Our first step:
Recognizing the history of slavery
The Town Meeting and Board of Selectmen of Brookline approved the resolution below, acknowledging the complicity of the Town Government and many of the people of Brookline in slavery in our Town.
Malcolm Cawthorne
Malcolm Cawthorne grew up in Brookline, attending the Florida Ruffin Ridley School and graduating from Brookline High in 1988. He has taught social studies here since 1998. Malcolm has always seen education as a transformative profession, where being a Black man in front of school-aged children would create opportunities and security that he never experienced. He is a leader for racial equity, both at the high school and across the town.
"You see, the Brookline I know has always been liberal minded, accepting and open. These are the main reasons, along with the great schools, that my wife and I decided to move our family to the town that reared me. However, that dissuades us from looking for the true story of Brookline. We simply assume that this is the way we have always been; progressive, fair and egalitarian. This is why my students readily believe the stories of the Bowditch, Lawrence, Philbrick, Pierce and Tappan families, they believe the town was never different than the one they know now. To imagine townspeople, who would protest and fight in wars to end slavery, sells very easily in Brookline’s modern existence. This is an exciting part of my job as an American History teacher – to place local history within the realm of national discourse..."
Slavery In Brookline
Honoring the Enslaved
BYRON RUSHING: Former state rep and Boston scholar of slavery
"If [History] is not known, forgotten, 'lost, stolen or strayed', we suffer from [collective] amnesia. Today, when we consider the enslaved buried in this [old burying ground], we have the opportunity to recall not only Adam, Kate and the others, but also to recollect why we know so little about them and why we know so little about slavery [here]. This 'recalling' will not be an easy exploration.
2009 cemetery ceremony
In Town Meeting a member of the Select Board, Raul Fernandez, spoke:
Removing Edward Devotion's Name
(5.29.2018)
Raul Fernandez, Town Meeting Member, Precinct 9
"I rise to speak in favor of Warrant Article 23, and to share some historical and sociological context that may convince my fellow Town Meeting Members to favor this change. I am a faculty member at Boston University’s School of Education, where my teaching and research are focused on equity, diversity, and inclusion in education. My most popular course is about justice in education and that’s what I’m here to talk about today – what is just. It’s important to start with a simple fact: In our society, names matter. They matter to us as individuals – for instance, how others pronounce our names is important to many us. They matter to us as families, in that our family names often carry great historical significance. And names matter to us as communities – the naming of towns and streets and, yes, schools, predates the colonization of the Americas. For us, the naming of public buildings and memorials is an honorific – it’s a kind of monument. And the naming of schools, like monuments, are markers in time, etched in a present to tell future generations what we value, and perhaps what they should value too...
Read full speech→
"I rise to speak in favor of Warrant Article 23, and to share some historical and sociological context that may convince my fellow Town Meeting Members to favor this change. I am a faculty member at Boston University’s School of Education, where my teaching and research are focused on equity, diversity, and inclusion in education. My most popular course is about justice in education and that’s what I’m here to talk about today – what is just. It’s important to start with a simple fact: In our society, names matter. They matter to us as individuals – for instance, how others pronounce our names is important to many us. They matter to us as families, in that our family names often carry great historical significance. And names matter to us as communities – the naming of towns and streets and, yes, schools, predates the colonization of the Americas. For us, the naming of public buildings and memorials is an honorific – it’s a kind of monument. And the naming of schools, like monuments, are markers in time, etched in a present to tell future generations what we value, and perhaps what they should value too...
Read full speech→
Speech on the Occasion of Honoring 3 Enslaved Veterans From the Battle of Lexington (4.25.2017)
(4.25.2017)
Barbara B. Brown, Chair of Hidden Brookline: bringing to light the history of slavery & freedom
Good morning.
Hannah Arendt, who wrote political theory, wisely reminds us that “We can no longer afford to
take that which was good in the past and simply call it our heritage, and to discard the bad”.
Today we come together as inheritors of our country’s past—both of slavery and of the struggle
for freedom, which remains unfinished. We did not create this past, but--whether we arrived by
plane last month, were always here, or came in the last few hundred years--we are here
together, working to build something stronger, freer and more humane.
The 3 men we are honoring today, were just 3 among over 80 people enslaved here. In the
middle of the 1700’s, one out of every four households in our town owned people. Beyond
Brookline, during the American Revolution, in every one of the 13 colonies, slavery was legal.
Today we come together to honor three Brookline men: Adam, Peter and Prince--for their part
in establishing our country. Sadly we know exceedingly little about them, though I can tell you a
great deal about the men who enslaved them, because they were among the most prominent
members of our Town. So, for example, I can give you many details about Esquire Isaac
Gardner, who owned Adam. I can tell you street he was born on and the names and ages of all
the sisters and brothers he grew up with. We do know that Adam, Peter and Prince were strong men, strong enough to march many miles to the Battle and then back.
Peter: we know simply that he marched to the Battle on that April 19 th .
Adam: we have 2 simple facts: where he was on April 19 th and where he was buried: in the
pauper’s field of the Old Burying Ground.
Now Prince—ahh Prince! Prince was an extraordinarily courageous man, who believed so
strongly in his value and his right to be free…that one November day in 1777, 2 years after the
Battle of Lexington…[Hold up large reprint of the newspaper advertisement]
he risked his life and took his independence, his freedom. And was never heard from since.
Now I’ll close by invoking two traditions: It is the tradition in Brookline when veterans honor
one of their own, to invite a member of the family to come forward to speak about the one
who had served and died. And it is a tradition in some parts of Africa, that we ourselves become fully human only if we do something for another person. I invoke these two traditions together and call on all who are gathered here to be the family for Adam, Peter and Prince.
We claim them as ours.
We stand together in sorrow for the cruelty they suffered. And we stand together to finally give
them the honor that has been their due for 242 years.
Let us call their names together, out loud, as members of our family: Adam, Peter and Prince.
Altogther:….Adam, Peter, Prince.
Thank you.
Hannah Arendt, who wrote political theory, wisely reminds us that “We can no longer afford to
take that which was good in the past and simply call it our heritage, and to discard the bad”.
Today we come together as inheritors of our country’s past—both of slavery and of the struggle
for freedom, which remains unfinished. We did not create this past, but--whether we arrived by
plane last month, were always here, or came in the last few hundred years--we are here
together, working to build something stronger, freer and more humane.
The 3 men we are honoring today, were just 3 among over 80 people enslaved here. In the
middle of the 1700’s, one out of every four households in our town owned people. Beyond
Brookline, during the American Revolution, in every one of the 13 colonies, slavery was legal.
Today we come together to honor three Brookline men: Adam, Peter and Prince--for their part
in establishing our country. Sadly we know exceedingly little about them, though I can tell you a
great deal about the men who enslaved them, because they were among the most prominent
members of our Town. So, for example, I can give you many details about Esquire Isaac
Gardner, who owned Adam. I can tell you street he was born on and the names and ages of all
the sisters and brothers he grew up with. We do know that Adam, Peter and Prince were strong men, strong enough to march many miles to the Battle and then back.
Peter: we know simply that he marched to the Battle on that April 19 th .
Adam: we have 2 simple facts: where he was on April 19 th and where he was buried: in the
pauper’s field of the Old Burying Ground.
Now Prince—ahh Prince! Prince was an extraordinarily courageous man, who believed so
strongly in his value and his right to be free…that one November day in 1777, 2 years after the
Battle of Lexington…[Hold up large reprint of the newspaper advertisement]
he risked his life and took his independence, his freedom. And was never heard from since.
Now I’ll close by invoking two traditions: It is the tradition in Brookline when veterans honor
one of their own, to invite a member of the family to come forward to speak about the one
who had served and died. And it is a tradition in some parts of Africa, that we ourselves become fully human only if we do something for another person. I invoke these two traditions together and call on all who are gathered here to be the family for Adam, Peter and Prince.
We claim them as ours.
We stand together in sorrow for the cruelty they suffered. And we stand together to finally give
them the honor that has been their due for 242 years.
Let us call their names together, out loud, as members of our family: Adam, Peter and Prince.
Altogther:….Adam, Peter, Prince.
Thank you.
J. MALCOLM CAWTHORNE: Honoring three enslaved veterans
Good Morning and welcome to the flag raising ceremony to honor Adam, Peter and Prince. It is important that we, the people of Brookline and the Town of Brookline, acknowledge these men as individual men. The hidden element for these three men has been the possessive apostrophe that created permanence in their owned affiliation to Esquires of Gardner, White and Boylston. Today, we take the first step to recognize the individual impacts of these men who were forced to serve before we were united colonies or united states.
It is an honor to serve as your emcee today. It is an honor to be a Town resident today. For far too long, our country, our state and our town have refused to explain the realities of slavery. The irony of forcing enslaved men to fight against British tyranny and ultimately the path to freedom that would become principled in the United States hangs heavily on all of our shoulders and hearts.
Today, we take an important step in both symbol and deed to lift some of that weight. Today we thank Adam, Peter and Prince for their role in helping establish the freedoms we take for granted. Today, we honor these men’s bravery as soldiers, we honor these men as historical contributors, and we honor these men as humans within the course of Brookline and the United States of America.
It is an honor to serve as your emcee today. It is an honor to be a Town resident today. For far too long, our country, our state and our town have refused to explain the realities of slavery. The irony of forcing enslaved men to fight against British tyranny and ultimately the path to freedom that would become principled in the United States hangs heavily on all of our shoulders and hearts.
Today, we take an important step in both symbol and deed to lift some of that weight. Today we thank Adam, Peter and Prince for their role in helping establish the freedoms we take for granted. Today, we honor these men’s bravery as soldiers, we honor these men as historical contributors, and we honor these men as humans within the course of Brookline and the United States of America.
Brookline Strong: The heartbeat sessions
A collection of performances & tributes for our heroic essential workers & peaceful advocates for racial justice.
Florida Ruffin Ridley, her extended family, their long history of activism, and their relevance to today