Sites of Conscience Summit Feb 1 , 2021

How does a town like Bristol, with its difficult links to slavery and the taking of indigenous peoples’ homelands, tell the story of its past? Bristol was designated a UNESCO Site of Memory as a place to stop and remember the 2 million Africans who were lost during the passage and the over 10 million who endured the passage and lived a life of enslavement. Any narrative of Bristol must also grant the foundational role of the Pokanoket Tribe, the original inhabitants of the peninsula. The narrative that is ultimately told affects every resident and stakeholder in Bristol.

On February 1, 2021, Friends of Historic Bristol, a local 501(c) 3 non-profit organization, held a summit that brought together leaders from the Pokanoket Tribe and Descendant Voices in Action (descendants of Bristol’s enslaved Africans) with Bristol Town Administration, Bristol Town Councilors, heads of Bristol nonprofits who interpret history, church leaders from multiple faiths, arts organizations and local historians to discuss Bristol’s “hard history” related to its treatment of enslaved black people and indigenous peoples. More than 40 people attended via ZOOM.

The Friends of Historic Bristol Sites of Conscience Summit was led by Braden Paynter, Director of Methodology and Practice at the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, a nonprofit network of more than 300 historic sites across the globe that work to build a more just society. Sites of Conscience helps communities, historic sites and universities deal with "hard histories.” Catherine Zipf, of Bristol Historical and Preservation Society, began the program with a short history of Bristol’s past.

Mr. Paynter was introduced by Bergenholtz, stating “It is widely recognized today that Bristol had a major involvement in the slave trade that benefited most of the town, which is displayed in its wealth of historic houses and institutions.” Paynter described the goal of the summit as “working between Past and Present to shape the Future,” and “telling stories on a landscape of power to move toward justice.”

“We decided to hold this year’s program on this topic to bring the community together to discuss our ‘hard history,’” said Bergenholtz. This is the beginning of formalized discussions on how to honor the history of the lands of the Pokanoket Tribe and to memorialize and honor Africans who perished during the Middle Passage as well as those who survived and endured a lifetime of slavery.

Participants were asked to consider what we can do now that will serve as a beginning to greater efforts. Much of the discussion during the summit centered on how Bristol can commemorate this history and be more welcoming and inclusive of the Pokanoket and African American histories related to our town. Bristol sits on the ancestral land of the Pokanoket Tribe, and Bristol has also been named one of 175 International Middle Passage and Port Marker Sites, due to its involvement in the slave trade. Bristol was designated a UNESCO Site of Memory as a place to stop and remember the 2 million Africans who were lost during the Atlantic passage and the over 10 million who endured the passage and lived a life of enslavement.

FHB considers this Summit to be the start of an inclusive process that could have multiple outcomes: creating material products that memorialize Bristol’s history, creating processes that support respectful communication and community practices that celebrate our inclusive history, and creating relationships that strengthen the foundations of a more just society.

Those organizations who attended include representatives of: the Pokanoket Tribe; Descendant Voices in Action representing descendants of Bristol’s enslaved Africans; Town Councilor Mary Parella; Director of Community Development Diane Williamson; Bristol Historical and Preservation Society; Linden Place; Mount Hope Farm; Blithewold; Arts in Common; Bristol Art Museum; Rogers Free Library; First Congregational Church; First Baptist Church of Bristol; Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church; St. Mary’s Catholic Church; Bristol Middle Passage Port Marker Project group; East Bay BIPOC research group; the Committee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

This initiative is part of FHB’s annual program to implement its mission to enhance the quality of life and advance the vitality derived from Bristol’s cultural, historical and architectural heritage through initiatives and local educational programs.

Read the Summit Report HERE (opens a PDF in a separate window).