The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘Scattered pathway of human bones’ mark Middle Passage
MIDDLETOWN — The oncethriving trade of enslaved people in Middletown is an integral part of the city’s history — yet one not generally known outside history circles.
A 1770 map of Middletown provides evidence the trading of enslaved people from the West Indies was operated from shops on Main Street.
“It clearly says, ‘Dr. Walker, slave dealer,’” said municipal historian Debbie Shapiro, the recently retired director of the Middlesex County Historical Society.
Middletown was recently designated as a Site of Memory by the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as part of the international project, “The Slave Route: Resistance,
Liberty, Heritage.”
The Middletown Middle Passage Ceremony and Port Marker Project Committee will hold a ceremony and the unveiling of a plaque of remembrance at 10 a.m. Saturday at Harbor Park, 80 Harbor Drive. The morning will be a chance to remember enslaved Africans who contributed to the building of the community.
During the course of its research, the committee found ads in old editions of local newspapers: “‘Recently arrived from Africa, two women and a child,’” as well as ads for those who fled: “‘Missing a finger, but still fiddles well,’ things like that,” Shapiro said.
When she arrived at Harbor Park Thursday morning, her eyes went to the 6foottall bronze plaque installed along the Connecticut Riverfront. It was the first time she’d seen it erected.
Shapiro was so overcome with emotion, she struggled to put feelings into words. She ran her fingers along the raised words of the marker, quietly reading its inscription, as the morning light shone into her eyes, making the work difficult.
“In 1738, the ship Martha & Jane, owned by Ambraham Redwood, arrived at Middletown’s riverfront, having sailed from Africa, and 126 enslaved Africans disembarked. During the voyage, 23 of their fellow captives had perished. In 1761, the Speedwell, captained by Middletown native Timothy Miller, also arrived, carrying its human cargo from Africa,” the plaque reads.
“On that voyage, 21 enslaved Africans perished during the Middle Passage, with 74 surviving. The names of the men, women, and children who made these treacherous voyages are lost to history,” it says.
“I just see so much racial injustice in our society, and I’m hoping the more people who find out about the true
history will go forth and do what they can to work toward a more just society,” Shapiro said, offering insight into why Saturday is being called a “ceremony of local and personal healing.”
More people became aware of the city’s connection to the slave trade when they visited the most recent exhibit: “A Vanished Port: Middletown & the Caribbean, 17501824,” which shows, among other things, “the luxurious life of Middletown’s merchants and the suffering of enslaved workers in the sugar monoculture of the English Caribbean.”
Most people think slavery was relegated to the South, however, the exhibit demonstrated some of the country’s largest slave dealers were in New England, most notably, Bristol, R.I., Shapiro said.
A look at the first U.S. Census, in 1790, reveals the names of Middletown residents and how many enslaved people they owned, including one who had 11.
It has been 400 years since the first kidnapped Africans were enslaved in Englishclaimed America. Captured Africans were shipped across the Atlantic Ocean (the Middle Passage) to be sold into slavery, Shapiro said.
They were chained throughout the months of their journey, lying on platforms in the cargo hold of the ship. The captives would be allowed to come up once a day for “exercise,” then returned to their chambers — to unspeakable conditions.
“Down below, it was all urine and feces everywhere. People were dying, dysentery was rampant. They would lose huge numbers of people on the Middle Passage, and they would just dump them overboard.
“They barely fed them on the way,” Shapiro said.
During Saturday’s proceedings, Shapiro will be quoting from AfricanAmerican historian John Henrik Clarke, a sentence that especially moves her:
“If the Atlantic were to dry up, it would reveal a scattered pathway of human bones, African bones marking the various routes of the Middle Passage.”
Drummer Ron Edens, who grew up in the Long River Village housing project in Middletown, has lived here for 50 years.
He’ll be conducting a drum call Saturday — a tradition in Africa and communities throughout the globe that employs rhythm as a signal to draw people to an important event.
He likens the process to a triangle bell used to summon people to dinner, or the reveille, a bugle or trumpet call to soldiers.
“It’s a signal to get your attention that something is going on. That’s the time of day when you stop what you’re doing and come down to the drumming. Cultures use different beats for different reasons,” Edens said.
Saturday’s ceremony will be a landmark event, Edens said.
“It’s not going to happen again. Not here in Middletown. Not like this,” said Edens, who calls Middletown “a hidden diamond.”
“Every child who walks down to Harbor Park is going to start being proud of who they are and what they are,” he said.
Maria Madsen Holzberg, president of the Middletown Garden Club, is in charge of floral arrangements and other logistics Saturday.
“The more you learn about our history and the parts that were skimmed over when we were younger — but now are much more researched and explained — [affords a] greater appreciation for our fellow man, and the toil that people were forced to endure.
“They basically built our city,” Holzberg said of the enslaved people.
Holzberg helped with two youth signmaking projects: One, during which youths 5 to 14 will be calling out the African nations by their colonial name, followed by their current titles; and another, which will involve the voicing of Middletown’s AfricanAmerican ancestors.
Cross Street AME Zion Church historian Mardi Loman conducted extensive research and eventually uncovered the names of 48 individuals who arrived by ship, and identified about seven abolitionists and people living in Middletown who helped free some of the captives.
Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs. There will be free parking at Melilli Plaza. For information, contact Shapiro at 8603440033.