Opening November 15 at Overlap Gallery, "Forging Freedom: Atlantic Journeys" brings together ten contemporary artists to explore Black and Indigenous histories of freedom-making across the Atlantic world.
Simmons Center Exhibit | The Unfinished Conversations Series
This exhibition offers a glimpse into The Unfinished Conversation Series, a living repository of over 150 interviews collected across four continents.
Victoria Mansion & Indigo Arts Alliance Event | Unwilling Architects Initiative Art Unveiling on 10/29/25
Since 2021, Victoria Mansion has been researching and sharing the stories of the individuals enslaved by the Morses in New Orleans, and how their unpaid labor provided the funds to build this beautiful summer home. Victoria Mansion has been working with artist Carl Joe Williams to produce a piece of art to bring the stories of the Unwilling Architects Initiative to life.
ABB Event | The Just History Project with Researcher Bill Grabin 7/23/25
This Wednesday, Atlantic Black Box is honored to host a presentation by Bill Grabin, who in 2020 joined a local effort to uncover the suppressed history of Wabanaki and Black residents of what are now the towns of Wells, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, and Arundel. Over the next five years, Bill led the research that culminated in the creation of the Just History Database.
Paris Hill Event | Debut performance of Antonio Rocha’s “Once Upon a Hill in Maine: The Pedro Tovookan Parris Story” on 7/16/25
Experience a powerful journey of resilience, courage, and freedom through the eyes of Pedro Tovookan Parris. Pedro was born in East Africa and found his way to Maine after being enslaved as a child and taken to Brazil on a Maine vessel.
American Ancestors Event | “Freedom Ship: The Uncharted History of Escaping Slavery by Sea” with Marcus Rediker on 6/16
With Dr. Marcus Rediker Hosted by American Ancestors June 16, 2025, 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. ET REGISTER HERE A pre-eminent scholar of Atlantic history and the award-winning author of The Slave Ship, Marcus Rediker joins us to share his definitive, sweeping account of the Underground Railroad’s long-overlooked maritime origins. As many as 100,000 people emancipated … Continue reading American Ancestors Event | “Freedom Ship: The Uncharted History of Escaping Slavery by Sea” with Marcus Rediker on 6/16
Partnership of Historic Bostons Event | Suing Slavery: Essex County Freedom Suits, 1765-1783 on 6/12
With Jeanne Pickering Hosted by Partnership of Historic Bostons Thursday, June 12, 7:00-8:30 PM, Online REGISTER HERE On July 1, 1714, at the Brattle Street Church in Boston, two so-called “free Negroes,” Anthony Tyns and Armote, were married. Ten months later their daughter, Lydia, was born. We would pay little attention to their marriage except … Continue reading Partnership of Historic Bostons Event | Suing Slavery: Essex County Freedom Suits, 1765-1783 on 6/12
Enslaved Legacy History Coalition Event | Belonging: An Intimate History of Slavery and Family in Early New England on 6/11/25
With Dr. Gloria McCahon Whiting Hosted by the Slave Legacy History Coalition Wednesday, June 11, 2025 | 10:30-11:30 AM EST Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84763385655?pwd=cUU3dVlUa24vdHJHdTYxUHR1U2VCdz09Meeting ID: 847 6338 5655 Passcode: 294088 New England has long been seen as a cradle of liberty in American history, but it was also a cradle of slavery. From the earliest years of colonization, New Englanders … Continue reading Enslaved Legacy History Coalition Event | Belonging: An Intimate History of Slavery and Family in Early New England on 6/11/25
ABB Event | Divided North: Abolition, Slavery, and the Slave Trade in Maine on 5/28/25
With Dr. Carol Gardiner and respondent Bob Greene A Speaker Series event Hosted by Atlantic Black Box Wednesday, May 28, 2025 6:00 pm ET on zoom REGISTER HERE Next Wednesday, Atlantic Black Box is honored to host a presentation by Dr. Carol Gardner that explores how the experiences of two 19th-century Portland families—one Black and one … Continue reading ABB Event | Divided North: Abolition, Slavery, and the Slave Trade in Maine on 5/28/25
Revolutionary Spaces Event | Rocking the Cradle Town Meeting on 5/24/25
Saturday, May 24, 2025 Doors Open: 5:20 PMTown Hall Begins: 5:30 PMTown Hall Concludes: 6:00 PMLocation: Old South Meeting HouseAdmission: Free REGISTER HERE In May 1854, a young man named Anthony Burns was arrested under the Fugitive Slave Law, and the city—long a stronghold of abolitionist sentiment—erupted in protest. Thousands gathered to raise their voices, challenge the law, and debate … Continue reading Revolutionary Spaces Event | Rocking the Cradle Town Meeting on 5/24/25
The Trump Administration is actively rewriting history.
Memory matters. Who is deemed worthy of remembrance correlates directly to who is allowed to feel they belong, who is protected, and who has rights.
Slave Legacy History Coalition Event Today | Plantation Goods: A Material History of American Slavery at 10:30 am
In this talk, Rockman tells the biggest stories of early American history through the most mundane artifacts: shoes manufactured in Massachusetts for the use of enslaved people in Mississippi, for example, or woolen dresses stitched in Rhode Island for enslaved women in South Carolina to wear.
Historic Deerfield Event | Engaging with the Legacies of Northern Slavery
Historic Deerfield is pleased to announce a one-day conference, “Engaging with the Legacies of Northern Slavery,” in collaboration with the Witness Stones Project to mark the completion of the second phase of installing 35 Witness Stones Memorials™ that honor the enslaved people who lived in the community.
Partnership of Historic Bostons Event | Enslavement in a Puritan Village: An Untold Story on 3/26/25
In this talk for the Partnership of Historic Bostons, Jane Sciacca uncovers the story of Sudbury and Wayland (the two towns that resulted from the original Sudbury) and its enslaved people - how they lived, who dominated their lives, and how they struggled for freedom.
The Prince Project Database is Now Live
The Prince Project database, now live, contains information about over two thousand people who were enslaved, or descended from enslaved people, and lived here in Maine in the 17th and 18th centuries.
TONIGHT! ABB Speaker Series Event | An Uneasy Alliance: Free African Americans & the Colonization Movement to Liberia on 2/19
Tonight at 5 pm ET, Atlantic Black Box is honored to host Dr. Ousmane Power-Greene, Chair of Africana Studies and Professor of History at Clark University, for a talk on Free African Americans and the Colonization Movement to Liberia in the 19th-century.
Slavery North Job & Fellowship Opportunities 2025-26
Slavery North has announced two unique fellowship opportunities for the 2025-26 academic year and two exciting job opportunities.
Old York Historical Society Event | Abolition and the Underground Railroad in Maine on 2/19
Mary T. Freeman explores the long history of slavery and emancipation in Maine, focusing on antislavery activism in the decades leading up to the Civil War.
Philipse Manor Hall Event | Discovering the Frank Brothers on 2/12
On February 12, follow the lives of William and Benjamin Frank, men of color who joined the Second Rhode Island Regiment during the American Revolution, as they navigate the challenges of war, ultimately ending up on opposite sides of the conflict. Join Dr. Shirley Green for this fascinating talk based on her book.
Maine Conservation Voters Event | The Malaga Ship: Maine, the Global Slave Trade, and Healing Through Artistic Reclamations on 2/7
In this session, storyteller Antonio Rocha will be joined by Dr. Kate McMahon, Historian of Global Slavery at the Smithsonian African-American History Museum. Together, they will tell the story of the Malaga and reflect on the ways in which historians and artists can collaborate to create new forms of healing and justice through artistic creation.