Liberty Square

The members of the Newport Middle Passage Port Marker Project (NMPPMP) are eager to hear your views and to have your input into the design, scope, and development of a memorial park at Liberty Square.

“The Newport Middle Passage Port Marker Project is dedicated to shining a light on the history of Newport, Rhode Island, epicenter of the New England Slave Trade,” according to Newport Middle Passage Port Marker Project. “By telling the stories of the enslaved and honoring their lives with a memorial public space, we hope to ensure that the cultural narrative of our city is complete. We wish to honor and celebrate the lives and contributions of people of African descent in Newport and the nation, and to create a park emphasizing traditional American values of liberty, justice, and equality”.

NMPPMP engaged Julian Bonder + Associates, the architect for the Memorial to the Abolition of Slavery, in Nantes, France, to design a memorial at Liberty Square.

“Our efforts will include organizing Zoom discussions, social media notifications, direct mail, and e-mail. NMPPMP believes that your participation is vital to the success of this project that UNESCO has designated as a “Site of Memory.” We are convinced that the input and ideas of local citizens are critical, and we solicit your active participation,” NMPPMP writes about their efforts.

Join NMPPMP at one of the following zoom sessions

October 8, 2020

October 15, 2020

Reservations may be made for either of the two events online. Please copy and paste to:

https://www.facebook.com/NewportMiddlePassage

and register for one of the two Design Sessions through NMPPMP Facebook page. Go to Events.

or go directly to registration at one of these below:

https://libertysquaresession1.eventbrite.com

https://libertysquaresession2.eventbrite.com

Ryan Belmore is the owner and publisher of What's Up Newp. He took over the publication in 2012 and has grown it into a three-time Rhode Island Monthly Best Local News Blog (2018, 2019, 2020). He was named LION Publishers Member of the Year in 2020 and received the Dominique Award from the Arts & Cultural Society of Newport County the same year. He has been awarded grants for investigative and community journalism, and continues to coach and mentor new local news publications nationwide. Ryan...