A new exhibition at Rosecliff will tell the story of the African heritage community in Newport during the Gilded Age Newport in Color.
The exhibition, titled Gilded Age Newport in Color, was announced on Thursday, and it will tell the story of how African heritage families lived in Newport during the late 19th century and early 20th century.
During this time, Newport was seeing a new type of urban setting – the resort community – where African heritage families were an active part of the community.
The exhibition will show visitors how these families were able to leverage their commercial enterprises to promote economic security and political advancement, as well as how they hosted numerous social and political gatherings.
It will include photographs, handbills, business cards, news clippings, furniture, clothing, jewelry, and ceramics from the collections of the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society, The Preservation Society of Newport County, and other institutions.
Theresa “Soni” Guzmán Stokes, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society, says that the exhibition is a part of a broader project to tell the stories of African heritage communities throughout American history.
“Rhode Island’s Black Heritage Society has drawn from its over 9,000 linear feet of collections representing an African heritage experience that dramatically marks African heritage excellence,” she said.
The Gilded Age Newport in Color exhibition will be open to visitors at Rosecliff through June 30, 2024.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.
