Workshops

Tentative Schedule

As the workshops are finalized this page will be updated.

Morning & Afternoon Concurrent Sessions

10-11:30 am & 1:10 - 2:30 pm

The Mobile Museum of Black Artifacts Onna Moniz-John will usher participants through the mobile museum and provide information on how to incorporate artifacts into classroom teaching.

Morning Concurrent Sessions, 10:00 - 11:30

Concurrent Session 1: History of the Black Church panel exhibit

Ray Rickman & Robb Dimmick will walk participants through panels connecting 52 churches to the Black communities in Rhode Island. Highlights include the development of trade and education. Mr. Rickman will discuss the role of slavery on the economic development of Rhode Island, and Joe Wilson, Jr. (Trinity Repertory Theatre) will conclude the session with a reading of "Do Lord Remember Me" a story of the hope of a people crushed by slavery and plagued by racism, along with an artistic rendition of Alexander Crummell during the Dorr Rebellion.

Small group discussion & a question and answer session will follow presentation.

Concurrent Session 2: If Jane Should Want to Be Sold

Author Majory Gomez O'Toole will discus her book which traces the stories of slavery, indenture and freedom in Little Compton, RI.

Concurrent Session 3: It’s Being Done: African American History in RI Schools (this session will be repeated in the afternoon)

Teachers Scott Berstein (Cranston HS East) and Richard Martin (East Providence HS) will present the scope and sequence of their existing African American History courses. Geralyn Ducady from the Rhode Island Historical Society will also share lessons they have developed. Lessons and resources will be shared with participants.

Lunch Session 12:30 - 1:00

Central Falls High School Human Creativity Presentations

Heather Dos Santos, Deana Camputaro, Dolores Grant along with students will present their art, dancing, and written projects that highlight African American and other communities in Rhode Island.

Afternoon Concurrent Sessions, 1:10 -2:30

Concurrent Session 1: The Dorr Rebellion

Dr. Joyce Stevos will present materials prepared by Russell DeSimone on the Dorr Rebellion as an extension of the context of Mr. Wilson's morning performance. Ms. Lorén Speares, from the Tomaquag Museum will demonstrate the connections between Native Americans and the African American communities in RI during the 18^th and 19^th century.

Concurrent Session 2: Finding Phoebe

Although the town of Warren, Rhode Island in the 18th century was surrounded by the slave centers of Newport, Bristol and Providence, its small size has made it a footnote in much of what has been written about slavery and the slave trade. Building on the work of historians Joanne Pope-Melish, Ruth Wallis Hendron, Christy Clark-Pujara and Marjory O’Toole, Patricia Mues and Sarah Weed use primary sources – including wills, inventories, town meeting records and censuses – to identify the enslaved of Warren.

Concurrent Session 3: It’s Being Done: African American History in RI Schools

Teachers Scott Berstein (Cranston HS East) and Richard Martin (East Providence HS) will present the scope and sequence of their existing African American History courses. Geralyn Ducady from the Rhode Island Historical Society will also share lessons they have developed. Lessons and resources will be shared with participants.