Providence - Water Street - Providence, Rhode Island
Posted by: 401Photos
N 41° 49.308 W 071° 24.338
19T E 300209 N 4632788
Part of the Rhode Island Afro-American Heritage Trail, a Rhode Island Black Heritage Society marker on S. Water St. in Providence, notes the seaport site's historical connection to 18th century slave trade and 20th century Cape Verdean immigration.
Waymark Code: WM169HR
Location: Rhode Island, United States
Date Posted: 06/08/2022
Views: 2
The
Rhode Island Black Heritage Society collects historical materials, distributes information, and promotes the study and preservation of African Diaspora history and historical artifacts. A cast metal marker placed by the organization is mounted to the top face of a cuboid, beveled-edge concrete base. The brief text describes the place's slavery history and its importance for immigrants from Cape Verde in more recent times. According to this
Wikipedia entry, Rhode Island is home to the second largest Cape Verdean population in the United States. Part of the Rhode Island Afro-American Heritage Trail, the plaque, on the Providence River's eastern bank along South Water Street between Power and Doubloon Streets, reads:
PROVIDENCE
(WATER STREET)
THE SITE OF AN 18TH CENTURY SEAPORT VILLAGE WHERE
SEAFARING MERCHANTS PARTICIPATED IN THE AFRICAN
SLAVE TRADE. IN THE 20TH CENTURY THIS PORT WAS
USED BY CAPE VERDEANS WHO CAME TO LIVE IN AMERICA.
A PROJECT OF THE RHODE ISLAND BLACK HERITAGE SOCIETY