The Project provides local archival research, professional teacher development, a classroom curriculum, and public programming to help students discover and chronicle the local history of slavery. The final component of the work in each community is the placement of Witness Stone Memorials™ that honor enslaved individuals where they lived, worked, or worshiped.
In an effort to join the worldwide movement of people and organizations seeking to be honest with ourselves and tell a more accurate story of the role of race in our history and society, Kingston Congregational Church embarked on a partnership with the Witness Stones Project, Inc. to research and install the first Witness Stones in Rhode Island. We see this as a way to account for our church’s intimate connection with the history of slavery in our location and a way to advance the conversation of racial justice in our time.
The Compass School (Kingston) administration and faculty eagerly accepted the invitation to join Kingston Congregational Church in our local Witness Stones Project. Middle school aged students and their teachers join participants of many ages from Kingston Congregational Church and the wider community in learning about the history of slavery in Rhode Island, the lives of specific enslaved individuals and in installing a permanent memorial (Witness Stones) in commemoration to these individuals.
