Rhode Island Historian Laureate Keith Stokes visited Easton on April 30 to discuss the lives of free and enslaved African Americans in early New England during a presentation titled “Creative Survival: African Heritage Enslavement & Freedom in Early New England.”
Highly regarded for his work preserving African heritage communities and researching Black history in the United States, Stokes was invited by the Easton Town Cemetery Committee as part of programming connected to the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary. Information from the event was provided on behalf of the committee by Committee Member Deirdra Preis
Stokes began his presentation by tracing the transatlantic slave trade, explaining that more than 12.5 million African men, women and children were forcibly removed from their communities and transported on ships owned by British, Portuguese and other slave traders to the American colonies, Caribbean islands and South America. Approximately 2 million people died during the voyages because of disease and inhumane conditions, he said.
He described major New England ports involved in the slave trade, including New London, Newport and Boston, and explained that enslaved Africans brought with them advanced agricultural, maritime and trade skills. Many were sent south to work in rice and cotton fields, while others in the North labored in maritime industries or worked as craftsmen. Enslaved children were also sometimes apprenticed into trades, he said.
Stokes also noted that some Native Americans from New England were captured and sold into slavery on British-controlled Caribbean islands such as Barbados, where descendants of those communities still live today.
Although slavery was later outlawed in New England, Stokes said many northern businesses and residents continued supporting the Southern slave economy through trade and manufacturing. Textile mills in the North imported cotton produced on Southern plantations and manufactured coarse “slave cloth” used to make garments for enslaved people.
He added that many Southern slave owners maintained homes in the Northeast and that anti-abolitionist movements existed in northern communities to protect economic interests tied to slavery.
Despite those conditions, Stokes said free African Americans established thriving communities throughout New England, including Little Liberia in Bridgeport. Similar communities also developed in Derby and elsewhere in Connecticut during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
“It is important to note that the African heritage communities were not seeking to achieve integration but economic interdependence,” Stokes said, explaining that such communities aimed to provide access to economic and educational opportunities for Black families.
Stokes shared personal connections to Little Liberia, noting that some of his ancestors lived in the waterfront community and operated successful businesses, including dressmaking enterprises. He displayed family memorabilia, including a teacup from his grandparents’ wedding china, and said some of his relatives are buried at Mountain Grove Cemetery.
He explained that Little Liberia eventually declined because of industrialization and the construction of Interstate 95. The community’s last two remaining structures, the Mary and Eliza Freeman homes, are currently being considered for restoration by a private organization.
Drawing from primary sources such as deeds and letters, Stokes said his research has taken him around the world, including to Ghana, where his ancestors originated. During one visit, he toured a preserved slave holding structure and was shown the “Door of No Return,” the exit through which enslaved Africans departed for slave ships and were never seen by their families again.
Stokes said local residents later invited him to symbolically walk back through the doorway to mark his return to his ancestral homeland.
In addition to his historical work, Stokes has appeared in several educational projects and broadcasts, including the 2026 PBS program “Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History.”
