The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire is excited to announce the unveiling of a historical marker honoring Nellie Brown Mitchell and Edward Everett Brown in Dover. This unveiling is part of our statewide program, Mapping Untold Stories, which makes New Hampshire’s Black history visible and brings to light the rich history and contributions of Black people in New Hampshire.
Nellie Brown Mitchell was a successful Black soprano concert singer, music educator, inventor, and activist. She was a native of Dover. Her brother, Edward Everett Brown was a lawyer and civil rights activist. He was born in Dover.
The unveiling will take place Saturday, July 15, 2023, at 1pm. The event will begin with a tour of Dover’s Black history sites, beginning at 11:00 am, meeting at the Dover Friends Meetinghouse - - 141 Central Ave. The tour will end at Dover Friends Meetinghouse. The program will then continue with speakers including MC Steve Curwood, Dover Mayor Robert Carrier, and BHTNH Board Member Sen. David Watters. Singer Jennifer Rachele will be performing songs sung by Nellie Brown Mitchell. Ms. Rachele is a Haitian-American artist born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. She has a deep love for music, theater, and words and respects the power it has to inspire and heal.
Following the speakers, attendees will then walk up the street to Pine Hill Cemetery for the unveiling of the marker and a prayer with Rev. Lillian Buckley at the Brown Mitchell gravesite.
After the unveiling attendees will be invited to view the display of historic memorabilia regarding the Brown family at the Woodman Museum. Refreshments will be served at Dover Friends Meetinghouse.
Schedule of Events:
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM - Dover Black History Tour - Todd Warfield and Nur Shoop, BHTNH Tour Guides
1:00 PM Welcome - MC Stephen Thomas Curwood - journalist, author, public radio personality and actor.
1:05 PM Welcome - Jeremiah Dickinson, Clerk of Dover Friends Meeting
1:07 PM - History of the family, Senator David Watters, Board Member, BHTNH
1:012 PM Remarks - Dover Mayor Robert Carrier
1:15 PM - Remarks - Jonathan Nickols - Director of Woodman Museum
1:18 PM - “Love’s Request” and “Thou Art Not Here”
Jennifer Rachele - soloist
Mike Effenberger - pianist
1:28 PM “Lift Every Voice and Sing”
Ava Thompson and Khloe Green - Dover 4th Graders
1:32 PM - Walk to Pine Hill Cemetery
1:37 PM - Marker Unveiled by and Acknowledgements by JerriAnne Boggis, Executive Director, Black Heritage Trail of NH
1:42 PM - Walk to Brown Mitchell gravesite
1:45 PM - Prayer by Rev. Lillian Buckley
1:55 PM Return to Dover Friends Meetinghouse for refreshments
Support for this historic marker comes from an “ACLS Sustaining Public Engagement Grants, made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)’s Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan (SHARP).”
Our Deep Appreciation Goes To:
Dover Friends Meeting, Dover Rotary, Seacoast NAACP Youth Council, Woodman Museum, Reverend Lillian Buckley, Green Art Stone Yard, Steve Curwood, Todd Warfield, Ginny Kristil, Jennifer Rachele , Mike Effenberger, Robert Cartier, Councilwoman Linnea Nemeth, Sharon Sirois, Dover Public Works, Ava Thompson, Khloe Greene, Jonathan Nichols, Jeremiah Dickinson, Beth Colea, Dover Public Library, Francis G. Hopkins Elementary School at Horne Street Social Justice Team, BHTNH marker committee - Jody Fernald, Erin Moulton, Stephanie Seacord, Courtney Marshall, Eric Aldrich, and Barbara Ward, our team of volunteers, and our organizers Dan Comly, Gina Bowker, and Terry Robinson.
