@elevennames.bsky.social , someone is handling their enslaving clergy with visible leadership.

I debated writing this. It can feel tempting, upon encountering yet another instance of this administration’s racism, to let it be. How many ways can you say the same thing over and over again? And yet we have to write it down, if for nothing else, so those who come after us know we were against it.

"How bad slavery was" is worse. Much worse. Much worse than you think, much worse than you're taught, much worse than museums depict. Worse.

I wanted to include this excerpt in my Phebe post, but I shortened it. Here, Mary Smith Cranch wrote to her sister Abigail Adams in Philadelphia in 1798 describing cruel treatment of a Black woman and her child, and Phebe's remarkable reaction. You should read it! www.masshist.org/publications...

🗃️

Phoebe lived the last 20 years of her life in Quincy, MA—a town named for the man who enslaved her parents, herself, and her five siblings. The name "Phoebe Abdee" never appears in the archives. The Adams Papers editors likely constructed this name in the 1960s.

The woman known as Phoebe Abdee, Phebe Savil Oliphant, was born enslaved in Col. John Quincy's household. She helped raise Quincy's granddaughter, Abigail Adams, and maintained a life-long connection to Abigail and her family. elevennames.substack.com/p/abigail-ad...

I wanted to include this excerpt in my Phebe post, but I shortened it. Here, Mary Smith Cranch wrote to her sister Abigail Adams in Philadelphia in 1798 describing cruel treatment of a Black woman and her child, and Phebe's remarkable reaction. You should read it! www.masshist.org/publications...

The woman known as Phoebe Abdee, Phebe Savil Oliphant, was born enslaved in Col. John Quincy's household. She helped raise Quincy's granddaughter, Abigail Adams, and maintained a life-long connection to Abigail and her family. elevennames.substack.com/p/abigail-ad...

Dropping tomorrow. Also, the name "Phoebe Abdee" was likely constructed in the 1960s. I reveal two surnames *Phebe went by, and I can name her parents and original enslaver. Hint: a local municipality is named after her original enslaver.

Who wants to know more about Phoebe Abdee, the enslaved woman who helped raise Abigail Adams? I’m polishing up a new piece. But for now: www.historynet.com/abigail-adam...

26. 1783 discharge for Primus Slocum of Rehoboth/Seekonk, Massachusetts, who served as a fifer in the 1st Rhode Island during the Revolutionary War. Learn more about Primus Slocum (and many other enslaved people in southeastern Mass) from Wayne Tucker: @elevennames.bsky.social eleven-names.com

Reposting this thread because it is good in so many ways. Side note: @elevennames.bsky.social did a piece on Betty Cooper awhile back elevennames.substack.com/p/january-3-...

On Feb 23 Thomas was arrested for encouraging enslaved people in Natick to free themselves next time the militia was called out. He was jailed in Concord until May, when a court ruled there was no evidence & freed him. Boston 1775 has much more on the case! tinyurl.com/y4f8ey27 #RevWarDaily 3/7

“We are not asking for favors. We are seeking justice for the people whose suffering built Harvard into what it is today,” Browne told the radio station. “Our ancestors worked for centuries without pay, and their labor fueled Harvard’s early development.” www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

New Episode of #BFWorld #Podcast! Did you know that many of the food traditions that define cuisine in the United States have roots in African American culinary history? Join Food Historian Diane M. Spivey for an exploration of the rich and complex legacy of African & African American foodways.

“The hard part of identifying Harvard slaves and their direct descendants isn’t the finding. It’s the looking. There are a million reasons not to look.” www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

Finishing work on a great episode with Leslie Harris about the history of slavery in New York City and the many important contributions Africans and African Americans made to early New York. It will be out later this month.

Holy cow

Anyone here study Zerviah Gould Mitchell? I may have an unpublished poem of hers. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zerviah...

Anyone here study Zerviah Gould Mitchell? I may have an unpublished poem of hers. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zerviah...

A wonderful event tomorrow at the Robbins House in Concord with Dr. Jonathan Square: Fashioning Identity: The Garrisons and African American Fashion in Photography It looks like a virtual option is available. Register for free here: robbinshouse.org/event/fashio...

A lovely thing about this era of gravestones from the Lamson family shop in Charlestown, Massachusetts is the occasional mix of carving depths. This stone (John Tufts, d.1728, Malden) is mostly carved in the usual deep style, but also has a lightly incised medallion that reminds me of embroidery.

“SNATCHING DEFEAT from the jaws of victory.” That’s how Harvard historian Vincent Brown describes the University’s decision last Thursday. . .to abruptly lay off the staff of the Harvard Slavery Remembrance program (HSRP) and outsource its work. www.harvardmagazine.com/2025/01/harv...

Vaccines save babies. Don't let anyone forget it. gravestone of Mary, Isaac, and Mary Brown, who died in 1740 and 1742, Waltham, Massachusetts (carved by Lamson family shop, Charlestown, MA)

“The Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery initiative identified at least 913 individuals enslaved by Harvard faculty, staff, and leadership and at least 403 of their living descendants, according to an internal report from December.” www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

Harvard Under Fire for Slashing Slavery Initiative Staff as Black History Faces Nationwide Attacks The move raises questions about the institution’s commitment to its $100 million Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery Initiative. wordinblack.com/2025/01/harv...

Did you know John Adams, not George Washington, solidified the precedents of the executive branch and presidency? Join @lmchervinsky.bsky.social for a re-evaluation of the Presidency of John Adams, including his deft handling the Crisis of 1798. #BFWorld #Podcasts #History #USHistory #Politics

Follow up: Harvard does not treat my senior exempt colleagues (i.e., salaried) as kind. They are facing real crisis.

I'm a member of the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers. I'm grateful that they are my partner as the Harvard Corporation severs my employment.

I had the privilege of hearing Dr. Brown speak at Wash U when I was a grad student and he was a guest. A stellar scholar and a good man. If you've pissed him off you've done something really bad.

Vincent Brown calls the lay off of Harvard Slavery Remembrance Program “wasteful and vindictive.” www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

“The Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery initiative identified at least 913 individuals enslaved by Harvard faculty, staff, and leadership and at least 403 of their living descendants, according to an internal report from December.” www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

Born #OTD, January 25, was one of the earliest Boston women to claim their equal right to vote: Zilpha Drew Smith (1852-1926). She registered to vote on August 4, 1920, weeks before Tennessee became the last state to ratify the 19th Amendment. Image: Registry from Boston City Archives

Yesterday I spoke with NBC 10’s Malcolm Johnson about Harvard’s bogus decision to siphon endowment money out of the Legacy of Slavery Initiative to an outside contractor. Harvard Law student Sean Wynn also reacts. youtu.be/dEzQ9JjJWnY?...

Not everybody can leave their house, especially with Covid, RSV, and more still outside. Pratt Library’s Writers LIVE events are always streamed live. I have one this Tuesday with author Tamara Lanier. www.eventbrite.com/e/tamara-lan...

Yesterday I spoke with NBC 10’s Malcolm Johnson about Harvard’s bogus decision to siphon endowment money out of the Legacy of Slavery Initiative to an outside contractor. Harvard Law student Sean Wynn also reacts. youtu.be/dEzQ9JjJWnY?...

"Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery researchers have not reviewed the full list of Overseers in the 17th and 18th centuries to identify all of those who were slaveholders; this is an important area for future research." H&LS Report, 2022. HSRP identified ALL the overseers. And they're mad we did.

Don't take my word for it! Listen to Richard Cellini, the director of the Harvard Slavery Remembrance Program. But also, I was the lead researcher on the Harvard and the Legacies of Slavery Project for two years. I stand by Richard and his team. www.thecrimson.com/article/2024...

Please do not misunderstand what is happening here. Harvard is hiring American Ancestors to compile authoritative genealogies that fall within Harvard's own limited, ahistorical parameters. They have fired the researchers who were telling them very clearly that the parameters were inappropriate.

A fucking disgrace.

👀 I worked on a similar project at another university searching for names of enslaved, and their descendants. This is troubling to watch even of the work continues with a contracted group. 🗃️

The outsourcing of connecting with the descendants of people Harvard enslaved is yet another way for the institution to try and distance itself from its past.

And so the termination of efforts toward some kind of truth before justice continues

FYI - The Crimson has updated and expanded its original report from earlier this afternoon.

Harvard is acting like it has something to hide, isn't it? Also unconsciounable to leave all these folks without a livelyhood just like that.

Profiles in Courage!

that's the Harvard we know and love

Also, Tamara Lanier's book about how Harvard actually treats the descendants of the enslaved people that the university continues to exploit is coming out next Tuesday, January 28. Pre-order it! From These Roots: My Fight With Harvard to Reclaim My Legacy www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...