

Perelman Building, 2nd Floor

2525 Pennsylvania Avenue, Philadelphia PA 19130

 

The storyteller at the Fort at Port Royal, Jamaica, W.I. (2016)

Unforgetting and Reconnecting complements the exhibition Philadelphia Assembled.

Philadelphia Assembled is a project initiated by artist Jeanne van Heeswijk in collaboration with stakeholders from across the city and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The artistic team including Phoebe Bachman, Kirtrina Baxter, Shari Hersh, Nehad Khader, Mabel Negrete (CNS), Damon Reaves, Amanda Sroka, and Denise Valentine. On view in the Perelman Building through December 10, 2017.

 

International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition ~ August 23rd

The United Nations (UNESCO) has designated August 23^rd as the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which has built its reputation, in part, on its role as an abolitionist city, now joins other cities around the world in recognizing its role in the slave trade as well.

Research identifying ports of entry for Africans during the 350 years of the transatlantic human trade* identifies the Port of Philadelphia on the Delaware River as one of more than 175 Middle Passage Ports in 50 nations of North, Central, and South America, the Caribbean and Europe. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission approved a new Historical Marker, “The Pennsylvania Slave Trade,” which was unveiled on Penn’s Landing, in Philadelphia, on August 5th, 2016. Charles Blockson, Curator Emeritus of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection, submitted the nomination including letters of support from the local community.

 

The Philadelphia Middle Passage Ceremony & Port Marker Project (PhillyMPC), established in 2013 by Denise Valentine, worked to gather public support for a historical marker in memory of those Africans who debarked at the Port of Philadelphia. Each year, PhillyMPC observes Ancestral Remembrance Day with activities from dawn to dusk, including a silent observance at sunrise and a Blessing of the River. This year, the event was held on August 5^th to coincide with the unveiling of the new Historical Marker.

PhillyMPC supports the larger, ongoing effort to build an International Coalition to Commemorate African Ancestors of the Middle Passage (ICCAAMP). In conjunction with the UNESCO Slave Route Project, bringing together all individuals, organizations, programs, and events related to the retrieval and preservation of Middle Passage history and heritage, including Remembrance ceremonies held around the United States and the world.  Since 2011, a non-profit umbrella organization, the Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project (MPCPMP), Executive Director, Ann Chinn www.middlepassageproject.org has supported the planning of ancestral remembrance ceremonies by geographic regions in all U.S. cities that were middle passage ports.

We urge institutions around the world to follow the example of the National Maritime Museum, in Greenwich, London, by observing the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition on August 23, 2016. The Museum will to commemorate the lives and explore the legacies surrounding the trade of enslaved peoples on #SlaveryRemembranceDay with a day of reflection, talks, tours, music and workshops. For more information, visit: http://bit.ly/ISRD2016    http://www.rmg.co.uk/see-do/exhibitions-events/international-slavery-remembrance-day-2016#m8LJtIU3IB4r7myy.99

 

*Recorded Ships Importing Africans into Pennsylvania and NJ (1760 – 1800)       * Data obtained from Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, Emory University  (www.slavevoyages.org)

 

Happy Dancing Feather, Iya Marilyn Kai Jewett, Mama Nzinga, Rhone Fraser, Belinda Banks as we began the Blessing of the River for Ancestral Remembrance Day Philly 2016, August 5th @ Penn’s Landing (Philadelphia Middle Passage Ceremony & Port Marker Project).

Press Release: Commemoration of The Pennsylvania Slave Trade Historical Marker, Penn’s Landing, August 5, 2016

Port of Philadelphia, 1761 – Courtesy, Independence Seaport Museum

PRESS RELEASE

July 19, 2016 – Philadelphia

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission approved State Historical
Marker commemorating the Pennsylvania Slave Trade at Penn’s Landing
Philadelphia, PA, July 19, 2016 – The Pennsylvania Slave Trade is among 23
state historical markers recently approved by the Pennsylvania Historical and
Museum Commission (PHMC).

Charles L. Blockson, Curator Emeritus of the Charles L. Blockson AfroAmerican
Collection, Temple University Libraries submitted the nomination along with letters
of support from members of the community. The dedication of the official state
historical marker commemorating the Pennsylvania Slave Trade will take place on
Friday, August 5, 2016 at 1:00 PM near the Independence Seaport Museum, 211
South Christopher Columbus Boulevard in Philadelphia.

The text of the Marker will read:

THE PENNSYLVANIA SLAVE TRADE
African people, first enslaved by the Dutch and Swedes, survived the brutal voyage
from Africa to the Caribbean islands and the Americas, debarking on the Delaware
River waterfront as early as 1639. William Penn, other Quakers, and Philadelphia
merchants purchased and enslaved Africans. As the institution of slavery increased,
these courageous people persevered and performed integral roles in building
Pennsylvania and the nation.

Research identifying all ports of entry for Africans during the 350 years of the
transatlantic human trade, identifies the Port of Philadelphia on the Delaware River
as one of more than 175 middle passage ports in 50 nations of North, Central and
South America, the Caribbean, and Europe.

Established in 2013, The Philadelphia Middle Passage Ceremony & Port Marker
Project (PhillyMPC), along with Project Coordinator, Denise Valentine, worked to
gather support for the nomination and to raise funds for the installation of the
historical marker. On June 2nd, each year, PhillyMPC commemorates the Africans
who perished in the Middle Passage by observing Ancestral Remembrance Day on
Penn’s Landing.

This year Ancestral Remembrance Day on Penn’s Landing will be observed on
August 5 th to coincide with the unveiling of the Pennsylvania Slave Trade historical
marker.

PHMC and the Charles L. Blockson AfroAmerican
Collection invites you to be a part of this significant occasion. RSVP to Serkaddis Alemayehu by Monday, August 1, 2016 at 2152044590 or alemayehu@temple.edu.

 

 

Download PDF Press Release

 

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via Press Release [revised]_Historical Marker Commemoration 5Aug2016_PA Slave Trade.docx – Lumin PDF

Ancestral Remembrance Day Philly 2016

Ancestral Remembrance Day Philly

August 5th, 2016

Philadelphia Middle Passage Ceremony

& Port Markers Project (PhillyMPC)

June 2nd is now August 5th!

To coincide with the unveiling of the new historical marker, PhillyMPC has changed the date for Ancestral Remembrance Day Philly to August 5, 2016.

 

Research identifying ports of entry for Africans during the 350 years of the transatlantic human trade* identifies the Port of Philadelphia on the Delaware River as one of more than 175 middle passage ports in 50 nations of North, Central, and South America, the Caribbean, and Europe.

Each year, The Philadelphia Middle Passage Ceremony & Port Marker Project (PhillyMPC) honors African ancestors who perished in the Middle Passage by observing Ancestral Remembrance Day (formerly June 2, now August 5th**) on Penn’s Landing. Our primary goal was to gather public support for the installation of a historical marker acknowledging Philadelphia’s a role in the slave trade, and specifically, Penn’s Landing and other points on the Delaware River as “Middle Passage”* port.

Well Philadelphia, we did it!

In March 2016, The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission approved a new historical marker “The Pennsylvania Slave Trade.” The marker is expected to be unveiled on Penn’s Landing, August 5th. Charles Blockson, Curator Emeritus of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection, submitted the nomination for the Middle Passage marker to PHMC. His application included letters of support from the local community. In solidarity, PhillyMPC has changed the date for Ancestral Remembrance Day Philly to August 5th.

We are planning observance activities from Dawn to Dusk, including:

* Silent Observance at Sunrise (6:03 AM EST) (from wherever you are)

* Unveiling of new Historical Marker “The Pennsylvania Slave Trade” (organized by Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection)

* Blessing of the River and Celebration (6:00 PM to Sundown)

 

———————-

*Recorded Ships Importing Africans into Pennsylvania and NJ (1760 – 1800)       * Data obtained from Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, Emory University (www.slavevoyages.org)

**The Philadelphia Middle Passage Ceremony & Port Marker Project (PhillyMPC) (established in 2013, by Denise Valentine), has worked to gather support for the nomination and to raise funds for the installation of the historic marker commemorating the lives of African ancestors who perished during the Middle Passage. All funds donated to PhilyMPC have been delivered to the Historical and Museum Commission toward the installation of the marker.

For more information about the unveiling, contact the Blockson Archives: 215-204-6632.

For more information or to volunteer on the Philadelphia Middle Passage Ceremony & Port Markers Project, contact Denise Valentine. 267-225-2541 of visit : https://sites.google.com/site/philadelphiampc/.

 

 

 

 

Penn’s Landing: Arrival Point of First Africans, Philadelphia approved for a State Historical Marker

PhillyMPCAncestral Remembrance Day Philly August 5th, 2016 PhillyMPC

Announcement

UPDATE!

June 2nd is now August 5th! To coincide with the unveiling of the new historical marker, PhillyMPC has changed the date for Ancestral Remembrance Day Philly to August 5, 2016.

4/12/16      The Philadelphia Middle Passage Ceremony & Port Marker Project is happy to announce that “Penn’s Landing: Arrival Point of First Africans, Philadelphia” is among the 23 new state historical markers recently approved by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC)!

Charles Blockson, Curator Emeritus of Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection housed at Temple University Libraries, submitted the nomination including letters of support from members of the community.

The markers, selected from 61 applications, will be added to the nearly 2,300 familiar blue-with-gold-lettering signs that appear along roads and streets throughout Pennsylvania.

Among the 23 new state historical markers are Hotel Brotherhood USA, a labor union, established  by hotel workers (1883),  Jackie Ormes, the first African American woman cartoonist, and John S. Fine, Governor of PA (1951 – 1955) whose administration ended segregation of the National Guard and opened the State Police to African Americans. HARRISBURG, Pa., March 22, 2016 /PRNewswire

The proposed date of installation at Penn’s Landing on the Delaware River is August 5, 2016. Contact the Blockson Archives for more information.

The proposed text of the Marker will read: (The text has been updated. The final text can be found here).

Penn’s Landing: Arrival Point of First Africans, Philadelphia

The first slave ship arrived at the Philadelphia port in 1684, carrying African slaves to William Penn’s newly established colony.  In the early years of PA, the Quakers in power did little to discourage slavery.  Many owned their own slaves and did not prevent the importation of slaves to the colony.  Although PA is considered a leader in the abolitionist movement, slavery was an accepted institution in the state’s early history.

Research identifying all ports of entry for Africans during the 350 years of the transatlantic human trade* identifies the Port of Philadelphia on the Delaware River as one of more than 175 middle passage ports in 50 nations of North, Central, and South America, the Caribbean, and Europe.

Established in 2013, The Philadelphia Middle Passage Ceremony & Port Marker Project (PhillyMPC) has worked to gather support for the nomination and raise funds for the installation of a historical marker in their memory. On June 2nd, each year, PhillyMPC has commemorated the Africans who perished in the Middle Passage by observing Ancestral Remembrance Day on Penn’s Landing.

PhillyMPC supports the larger, ongoing effort to build an International Coalition to Commemorate African Ancestors of the Middle Passage (ICCAAMP), in conjunction with the UNESCO Slave Route Project, to bring together all individuals, organizations, programs, and events related to the retrieval and preservation of Middle Passage history and heritage, including Remembrance ceremonies held around the United States and the world.  Since 2011, a non-profit umbrella organization, the Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project (MPCPMP). executive Director Ann Chinn, www.middlepassageproject.org has supported the planning of ancestral remembrance ceremonies by geographic regions in all U.S. cities that were middle passage ports.

 

Blessing of the River, Ancestral Remembrance Day 2013, Photo by Bob Lott

Giving these events even more significance, this is the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024)..

March 23: Marks the observance of the International Day for the Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade 

August 23:  International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition 

 

*Recorded Ships Importing Africans into Pennsylvania and NJ (1760 – 1800)       * Data obtained from Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, Emory University (www.slavevoyages.org)

 

Denise Valentine, Project Coordinator: 

The Philadelphia Middle Passage Ceremony and Port Marker Project  

~Ancestral Remembrance Day Philly

P.S. (We are considering changing the June 2nd date for Ancestral Remembrance Day to August 5^th to coincide with the installation of the marker. Do you think this is a good idea? Contact us.)

 

 

 

Upcoming Storytelling Performances!

http://eepurl.com/bQEPfn

Winter 2016 Storytelling Performances! Penn State Schuylkill Haven, UNSILENCED and One Book One Philadelphia!

Paul Robeson, West Philly Folk Hero

Listen to Keepers of the Culture, Inc. (KOTC) tell the story of Paul Robeson on SoundCloud!

KOTC, Inc. Logo ©1996 Columbus Knox

Opening song: Charlotte Blake-Alston Hosts: Tahira Akua Tahira and Dr. C. Frink Reed
Storyteller: Denise Valentine.

Brought to you by Scribe Video Center and PNC Arts Alive on WPEB 881FM Community Radio Station.

Comment by Louis Massiah, Executive Director, Scribe Video Center, Philadelphia | Shared by TAHIRA

 

Come out and enjoy Keepers of the Culture, Inc. Live in Performance at Sundays on Stage! Free Library of Philadelphia, Parkway Central, October 18, 2015, 2:00 PM. 

 

Philadelphia President’s House Monument featured on Travel Channel

In case you missed it, see the rebroadcast of #Mysteries at the Monument featuring the President’s House on the Travel Channel, 9/4, 5pm EST. Or, Catch it on my YouTube Channel.

Philadelphia Middle Passage Ceremony & Port Marker Project

Philadelphia Middle Passage
Ancestral Remembrance Day –
Annually, June 2nd, 2015

 

The Philadelphia Middle Passage Ceremony & Port Marker Project is leading the movement to conduct an annual Ancestral Remembrance Ceremony at Penn’s Landing. Our purpose is to acknowledge the Port of Philadelphia, and other locations on the Delaware River, as a port of entry for Africans during the transatlantic human trade; to commemorate the nearly 2 million Africans who perished in the Middle Passage; and, to install a historical marker in their memory.  On June 2nd each year, we observe Ancestral Remembrance Day with a Blessing of the River. We celebrate the triumphant survival of the descendants of those Africans, and their contributions to this nation. Finally, we call for healing and hope for future generations.

We ask that you come to the river. Bring your prayers, bring your drums, bring your bells, bring flowers or candles, bring your voices, your stories and most important, bring your spirit to honor our ancestors and uplift our youth. Our gathering on Penn’s Landing will began at 5: 30 on the pier behind Independence Seaport Museum. Columbus Blvd. and Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA.

Please also observe a moment of silence at 5:30AM, on June 2nd wherever you are in the world.

Visit the website for details on this year’s observance June 2, 2015: https://sites.google.com/site/philadelphiampc/

and, get updates on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhillyMiddlePassage or

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhiladelphiaMPC