Black History with VP of 1696 Heritage Group Keith Stokes

Send us a text Keith Stokes, Vice President with the historical consulting firm, 1696 Heritage Group is "dedicated to helping persons and institutions of color to increase their knowledge and access to the light of truth of their unique American heritage." Learn about how the skills, culture and creations of African and indigenous heritage people built Rhode Island, New England and our American culture.  “I think the most important thing for people to recognize is, is that for African heritage people our history is so much more than our racial trauma. And, slavery is an incredibly important aspect of our history, it’s how many of us arrived here, but it shouldn’t define us. And there is so much unrecovered history that talks about the people, our culture, our heritage.  "I was fortunate to be in a household where it was really cool to be black. I mean, because I was able to connect with ancestors before enslavement, and more importantly who survived and thrived despite slavery, or despite the civil war and discrimination and Jim Crow, and even here in New England. So, for me it was a sense of power and I’m always very excited when I can connect with kids of color, particularly African heritage kids, and give them a sense of the power that they have, and that their ancestors have and again, here in Newport and we invite people to come to Newport, we have the oldest African burial ground in America, right here in Newport. It dates back to the early 18th century and many of the markers are actually carved by and represent early enslaved and free Africans, dating back to the 18th century.  "So, we’re very proud of that, because again people come to New Port and they enjoy our  jazz, our sailing, our music mansions, but they don’t even realize the fact that many of the contributors to New Port’s history were people of African heritage. And when young kids get to see that and feel that I can’t tell you how excited they get, because all of the sudden history is not about them, it is them.”    ~Keith Stokes This show is a re-run for January 2022.