(Above, click for video clip) The sculpture, “Our Ancestors Come With Us”, by Spencer Evans, was unveiled at Independence Park in Bristol, RI on August 25, 2025. Commissioned by the Bristol Middle Passage Port Marker Project, the work seeks to acknowledge the history and memory of Bristol’s participation in slavery and the Transatlantic Human Trade and its resounding effects on African and Indigenous peoples by erecting a memorial to honor those affected by this history and their contributions to our nation, and to serve as a site for educating people on this history, and for hosting reconciliation and healing ceremonies. Click here for a 40-minute video of the first half of the event, here for a 60-minute video of the second half, and here for a 45-second view of the unveiling.

(Above) Actress, singer and playwright, Rose Weaver, began the ceremony with a Song of Greeting & Peace before Board Member Stephan Brigidi welcomed over 200 people to the event. The Memorial Sculpture is the result of years of work by a determined committee of local citizens and many more volunteers and supporters, all joined by the common purpose of acknowledging Bristol’s history, and, most importantly, of honoring the memory of all of those harmed by the trans-Atlantic human trade.

Sachem Tracey Dancing Star Brown and Sagamore William Winds of Thunder Guy addressed the crowd about the history of the Pokanoket Tribe/Pokanoket Nation before the Heartbeat of the Pokanoket Drum performed a memorial song to the ancestors who have passed (click to listen).

(Above) Bernard K. Freamon, Professor of Law and Director of the RWU Institute for Race and the Law, who chaired the 12-member Project Board of Directors, introduced DeWolf Family descendants Elizabeth Sturges Llerena and Holly Fulton, and then Mrs. Victoria Johnson, founder of the Newport Middle Passage Port Marker Project.

(Above) U.S. Congressman Gabe Amo and Senator Jack Reed spoke about the importance of the project in educating those who visit the site about the legacy of enslavement of both Indigenous and African people that began over 400 years ago in New England.

(Above) Dr. Sherri Cummings spoke on the importance of alliances before she introduced Professor B. Anthony Bogues, Director of the Brown University Simmons Center for Slavery and Justice who spoke on “Memorials As Calls for Action: Reflections on Slave Memorials in our Times.” The event ended with Artist Spencer Evans speaking on “Our Ancestors Come With Us” before the unveiling of the sculpture.