News

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) is unveiling an exciting lineup of Juneteenth 2025 events under the theme “A Reckoning: Reclaiming the Past, Remembering Black Voices, Reshaping the Future.” This announcement follows the postponement of the anticipated visit of the Freedom Schooner Amistad, which will now set sail for Portsmouth in 2026 due to unexpected restoration work. While Read More...

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) is proud to welcome three distinguished new members to its Board of Directors in 2025. Their expertise and leadership will enhance our mission of raising awareness of pivotal moments in New Hampshire’s African American history and cultivating more inclusive and just communities throughout the state. Karen Prior (Exeter, NH) joins the board Read More...

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) regrets to announce that the June 2025 visit of Amistad, a replica of the historic 19th-century schooner, has been rescheduled to 2026 due to major repairs that will prevent the vessel from sailing this summer. While the postponement is disappointing, BHTNH remains committed to celebrating Juneteenth, 2025, with an exciting lineup of Read More...

On Sunday, February 2, 2025, the Black Heritage Trail launched its opening discussion as part of the Eleanor Williams Hooker Tea Talk Series. Held at the Portsmouth Public Library, the event featured Dr. Edward Bruce Bynum, Tony Van Der Meer, PhD, Chief-Nze Oscar Mokeme, and Barbara McLean Ward, PhD, under the skillful moderation of Akeia de Barros Gomes, PhD. The talk “Things They Carried: Read More...

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) invites the public to attend the fourth panel in its 2025 Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talk Series, themed “The Art of War: Conflict and the African American Philosophy.” The panel discussion will take place on February 23, 2025, at the Portsmouth Public Library, starting at 2:00 PM. The event will be both in-person and available virtually. The Read More...

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) invites the public to attend the third panel in its 2025 Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talk Series, themed “The Art of War: Conflict and the African American Philosophy.” The panel discussion will take place on February 16, 2025, at the Portsmouth Public Library, starting at 2:00 PM. The event will be both in-person and available virtually. The Read More...

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) invites the public to attend the third panel in its 2025 Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talk Series, themed “The Art of War: Conflict and the African American Philosophy.” The panel discussion will take place on February 16, 2025, at the Portsmouth Public Library, starting at 2:00 PM. The event will be both in-person and available virtually. The Read More...

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) invites the public to the second panel of the 2025 Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talk Series themed “The Art of War: Conflict and the African American Philosophy.”  This 2025 Tea Talk is on February 9 at Portsmouth Public Library starting at 2:00 PM with a 90-minute facilitated panel titled: “Hopes and Impediments: War and Strategies for Belonging” Read More...

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) invites the public to the 2025 Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talk Series themed “The Art of War: Conflict and the African American Philosophy.”  The 2025 Tea Talks begin on February 2 at Portsmouth Public Library starting at 2:00 PM with a 90-minute facilitated panel titled: “Things They Carried: An African Philosophy on War, Surviving Enslavement, Read More...

                                    The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) presents the 2025 Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talk Series, titled “The Art of War: Conflict and the African American Philosophy.” Inspired by Sun Tzu’s classic text, The Art of War, this year’s series presents a Read More...

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) is honored to announce it has been awarded a New Hampshire Humanities Community Grant to support its 2025 Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talk Series. This popular community dialogue series takes place every Sunday in February at 2:00 PM at the Portsmouth Public Library in Portsmouth, NH. The 2025 series, themed “The Art of War: Conflict and Read More...

Grant Projects Designed to Expand Access to Arts Participation in Communities Nationwide The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) is pleased to announce they are one of 112 organizations nationwide selected to receive an ArtsHERE grant of $79,069 as part of a new pilot program from the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with South Arts and in collaboration with the other five Read More...

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) is pleased to announce the keynote and panel presentations secured for its 18th Annual Black New England Conference (BNEC) on October 5, 2024. This hybrid event will be hosted at Southern NH University (SNHU) in Manchester, NH and online. This year’s event, ‘LIVING OUT LOUD: The Intersectionality of Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation’, features Read More...

Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire Will Award Citizen of the Year to Justice Roe Williams at the 18th Annual Black New England Conference Justice Roe Williams (he/him) is a poet, writer, author, and now co-editor of his upcoming anthology, Deconstructing the Fitness Industrial Complex: How to Resist, Disrupt, and Reclaim What It Means to Be Fit in American Culture” published in 2023 with North Read More...

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) is excited to announce the 18th Annual Black New England Conference will take place on October 5, 2024. The event will be hosted by Southern NH University (SNHU) in Manchester, NH. This year’s focus is ‘LIVING OUT LOUD: The Intersectionality of Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation’ Race, gender, and sexual orientation have been historically Read More...

Black Heritage Trail of NH Presents 2024 Sankofa Guided Walking Tours “Ona Judge Day” Tour May 21 kicks off 2024 series Portsmouth, New Hampshire… Portsmouth Black History tours have been going on for 30 years. The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) expanded these tours state-wide 7 years ago. Known for sharing a truer, more inclusive history of New Hampshire, BHTNH’s 2024 tour season Read More...

CALL FOR PAPERS 18th Annual Black New England Conference Living Out Loud: The Intersectionality of Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation Deadline June 1, 2024 The intersectionality of race, gender, and sexual orientation has been historically intertwined, reflecting the complex dynamics of power, privilege, and oppression within society. Throughout history, marginalized communities have faced Read More...

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire and the Moffatt-Ladd House & Garden have come together in partnership; their inaugural offering is a not-to-be-missed conversation between descendants of African and white families of Portsmouth from the 1700s. Entitled “Discovery of Our Interconnected Legacies of Portsmouth: New Hampshire’s Slave History” the program will feature eight generation Read More...

A new pocket park honoring Exeter’s Black Revolutionary War soldiers, their families, and the community they lived in for over one hundred years will be the site of a Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire commemorative marker. The unveiling ceremony will be on Saturday, May 4th, at 10 a.m. This new pocket park will be located at 223 Water Street at the American flagpole, directly across from the Read More...

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire Hosts Informative Tea Talk: “Envisioning the Future” at Nashua Public Library The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) is pleased to invite the public to the concluding event of its Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talk series, “Envisioning the Future,” scheduled for Sunday, April 21, 2024, at the Nashua Read More...

  A Pivotal Conversation on Policing and Criminal Justice in New Hampshire Portsmouth, NH – The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) is excited to spotlight the fourth event in the Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talks 2024 series, “Close to the Edge: Policing and Criminal Justice in New Hampshire.” This crucial discussion, set for February 25, 2024, at the Portsmouth Public Read More...

    The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire is pleased to announce the officers who will lead its Board of Directors in 2024 and welcome three new board members. The board officers are President Dr. Shari Robinson who serves as the Assistant Vice-Provost of Student Life at the University of New Hampshire, and Vice President Tanisha Johnson who is the Child and Family Services Director for the Read More...

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) isexcited to announce the third session of the 2024 Elinor Williams HookerTea Talks, "A Question of Access and Quality: Health Care in NewHampshire." This pivotal discussion, set for February 18, 2024, at thePortsmouth Public Library, is part of this year's enlightening series, “A New Deal for A Great Read More...

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire is pleased to announce the kickoff of the Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talks Series for 2024, featuring two enlightening panels. These thought-provoking discussions aim to shed light on significant historical and contemporary issues concerning the African American community in New Hampshire. The first panel, titled “New Deal or Raw Deal: Why it Read More...

“A New Deal for A Great Society: Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talks 2024” Date: Dec. 12th, 2023 Location: Portsmouth, NH The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) proudly announces the Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talks 2024, a series of insightful and participatory panel-led discussions. This year’s theme, “A New Deal for A Great Society,” aims to delve into the Read More...

Portsmouth, NH – The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) is proud to present a remarkable evening centered around the book “Rosa Parks Beyond the Bus: Life, Lessons, and Leadership” on Thursday, November 16, 2023, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM at Temple Israel on State Street in Portsmouth. The event will feature author H.H. Leonard, who shares a compelling collection of memories, Read More...

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) is excited to announce a captivating book signing event on Friday, November 3, 2023, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM at 222 Court Street, Portsmouth. This special occasion will feature author Tammi Truax and Illustrator Rev. Lillian Buckley as they discuss and sign copies of their remarkable book, “The Pearl of Portsmouth: A Story of Dr. Martin Read More...

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) is proud to announce the exceptional lineup of lunchtime keynotes and special presenters for the 17th Annual Black New England Conference, themed “I Too Sing: Art, Writing and Music in Our BIPOC Communities.” This two-day event, held in partnership with Northeastern University and the Reckonings Project, promises to be a celebration of Read More...

Known for 1990s house singles like “Show Me Love,” Robin S. is the keynote speaker at the awards dinner of the Black New England Conference (BNEC).  Held at Northeastern University’s Fenway Center on October 20, the dinner includes a presentation of the Black Heritage Trail New Hampshire (BHTNH)’s Citizen of the Year award to Napoleon Jones-Henderson for his achievements championing Black Art Read More...