Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project (MPCPMP)
Remembering Ancestors
Much of our activity during this quarter was connected to the 400th anniversary observances for the 1619 arrival of Africans in English Virginia. MPCPMP emphasized that the history of African arrival to America (1526 to 1860) is shared with 52 documented U.S. Middle Passage locations, and the Project encouraged each arrival site to conduct an event in 2019 to honor ancestors. From August 23-25, 2019, MPCPMP Executive Board members participated Read More
Toni Morrison is being praised this week for her life’s work as an iconic Black American Woman author. At her passing, many have noted how the Nobel Prize winner chose to view the lives of Black people clearly beyond the “White gaze.” For those in the Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project (MPCPMP), however, she directly inspired us to address the history of captive African ancestors who died in Read More
Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Project (MPCPMP) Newsletter: April – July 2019 So much has happened since the last MPCPMP newsletter. Our focus now is tying up loose ends and organizing data, photos, and archival materials related to the Project’s eight-year history. We are projecting a completion date of 2020 or 2021 when documented U.S. Middle Passage arrival locations will have conducted at least one ancestral remembrance ceremony and installed Read More
This post is in response to the 2018 mid-term elections. Based on the results, citizens need to prepare for the 2020 national election to bring about change for the good of all. During a conversation several weeks ago with a young Florida activist, his phrase “2020 Vision” struck a chord. It’s not just about this current mid-term election; we need to see clearly that the electoral process and social activism Read More
During this quarter, Project efforts focused primarily on networking, grant solicitation, and preparing for marker installations in Camden, NJ; Galveston, TX; and Boston, MA. In January, MPCPMP made a presentation at the quarterly meeting of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission in St. Augustine, FL, and a formal submission for partnership with the Commission. One third of the documented US Middle Passage arrival sites are located within the Corridor. Read More