Students help to reveal Medford's secret past

The Civil War-era Boston area is largely perceived to have been a hotbed of purely abolitionist activity. A group of University students, however, have done much to debunk that fraudulent perception with its involvement in the creation of From Africa to Medford: The Untold Story, a recently opened exhibit at the Medford Historical Society.

"Students are really surprised to learn how much slavery there was in Medford," Associate Professor Rosalind Shaw of the Anthropology Department said. Along with Medford Historical Society President Jay Griffen, Shaw taught a class in Spring 2002 that focused on what Shaw calls "public memory and public amnesia."

Under Shaw and Griffin's direction, students in the class created the exhibit, From Africa to Medford: The Untold Story. The students also had the help of two Medford High School students.

One of Shaw's previous classes transcribed original documents dealing with the slave trade in Medford. The documents were 19 original letters written by Medford slave trader Timothy Fitch. In the letters, now on display as part of the exhibit, Fitch details the trip from Medford to Africa to the Caribbean and back to Boston again. After purchasing slaves in Africa, traders such as Fitch sold them in the Caribbean for sugar and molasses, which were then used to make rum in the US.

Shaw noted that the rum industry, including Medford's Rum Industry, was dependant on the slave trade: "Slavery was much more important for New England's economy than many people think," she said.

Griffen describes the Society, first organized by volunteers in 1896, as an important educational resource.

"One of our goals [as a society] is to educate, not just the people of Medford, but the commonwealth and the country," Griffen said.

Shaw agreed. "The Medford Historical Society has a very important role in the community, as it brings knowledge about slavery and the slave trade to the community," she said.

In addition to educating, the Society takes an active role in preserving historical buildings and maintaining green space in Medford. The Society gives historical tours to school groups and offers free programs to the community, including college-age students. The Society owns over 5,000 photographs, the sixth largest collection of Civil War photographs in the United States.

Using the wealth of resources at the Society, students helped to shed some light on the lives of three people integral to Medford's history of slavery. One of these is Belinda Royall, an African slave purchased by Isaac Royall, whose estate and slave quarters still exist in Medford. Belinda was one of the first slaves to petition successfully for reparations. At the age of 75, Belinda successfully sued Isaac Royall for her freedom and an annual work reward.

Another integral individual is Prince Hall, sometimes referred to as the "father of civil rights." Long before Frederick Douglass did so, Hall helped enslaved peoples write petitions for freedom. He is thought to have helped Belinda Royall compose her famed petition.

Hall, a free mulatto, also founded the first African Masonic Lodge. After nine PM, the lodge served as a meetinghouse for slaves who would otherwise be whipped for staying out so late. Griffen describes the lodge as "the NAACP of the 1700s."

Pomp, the third individual focused on by Shaw and Griffin's class, was an African slave of the Brooks family. He built an 80-foot brick wall in 1765. This wall is reincarnated in a much smaller scale at the Society.

Griffen said that the wall and Pomp's masonry abilities "show that slaves in Medford were not just of physical strength." One of the Society's goals is to install a plaque on Pomp's still-standing wall that describes its significance and history.

In addition to uncovering the details of the lives of Royall, Hall, and Pomp, Griffen and Shaw's class researched other provocative topics. These include the African beginnings of Medford slaves, the Caribbean connection to Medford slavery, area slave owners, such as Faneuil [one of the biggest slave traders in the world], and an excavation at the Royall House slave quarters.

"Although the Medford Historical Society doesn't have the resources of other societies, they always encourage this kind of research. Many societies in New England prefer to shut people up," Shaw said.

Shaw noted the astonishment the students had when encountering the "wealth of these public traces of slavery in Medford, in comparison to how little the students learn about slavery in Medford at Tufts."

The exhibit, From Africa to Medford: The Untold Story, opened on Feb. 9. It will run through December 2003 and is open on Sundays from 2-4 p.m. and by appointment. The Medford Historical Society is located on 10 Governor's Avenue in Medford Square. More information is available at the Society's website: http://members.fortunecity.com/medfordhistoricalsociety/MHShomepage/."