The panel will address the following areas:

• Historical Perspective on Slavery in New England- A brief outline of slavery in New England and its legacy
• Preservation of slavery and post-emancipation sites and memorials – A discussion of the importance of preserving these historical places and presenting history to the public. What story or stories should be told through memorials? The debate over erasing the legacy of slavery… (Harvard, Yale, etc.)
• History as a tool to start a dialogue about contemporary issues of race– How can we use historical sites and memorials to engage the entire community in a conversation by linking the past to the present?

Panelists:
Brent Leggs, National Trust for Historic Preservation
Jon Marcoux, Ph.D. Salve Regina University
Joanne Pope Melish, Ph.D., University of Kentucky
Penny Outlaw, Royall House and Slave Quarters
Keith Stokes, 1696 Heritage Group

Image: The Economic Activities of the Narragansett Planters by Ernest Hamlin Baker (ca. 1939), courtesy of the South County Historical Center