Prince Whipple, a young native of Africa, was transported during the Atlantic slave trade to America, and enslaved by William Whipple, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. In 1779, Prince Whipple, together with 19 other enslaved Africans, submitted a Petition for Freedom to the New Hampshire state legislature.

Centuries later, the descendants of African Prince Whipple and the white Whipple and Moffatt families join together in Portsmouth in a conversation about their discoveries of slavery and its legacy through shared stories. The panelists will discuss their connection with these two men and their New Hampshire families, African and white, as a living history. In the spirit of Sankofa, we explore together such questions as: what do we go back and learn from the past?  What do we do with what we find?  What is to be carried forward from reconciling past injustice? Who benefits?  What legacies will we pass to future generations?

PRESENTERS

Laurel Guild Yancey, 6th-great-granddaughter of Prince and Dinah Chase Whipple

Tonya Ward Singer, 6th-great-grandniece of William and Catherine Whipple