BLACK HERITAGE TRAIL OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

Business Plan and 3 Year Budget Forecast

Celebrating African American resilience, versatility and courage

OVERVIEW: BHTNH INTERPRETIVE CENTER AND OFFICES

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) was established in August of 2016 to promote awareness and appreciation of African American history and culture in NH. We celebrate the resilience, versatility, and courage of African Americans through education, public programs, and creating memorials at significant locations all over New Hampshire.

BHTNH received nonprofit status in January of 2017 and is an evolution of the work begun in 1994 by the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail, which recognizes over 300 years of Black history at more than two dozen sites around the city that are identified by permanent bronze markers. The BHTNH will use this model at important state-wide locations and through self-guided tours around NH.

In addition to trails and tours BHTNH offers year-round educational programs including the Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talks (Jan-March); the Spring Symposium (May); a Juneteenth celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation; a July 4th reading of Frederick Douglass’ Independence Day speech; and the fall Black New England Conference, now in its eleventh year. BHTNH also presents exhibits and offers “armchair” tours for schools, libraries, senior centers, and historical societies.

Our Proposal

goal chart
Through a combination of CDFA Tax Credits, gifts from individuals, grants, and a bridge loan from Northway Bank and NH Community Loan Fund, we will purchase 222 Court Street in Portsmouth NH from for the purpose of housing our offices and a visitor and interpretive center. This building, constructed in about 1749, is on the National Register of Historic Places and at the heart of where NH’s African story begins. It is a four-block walk to the port of entry at Puddle Dock and a one- block walk to the African Burial Ground, which was dedicated in 2014. These are the bookends of the Portsmouth tour. The building, known at The Parsonage, was home to the first rector called to serve Queen’s Chapel, Rev. Arthur Browne. Among Rev. Browne’s possessions were two enslaved males, Jesse and Pompey whom he bequeathed one each to his wife and his nephew. It is not known if these men were ever given their freedom.

With its 30 Portsmouth sites identified by bronze markers, the well-documented Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail is the ideal platform upon which to build this statewide initiative and foster deeper research into a truer and more complete understanding of NH history. Our offices at 222 Court Street, with a sign prominently located on the building façade, will serve as a constant reminder of an African presence that started in 1645.

The Opportunity

BLACK HERITAGE TRAIL OF NEW HAMPSHIRE is pleased to submit this proposal for your support. From this colonial era building BHTNH will achieve its vision to celebrate African American resilience, versatility, and courage.

Objectives

222 Court Street represents a one-time opportunity to purchase an affordable building in the heart of the Black Heritage Trail, while adding the story of Jesse and Pompey, Africans enslaved here in the 18th century. A fundamental element of the mission is to make Black history of NH visible.

  • Establishing an interpretive center and offices in Portsmouth BHTNH will secure the first building block toward mission fulfillment.
  • Fostering change in the way we understand human dignity free of cultural stereotyping.
  • Promoting Black history as central to the American story, and an essential building-block toward addressing race and racism in America.
  • Supporting efforts to level the playing field for NH’s 15,000 African Americans, 40 percent of whom are youth and young adults, by providing impressive historic African American role models.
  • Being among the first states to have an interpretive center on Black history affiliated with the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Execution Strategy

Our execution strategy incorporates:

  • A diverse team of professionals broadly representative of multiple disciplines who serve on the board of directors;
  • A qualified executive director who is nationally recognized for her leadership in promoting a more inclusive understanding of American history and for bringing the Harriet Wilson Project to fruition;
  • A network of partnerships with other historical institutions in Portsmouth and New Hampshire including the Seacoast African American Cultural Center, Portsmouth Historical Society, Strawbery Banke Museum, the Harriet Wilson Project, the NH Historical Society, the Governor John Langdon House of Historic New England, and the Moffatt Ladd House, home of William Whipple, signer of the Declaration of Independence and Prince Whipple, author and signer of the 1779 Slave Petition to the New Hampshire General Court.
  • An affiliation with the National Museum of African American History and Culture, as one of its state satellite interpretive centers.
  • A solid foundation of existing programs, tours, and services that draw over a thousand attendees annually to:
    • Elinor Hooker Winter Tea Talks (with combined attendance of 700 in 2017) – Held on Sunday afternoons January through March on topics and events of current interest as related to discussions of race and African American heritage and culture. 2017 presentations include:
      • Politics and Activism in the Era of Trump
      • The Unreconstructed North: Assimilation, Apartheid and Reconciliation
      • Men of the Cloth: Black Masculinity and Spirituality
      • The Birth of A Nation: A Film Discussion
      • Never Caught: The Washington’s Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge
      • On Being Muslim in the Deep North
    • 2017 Spring Symposium (attendance of 125) – Mapping the Underground Railroad: The Black Past Remembered and Reclaimed in New Hampshire
    • 2017 Juneteenth Celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation (attendance 120) – Program title “The Art of Activism, Cultural Resistance and Everyday Protest” followed by an evening concert with 150 in attendance
    • Sankofa Tours of the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail (combined attendance 500) every Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and by appointment for school groups, bus tours, and armchair tours where we bring the program to the community (libraries, senior centers, adult living facilities, historical societies, etc.)
    • Fall Black New England Conference (attendance on average is 150-200 over 2 days) – the 2017 theme conference, “The Science and Engineering of Race: Living Through the Archives,” examined the historical and current impact of ‘race science’ and the pseudo-scientific movements to present ‘race as destiny’ in areas of modern medicine and health care, reproductive rights, public policy, criminal law, civil rights, athletics, educational access, and effects on the arts and entertainment industries.

    Financial Benefits

    • A Portsmouth location for interpretive center and offices will help to stabilize organizational finances by providing a highly visible home as a showcase for African American history and in the neighborhood of the many prominent mansions that interpret the history of Western Europeans.
    • Revenues from sales and services will be enhanced by its downtown Portsmouth location and the prestige of being in the historic district as determined by the National Trust of Historic Places.
    • Additional office space to offer for rental purposes will support financing and monthly mortgage payments.
    • The potential award of CDFA Tax Credits will provide BHTNH the opportunity to forge new connections with the business community and sponsorships that could last beyond tax credits.
    • Visibility of the campaign will strengthen our presence and value in engaging the state in an ongoing dialog to address racism and bigotry.

    Long-Range Planning

    To enhance revenues and operating support in the first three to five years of operations, BHTNH will:

    • In 2018: Partner with UNH English Department to offer two-year internships that will attract and retain African American graduate students.
    • In 2018: Seek stipends to support summer internships to promising African American high school and college students with the goal of establishing endowment for this program.
    • In 2019: Develop an in-house speakers bureau of qualified volunteers into a stable income stream.
    • In 2020: Seek an operating support grant from IMLS to add research staff to document stories statewide; to recruit and train tour guides from other cities and towns; and to develop curriculum guides and educational programming for NH schools.
    • From 2018-2020: Extend tours to other regions of the state through the support of an ongoing grant from a family foundation. The schedule for expanding tours to ten other towns by region is:
      • 2018: Milford, Andover, Mason
      • 2019: Hanover, Canaan, Newport and Coit Mountain, Warner
      • 2020: Hancock, Keene, Jaffrey

    Project Approach and Timeline for Execution

    To support the purchase and preservation of 222 Court Street BHTNH:

    • April 2018: Secured a bridge loan from Northway Bank and NH Community Loan Fund to finance the purchase.
    • June 2018: Applied to NH CDFA for tax credits that will reduce or eliminate the bridge loan by 2020.
    • March – June 2018: Soliciting individuals and foundations to support private capital gifts that will reduce the financing package and provide a 20 percent deposit plus costs ($150,000) at closing.
    • Fall 2018: Applying to New Hampshire Preservation Alliance (NHPA) fall of 2018 to receive a “7 to Save” designation for 222 Court Street, a good candidate now that the entire of downtown Portsmouth is designated historic district by the National Trust.
    • June 2019: Applying to Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP) in June of 2019 to support 50 percent of the preservation costs of saving 222 Court Street. Grants are announced in December and awarded in 2020. Matching funds can be raised prior to submitting application.
    • Fall 2019: Applying to City of Portsmouth Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for LCHIP match.

    Because We Believe Campaign Progress

    The above Approach and Timeline outlines a plan that was initiated in January of 2018. To date we have accomplished the following benchmarks:

    • Established a Campaign Committee co-chaired by UNH Faculty Fellow Dennis Britton, who co-chairs the Research and Engagement Academy, and Dr. Yvonne Goldsberry, President of the Endowment for Health.
    • Other members of the Campaign Committee include BHTNH Board President Rev. Bob Thompson, State Senator David Watters, author and professor Doug White, BHTNH Director Angela Matthews, and BHTNH Executive Director JerriAnne Boggis.
    • Since signing the Purchase and Sale agreement in March 2018, we have successfully solicited $66,000 in gifts and pledges, and have identified additional potential gifts of over $100,000 for immediate solicitation to reach a goal of $150,000 for the June closing.
    • In July we will begin testing a multi-purpose goal of $2.5 million by reaching out through networks represented on the Campaign Committee. In the late fall of 2018 we will initiate a feasibility study to determine a realistic target. The study will be conducted with individuals who have previously been contacted by a member of the Campaign Committee to establish interest and openness to being engaged in the conversation. We will:
      • Seek a challenge gift from at least one of the lead gift donors.
      • Seek gifts for purchasing the building, capital improvements, endowment, and start-up for our emerging organization

    Conclusion

    We look forward to working with you in realizing a dream of truly welcoming community for all. We are confident that we can meet the challenges ahead, and stand ready to partner with you in delivering a new era of inclusion and appreciation. It would be a great honor to have your support in establishing this interpretive center and engaging the community as we continue to work toward an end to racism and bigotry. Thank you for your consideration.