Hearing Black Portsmouth enables visitors to actually hear directly from leaders of the region’s Black community who are no longer with us. Presented in recognition of the City of Portsmouth’s 400-year milestone, it is an outgrowth of a year-long effort to organize and catalog our archives, manuscripts, and oral history collections funded by a grant from the American Historical Association and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The exhibition includes words and belongings of six individuals — Rosary Broxay Cooper, Frances Tilley Satchell, Geraldine Palmer, Emerson Reed, Hazel Sinclair, and Doris Moore — who shared their stories with Valerie Cunningham, founder of the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail, in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
Visitors are able to read excerpts from their interviews, but, even more importantly, hear these voices from the past on a continuous audio-video presentation in our conference room. New exhibition cases, funded by the Jane B. Cook 1992 Trust, hold items owned by, or related to, the stories of Rosary Broxay Cooper, Emerson Reed, and Hazel Sinclair.
The exhibition also includes a board on which visitors can post their thoughts on the words of these leaders and their reflections on 400 years of Portsmouth’s history. Please visit and add your comments!
We wish to thank Valerie Cunningham and all the people (and their families) who have shared their stories and memorabilia with Valerie Cunningham and the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. The display is the work of the special project grant staff, and BNTNH permanent staff: Molly Liolios, Jody Fernald, Jill Minot-Seabrook, Erin Carr, Sheila Reed Findlay, Terry Robinson, Yulia Rothenberg, and Barbara Ward. Special thanks to everyone who mounted the earlier exhibition from which much of this material was drawn.
