Sankofa

July 19, Aug 15(FULL), Aug 29(FULL), Sep 19 & Oct 17 | 2:00 pm A Quest to Thrive: Economics of Slavery & Portsmouth’s Early Black Community Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Angela Matthews Institutionalized slavery in Colonial America provided immense wealth and material culture to many European immigrants and their descendants in the Americas, as Portsmouth’s house museums bear witness. This tour brings into focus an economic system dependent upon the international slave trade with its constant supply of kidnapped…

  July 25 (FULL), Aug 22(Full), Sep 5(FULL), Sep 19, & Oct 24 (FULL) | 10:00 am Ain’t She A Woman: Let me tell you her story Sankofa Tour Guide: Valerie Fagin Can you imagine the hustle and bustle of a prosperous Colonial seaport town? This tour invites you to discover the world of early Portsmouth from the perspective of African American women. In spite of enslavement and hardship, these women fought for freedom, defied a sitting president, and educated…

Jul 25, Aug 1, Aug 16, Aug 30, Sep 12, Sep 27 & Oct 3(FULL) | 2:00 pm Thirst for Freedom: From NH’s Slave Trade to its Civil Rights Movement Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Nur Shoop Colonial Portsmouth newspapers testify to the local slave trade, runaways, abolitionists and anti-abolitionist activities, followed by conflicting opinions of the Civil War. In the 20th century, the legacy of that early history was reflected in news about de facto segregation in housing and…

July 26, Aug 8, Sep 20(FULL), Oct 11, Nov 8(FULL) | 2:00 pm Oct 10 | 10:00 am Meet Jack Stains, a “Black Jack” in Historic Old Portsmouth: A Living History Tour Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Kevin Wade Mitchel as Jack Staines Seafaring was one of the most significant occupations among both enslaved and free Black men between 1740 and 1865. Black seamen sailed on whalers, warships, and privateers. Some were enslaved and forced to work at sea, but…

Aug 7(FULL), Aug 28(full) | 10:00 am Port of Entry: Boys and Girls for Sale Tour Guide: Caraline Shaheen Local newspapers carried merchants’ ads for ships returning to the port of Portsmouth laden with cargo from trade ports on the West Coast of Africa, the West Indies and the middle Atlantic coastal cities of Colonial America. Visit local wharves and auction sites related to the Atlantic Slave Trade, where a captive could be exchanged for “cash or good lumber” to…

Aug 29(FULL), Sep 5(FULL) | 2:00 pm & Oct 3 (FULL), Nov 7(FULL) | 10 am Lives Bound Together: The Washingtons & Ona Marie Judge in NH Tour Guide: Sonya Martino During the Spring of 1796, George Washington’s final months in office, Ona Judge, an enslaved woman owned by the First Family, escaped the Executive Mansion in Philadelphia with the aid of that city’s free Black community and made her way to Portsmouth. On this tour, you will hear the…

Oct 31 | 2:00 PM (FULL) We Remember: Cemeteries and Burying Grounds Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Angela Matthews The African Burying Ground Memorial is one of at least six locations in the city where Black Americans and Africans have been laid to rest. Hear the stories and remember.

Milford Black Heritage Trail Guided Tour Sep 13(FULL), Oct 4 (FULL), Nov 1, 2pm Not enslaved, yet not free: Harriet E. Wilson and the Abolition Movement Tour Guide: Kayla Lewis Harriet E. Wilson was the first African American of any gender to publish a novel on the North American continent. Her novel, Our Nig, or Sketches from the Life of a Free Black was published in 1859. Born a free person of color in New Hampshire, Wilson was orphaned when young and…