♪ >> TONIGHT ON "RHODE ISLAND PBS WEEKLY," -- >> VOTING RIGHTS.

INTEGRATED SCHOOLS.

BLACK NATIONALISM.

ABOLITIONIST ACTIVITY.

THE IDEA OF BETTERING YOUR COMMUNITY, SEEING PEOPLE WHO ARE OPPRESSED AND STRUGGLING AND CONTINUING TO FIGHT ON THEIR BEHALF IS A STRONG PART OF THE LEGACY OF PAUL.

IT'S A SHAME HE IS NOT MORE OF A NATIONAL HERO.

>> THERE ARE A FEW MORE FAMOUS FAMILIES THAN RHODE ISLAND'S BROWN FAMILY.

JOHN BROWN AND HIS BROTHERS ARE PERHAPS KNOWN AS THE FOUNDERS OF BROWN UNIVERSITY.

THE BROTHERS DID NOT AGREE WHEN IT CAME TO SLAVES AND THE SLAVE TRADE.

THEIR DIFFERENCES PLAYED OUT DURING YOUR LIFETIME AND HAS RESURFACED TODAY.

>> THERE A MICROCOSM OF THE FIGHT OVER SLAVERY THAT ULTIMATELY RIPPED THE COUNTRY APART.

IT WAS ALWAYS THERE FROM THE BEGINNING.

♪ >> WELCOME TO "RHODE ISLAND PBS WEEKLY."

I AM PAMELA WATTS.

MICHELLE: WE EXPLORE HISTORY AND WHO WAS INCLUDED AND WHO WAS LEFT OUT.

WE LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF WHALING IN NEW ENGLAND.

CONSIDE THE LITTLE-KNOWN FACT THAT BETWEEN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND THE CIVIL WAR, MORE AFRICAN-AMERICANS WORKED IN THE MARITIME PROFESSION IN ANY OTHER INDUSTRY.

IT IS ESTIMATED THAT SOME 10,000 SEAMEN WORKED ON WHALERS, AND 3000 WERE AFRICAN AMERICAN.

MUCH OF THEIR STORY HAS BEEN LOST TO HISTORY.

CASE IN POINT, CAPTAIN PAUL COFFEY, HE WHAT THE AGE OF 13 IN THE EARLY 1770'S LEARNED TO NAVIGATE IN JUST TWO WEEKS, ENABLING HIM TO ULTIMATELY COMMAND HIS OWN SHIPS.

HE TAUGHT NAVIGATION TO STUDENTS BOTH YOUNG AND OLD.

HIS NAMESAKE SCHOOL IN PROVIDENCE CONTINUES BUILDING A LEGACY THAT INSPIRES STUDENTS TO DREAM AS BIG AS THE SEAS.

>> THE WATER IS PEOPLE TO ME THAT'S PEACEFUL TO ME.

IT FELT LIKE IT WAS ME AND MYSELF AND THE WORLD.

>> FOR BRIAN, PEACEFUL AND FREEDOM WERE NEVER RITZY CONTACT -- WERE NEVER WORDS HE CONNECTED WITH THE SEA.

>> THE FIRST TWO WEEKS I HATED.

I HATED THE TIPPING.

AFTER THAT I JUST FELL IN LOVE WITH IT.

I GOT TO LIKE IT MORE AND MORE.

>>'S LOVE AFFAIR BUT THE OCEAN BEGAN AT THE PUAUL CUFFEY SCHOOL.

>> MY MOM WAS LIKE I DON'T YOU PLAY IN THE STREETS.

>> HE LEARNED HOW TO SAIL AND LEARNED ABOUT PAUL CUFEFEY.

HE WAS A BLACK SAILOR THAT SAILED ACROSS THE WORLD.

THAT INTERESTED ME.

>> MORE THAN 250 YEARS AGO, HIS NAMESAKE SCHOOL WAS BORN ON CUTTING HUNK ISLAND.

HIS MOTHER WAS A WAMPANOAG NATIVE AMERICAN.

HIS FATHER WAS AFRIDI SLADE THAT -- SLAVES THAT MOVED THE FAMILY TO DARTMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS.

AT THE AGE OF 13, CUFFEE'S LIFE CHANGED WHEN HIS FATHER DIED, LEAVING HIM AND ONE OF HIS BROTHERS THE 160-ACRE FAMILY FARM.

RATHER THAN STAYING AND WORKING THE LAND, PAUL CUFFEE STRUCK OUT, SEEKING A LIFE ON THE SEAS.

♪ WHALING VOYAGES CAN LAST UP TO FOUR YEARS.

THEY WERE PERILOUS BUT OFTEN LUCRATIVE.

SHIPS ROUTINELY RETURNED WITH THOUSANDS OF BARRELS OF SPERM AND WHALE OIL.

MICHAEL DYER IS A CURATOR OF MARITIME HISTORY AT THE NEW BEDFORD WHALING MUSEUM.

>> GLOVER AND OIL FROM SPUR MILES COULD BE CONVERTED INTO OIL THAT WOULD BURN CLEANLY AND BRIGHTLY, OR PROCESSED FURTHER AND COMPACTED INTO CANDLES THAT COULD BURN CLEANING AND BRIGHTLY.

ALL OF A SUDDEN SOCIETY WAS TRANSFORMED.

>> LEE BLAKE OF THE NEW BEDFORD HISTORICAL SOCIETY SAYS OIL WAS NOW THE ONLY PRODUCT.

>> THE BALEEN OF THE WHALE WAS LIKE LONG PIECES OF PLASTIC THAT BECAME CORSETS, BRAS, UNDERWEAR.

>> IN THE LATE 18TH AND EARLY 19TH CENTURY, MASSACHUSETTS PRESENTED A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR.

AT THE TIME QUAKERS WERE RUNNING THE WHALING BUSINESS.

THEY WERE SENSITIVE TO DISCRIMINATION BECAUSE OF THEIR OWN HISTORY.

>> THEY WERE PROSECUTED -- PERSECUTED BY THE PURITANS.

THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS LIKE TO BE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST, TO BE PERSECUTED, TO BE COUNTED FOR THEIR BELIEFS.

THEY TEND TO BE MORE SYMPATHETIC TO DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES.

THAT IS PART OF THE TEETH OUT, THEIR RELIGIOUS TIVOS.

-- ETHOS, THEIR RELIGIOUS ETHOS.

THEY HATED WORKERS.

TO HAVE ALL THE WHALESHIP SLEEP NEW BEDFORD WITH CREWS 25% TO 50% AFRICAN-AMERICAN, YOU HAVE TO BE TOLERANT OF OTHER CULTURES.

THE WHALING SHIPS HAD AFRICAN-AMERICAN CREWMEMBERS.

THEY HAD PORTUGUESE CREWMEMBERS.

THEY HAD NATIVE AMERICAN CREWMEMBERS.

THOSE PEOPLE ALL HAD TO GET ALONG AS TEAM MEMBERS ON A SHIP.

>> BY THE AGE OF 14, PAUL CUFFEE WAS WORKING AS A CREWMEMBER ON A WHALER.

LITTLE MORE THAN TWO YEARS LATER, WHALING WAS HALTED AS WAR BROKE OUT BETWEEN THE COLONIES AND GREAT BRITAIN.

>> IN THE ABSENCE OF AN AMERICAN NAVY THE WHALING FLEET WAS AT THE MERCY OF WHOEVER WAS THE STRONGER PARTY.

THE WHALING FLEET WAS DESTROYED IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

>> WHILE HE WAS NOT A SOLDIER, PAUL CUFFEE SPENT THREE MUCH IN THE HANDS OF THE BRITISH.

>> HE WAS CAPTURED AND IMPRISONED.

HE WAS RELEASED.

HE BUILT AN OPEN BOAT AND BEGAN FERRYING SUPPLIES TO NANTUCKET.

>> RATHER THAN HUNTING WHALES, CUFFEE WAS RUNNING GOODS THROUGH NAVAL BLOCKADES.

>> HE MET WILLIAM ROACH HIMSELF, ONE OF THE GREAT PATRIARCHS OF AMERICAN WHALING.

ROACH WAS IMPRESSED WITH THIS MAN.

>> HE SAYS WHAT SET CUFFEE APART WITH HIS INTELLIGENCE AND NAVIGATION SKILLS.

>> AND MARITIME CULTURE THAT IS THE CREDENTIALS.

IF YOU WANT TO BECOME A MASTER OR A HIGHER OFFICER OR SHIPMASTER YOU HAVE GOT TO KNOW HOW TO DO THAT.

>> IN THE WAKE OF THE REVOLUTION, CUFFEE FOLLOWED IN ROACH'S FOOTSTEPS AND STARTED BUILDING AN EMPIRE BASED ON MARITIME TRADE.

>> BETWEEN HIS ABILITY TO NAVIGATE AND HIS SHIPBUILDING AND BOATBUILDING ABILITY, CUFFEE BUILT HIMSELF A LIFE.

HE BUILT HIS OWN SUCCESSFUL MARITIME ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURES.

>> CUFFEE'S BUSINESSES PROSPERED.

HE WAS ONE OF THE WEALTHIEST PEOPLE OF COLOR IN THE NATION.

BUT OVER THE YEARS BUSINESS WAS NOT THE ONLY THING ON HIS MIND.

>> OUT OF THE PULP CUFFEE -- HE DID A LOT OF STUFF.

HE WAS A MAJOR MIND.

HE ADVOCATED BEFORE THE MASSACHUSETTS CONSTITUTION WAS CONSTITUTION HE SAID I AM PAYING TAXES, I GET TO VOTE.

THEY SAID NO.

NO YOU DON'T.

YEAH, HE WAS WRITING A LETTER.

WE HAVE A COPY OF THE LETTER SAYING, LOOK, YOU NEED TO TREAT BLACK MEN THE WAY YOU TREAT WHITE MEN IF YOU WILL TAX THEM LIKE WHITEMAN.

THIS IS THE SAME ARGUMENT THAT CAUSED THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION IN THE FIRST PLACE.

>> THREE YEARS AFTER WRITING THAT LETTER, THE MASSACHUSETTS CONSTITUTION WAS AMENDED TO GIVE AFRICAN-AMERICANS THE RIGHT TO VOTE.

LATER IN LIFE CUFFEE SET HIS SIGHTS ON ANOTHER ISSUE, EDUCATION.

>> WESTPORT DID NOT HAVE INTEGRATED SCHOOLS.

IT IS PAUL CUFFEE WHO WORKS HARD TO BUILD SCHOOL, TO PUT MONEY ASIDE AND TO CREATE ONE OF THE FIRST INTEGRATED SCHOOLS IN THAT REGION.

MANY OF US BELIEVE IT IS THE FIRST INTEGRATED SCHOOL AT THE TIME IN THE STATE.

>> IN 1815, HIS AMBITION TO EIGHT AFRICAN-AMERICANS GREW LARGER.

CURATOR OF SOCIAL HISTORY AT THE NEW BEDFORD WHALING MUSEUM, SHE SAYS PAUL CUFFEE USES MONEY TO HELP INTERESTED AFRICAN-AMERICANS RETURNED TO THEIR NATIVE LAND IN HOPES OF CREATING A SUCCESSFUL SOCIETY OF THEIR OWN.

TELL ME ABOUT HIS TRIPS TO BRING BACK FREE SLAVES TO AFRICA, TO SIERRA LEONE.

>> PAUL CUFFEE WAS VERY INTERESTED IN THE IDEA OF REPATRIATION, OR AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND AFRICANS GOING BACK TO AFRICA, EVEN IF THEY HAD NEVER BEEN THERE.

HE REALLY PUT HIS ONEY WHERE HIS MOUTH WAS.

HE ENCOURAGED A GROUP OF PEOPLE TO GO OVER.

HE FUNDED THEM, PROVIDING VOYAGE AND PROVISIONS FOR A YEAR.

HIS GOAL WAS TO ESTABLISH A COLONY FOR FREED AFRICAN AMERICANS THERE.

AT LEAST 38 AFRICAN-AMERICANS BACK TO AFRICA.

HE WOULD GO ON TO BE KNOWN AS A PIONEER OF THE BACK TO AFRICA MOVEMENT.

HIS IDEA WAS CONTROVERSIAL.

>> TOWARDS THE END, WITH THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY REALLY HAVING SOMETIMES NOT SO ALTERED MYSTIC IDEAS ABOUT REPATRIATION, ACTUALLY JUST WANTING FREE AFRICAN-AMERICANS TO GO SO THEY WERE OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND.

MANY WERE AGAINST THIS IDEA OF COLONIZING WEST AFRICA.

>> AFTER CUFFEE, ANOTHER BLACK ABOLITIONIST, MARTIN DELANEY DEVELOPED THE IDEA OF CREATING AN INDEPENDENT BLACK SOCIETY FURTHER.

CENTURIES LATER, BLACK NATIONALISM BUT GOING TO CAPTURE THE IMAGINATIONS OF CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER LIKE ELIJAH MOHAMMED, MALCOLM X, AND STOKELY CARMICHAEL.

PAUL CUFFEE DIED A WEALTHY MERCHANT IN WESTPORT IN 1817.

HIS LEGACY OPENED DOORS FOR OTHER BLACK WHALERS, SEE MERCHANTS AND VENDORS AND CAPTAINS.

DO YOU HAVE AN ESTIMATE OF HOW MANY BLACK WHALERS DURING THE INDUSTRY'S PEAK?

>> THE NUMBER THAT COMES AROUND IS SOMETHING AROUND 3000 INDIVIDUALS.

>> TODAY PAUL CUFFEE'S LEGACY IS PRESERVED.

THE PAUL CUFFEE SCHOOL IN PROVIDENCE TO OPEN IN 2001.

95% OF THE STUDENTS ARE OF COLOR.

THE HEAD OF SCHOOLS SAYS HIS STUDENTS REFLECT CUFFEE'S VISION FOR RACIAL INCLUSION.

>> HE CONTRIBUTED GREATLY TO THE STORY OF FREED SLAVES IN AMERICA.

A GREAT ROLE MODEL FOR OUR CHILDREN.

SOMEWHAT DIFFICULT TO RELATE TO IN THE HISTORICAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TODAY AND THEN.

THE SENSE OF ADVENTURE THAT COMES OF THE STORY OF PAUL CUFFEE, THE SOCIAL JUSTICE THAT COMES WITH HIS CONTRIBUTION, THAT IS A BIG PART OF OUR SCHOOL'S STORY TODAY.

>> WHILE CUFFEE'S MEMORY LOOMS LARGE OVER ONE SCHOOL, HE IS NOT AS WELL-KNOWN NATIONALLY.

SHE ARGUES HE DESERVES A MORE PROMINENT PLACE IN AMERICAN HISTORY.

>> I THINK THE IDEA OF ENTERING YOUR COMMUNITY, SEEING PEOPLE WHO WERE OPPRESSED AND STRUGGLING AND CONTINUING TO FIGHT ON THEIR BEHALF IS A STRONG PART OF THE LEGACY OF PAUL CUFFEE.

IT IS A SHAME HE IS NOT MORE OF A NATIONAL HERO BECAUSE OF THAT.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE QUOTES IS, "I HOPE IF I DON'T COME TO SEE THIS PASS, IT DOES NOT FAIL AND COME TO NOTHING."

HE WAS CLEAR ON THE IDEA.

HE WAS VERY PRAGMATIC AND DID NOT BELIEVE NECESSARILY THESE THINGS WOULD HAPPEN WITHIN HIS LIFETIME.

BUT HE THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO FIGHT FOR THEM.

WHEN I THINK OF HIS LEGACY, THAT'S WHAT I THINK OF MOST.

>> HOW THANKS TO ERICA FOR THAT REPORT.

PAUL CUFFEE'S PROMINENCE AS ONE OF THE WEALTHIEST PEOPLE OF COLOR IN AMERICA DID NOT COME AT THE COST OF HIS PRINCIPLES.

HE BUILT AN EMPIRE WITHOUT TRADING IN SLAVES AND ALCOHOL, SOME OF THE MOST PROFITABLE VENTURES AT THAT TIME.

THE SAME CANNOT BE SAID OF MANY RHODE ISLAND ENTREPRENEURS AS WE EXPLORE IN OUR NEXT PIECE.

WHEN YOU THINK OF RHODE ISLAND HISTORY, YOU PROBABLY CONSIDER ROGER WILLIAMS AND HIS RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE, OR YOU THINK OF THE REBEL RHODE ISLANDERS BURNING OF THE GASBY, AND SAMUEL SLATER SPEARHEADING THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.

ON MAY 1 REPORTED THE STORY LAST FEBRUARY, RHODE ISLAND'S EARLY ECONOMIC HISTORY IS MORE EXPLICITLY TIED TO SLAVERY AND SOME WOULD LIKE TO ADMIT.

>> DO YOU THINK THEY THINK OF SLAVERY?

>> THE THINK OF US AS PART OF THE ABOLITIONIST NORTH THAT FOUGHT THE SOUTH AND FREED THE SLAVES.

BILL: BUDGET JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR MIKE STANTON FOUND THAT'S IN EVERY TO BE MOSTLY FALSE.

HE MADE THE DISCOVERY QUITE BY ACCIDENT SEVERAL YEARS BACK WHILE DOING RESEARCH FOR A BOOK ON THE LATE MAYOR OF PROVIDENCE AT THE RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

>> I CAME ACROSS A NARRATIVE ABOUT SLAVES THAT LIVED IN SOUTH COUNTY, RHODE ISLAND.

THERE WAS AN ELABORATE PLANTATION SYSTEM.

THERE WERE ENSLAVED AFRICANS WHO WORKED IN THE FIELDS.

THEY HAD THE SAME KIND OF SET UP ON A SMALLER SCALE THAN THE DEEP SOUTH.

BILL: THROUGHOUT THE 17TH CENTURY, THAT SET UP OF USING SLAVE LABOR HELPED MAKE THE NARRAGANSETT PLANTERS EXTREMELY WEALTHY.

>> EVEN ON NEWPORT AND MIDDLETOWN AND WARREN, THEY HAD SMALLER, MORE TRADITIONAL NEW ENGLAND TYPE FARMS.

BUT THEY HAD ENSLAVED AFRICANS WORKING ON THEM.

PRESSING APPLES AND DECIDER, HELPING TO HARVEST THE CROPS.

ONE THING THAT STRUCK ME, BACK THEN A LOT OF ENSLAVED AFRICANS WILL BE FOUND DEAD BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD.

THEY WOULD ALL HAVE SCARS ON THEM MARKING THEIR BEATINGS AND WHIPPINGS BY THEIR MASTERS.

>> WE KNOW THERE ARE AT LEAST 930 DOCUMENT ENSLAVED BARGES THAT BEGAN FROM RHODE ISLAND.

WE KNOW THAT 600 COME FROM NEWPORT ALONE.

THIS WAS A WELL INTEGRATED, COMPLICIT SYSTEM THAT EVERYONE PARTICIPATED IN AND EVERYONE BENEFITED FROM.

BILL: BY THE 18TH CENTURY, OWNING SLAVES IN THE STATE BEGAN TO END.

THAT DID NOT END THE BROADER CONNECTION TO THE SLAVE TRADE, WHICH WAS STILL RAGING IN THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES.

FOR EXAMPLE, RHODE ISLAND HAD MORE THAN 80 TEXTILE MILLS ACROSS THE STATE THAT EXCLUSIVELY MANUFACTURED AND SOLD CLOTHES TO BE ONE BY SLAVES.

WHAT I HOME TO THE COUNTRY'S TOP 10 SLAVE TRADERS, WITH PROMINENT FAMILIES SUCH AS THE BROWNS AND THE WOLVES.

DEWOLVE FAMILY BROUGHT SOME 11,000 AFRICAN SLAVES ACROSS THE NOTORIOUS MIDDLE PASSAGE, TURNING THE FAMILY THE DUBIOUS DISTINCTION OF AMERICA'S MOST SUCCESSFUL SLAVE TRADERS, AND AMONG THE RICHEST FAMILIES IN THE COUNTRY.

JOHN BROWN AND HIS BROTHERS WERE NOT ONLY THE FOUNDERS OF BROWN UNIVERSITY, THEY WERE SOME OF THE BIGGEST SLAVE TRADERS IN THE STATE.

>> THE BROWNS POWER MICROCOSM -- ARE A MICROCOSM OVER THE FIGHT OVER SLIGHTLY THAT RIPPED -- OVER SLAVERY THAT RIPPED THIS COUNTRY APART.

THEY WERE SUCCESSFUL MERCHANTS.

THEY FINANCED SLAVE VOYAGES.

THEY WERE INVOLVED IN THE RUM AND MOLASSES TRADE.

THEY CAME INTO THE FAMILY BUSINESS.

JOHN BROWN BECAME ONE OF THE LEADING SLAVE TRADERS.

WHAT THEY WOULD DO IS INVEST ENSLAVED SHIPS.

A LOT OF THE MERCHANTS WOULD DO THAT.

BILL: RUM AND MOLASSES WERE PART OF THE TRIANGLE TRADE, WHICH GOODS SHIPPED TO AFRICA.

THEY WERE BARTERED FOR CAPTURED SLAVES, WHO IN TURN WERE TRANSPORTED TO THE WEST INDIES AND AMERICAN COLONIES.

NEWPORT AND BRISTOL'S DEEPWATER PORTS WHERE IDEAL FOR THE LARGE SHIPS THAT CARRIED THE SO-CALLED CARGO.

OVER 100,000 AFRICAN MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN ABOARD AT LEAST 900 DOCUMENT JOURNEYS.

THE BROWN FAMILY'S SLATE TRADING BUSINESS WITH ULTIMATELY PIT BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER.

>> MOSES WAS PART OF THE FAMILY BUSINESS.

HIS WIFE DIED AND HE HAD A RECKONING WITH GOD.

HE BECAME A QUAKER.

THE QUAKERS WERE PART OF RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE AND WERE AGAINST SLAVERY.

MOSES ACTUALLY -- ANOTHER HISTORICAL DEVELOP.

HE TOOK SOME OF HIS FAMILY MONEY AND GOT OUT OF THE SLAVE TRADE.

HE INVESTED IN SOME OF THE FIRST TEXTILE MILLS, ANOTHER TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCE.

HE WANT HIM TAKING HIS BROTHER TO COURT, BECAUSE RHODE ISLAND DID ULTIMATELY OUTLAW THE SLAVE TRADE.

THERE WAS A REAL SENTIMENT TO FREE THE ENSLAVED AFRICANS WHO WERE HERE IN RHODE ISLAND.

THE PLANTERS DATA NARRAGANSETT COUNTY EVENTUALLY PETERED OUT BECAUSE OF FINANCIAL REASONS, AS WELL AS ABOLITIONIST SENTIMENT.

AFTER IT HAD BEEN OUTLAWED, JOHN BROWN WAS KIND OF AN OUTLAW.

HE KEPT INVESTING IN SLAVE SHIPS.

MOSES TOOK HIM TO COURT.

HE HAD A LOT OF PULL, JOHN.

HE WAS A CONGRESSMAN AS WELL FROM WHAT ISLAND.

-- FROM RHODE ISLAND AND THEY HAD A FALLING OUT OVER IT.

THE FAMILY GAVE BROWN UNIVERSITY ITS NAME.

BILL: EVENTUALLY RHODE ISLAND'S DIRECT AND INDIRECT TIES TO SLAVERY ENDED.

KEITH STOKES, NEWPORT-BASED HISTORIAN AND THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE 1696 HERITAGE GROUP SAYS THE STORY SHOULD NOT BE ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO BOUGHT AND SOLD SLAVES.

>> IS THE AFRICAN MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN WHO SURVIVED, THAT PERSEVERED DESPITE JAMES DEWOLF AND JOHN BROWN.

BILL: HE TELLS THE STORY OF THOSE WHO BEGIN TO BUILD THEIR OWN NEIGHBORHOODS.

>> THERE WERE DOZENS FREE AFRICAN ENCLAVES ACROSS THE NORTH AND INTO NEW ENGLAND.

BILL: TWO OF THOSE AREAS WERE HARDSCRABBLE AND SNOW TOWN.

IN THE EARLY 19TH CENTURY AS THESE FAMILIES BEGIN TO ACHIEVE FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE, THEY ALSO BECAME COMPETITION TO A NEW WAVE OF WHITE IMMIGRANTS.

ON OCTOBER 18, 1824, A MOB ATTACKED HARDSCRABBLE, DESTROYING THE HOMES OF APPROXIMATELY 20 BLACK FAMILIES.

IN 1831, A SIMILAR RIOT OCCURRED IN SNOW TOWN.

>> THESE RIOTS WE SAW IN PROVIDENCE FOR GOING ON ACROSS THE ANTEBELLUM AMERICAN NORTH AT THAT TIME.

ACCOMMODATED BY THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR.

BILL: HITTING THE STORY OF HARDSCRABBLE AND SNOW TOWN THAT HAS BEEN A MISSION OF KEITH STOKES.

>> WHEN YOUNG KIDS HEAR THE STORIES, CUTS PHYSICAL ARTIFACTS CONNECTED TO THESE BLACK PEOPLE, THEY GET ENGAGED AND EXCITED.

THEY WANT TO SEIZE CONTROL OF EVERYTHING THAT IS DUE THEM IN NORTH ISLAND -- IN RHODE ISLAND AND THIS COUNTRY.

IT'S MORE ABOUT, POWER OBTAINING POWER, THAT IS WHAT HISTORY CAN DO.

>> WE TALKED ABOUT HOW SURPRISING WAS TO LEARN ABOUT RHODE ISLAND'S HERITAGE IN SLAVERY.

I THINK THAT SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS.

BLACK-ISH A MONTH IS BASICALLY A WORDS.

ROSA PARKS, MARTIN LUTHER KING, AND "I HAVE A DREAM."

THAT'S IT.

TO TEACH HISTORY RIGHT AROUND THIS THAT HELPED SHAPE THE STATE A FEW HUNDRED YEARS AGO, DOES IMPORTANT FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN TO KNOW ABOUT OUR HERITAGE.

>> THERE AFRICAN MEN AND WOMEN IN PROVIDENCE AND NEWPORT ESPOUSING BLACK CIVIL RIGHTS IN THE 18TH AND EARLY 19TH CENTURY.

FOR ME HISTORY IS POWER.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.

>> OUR THANKS TO BILL BARTHOLOMEW FOR THE REPORT.

IN TONIGHT'S COMMENTARY, WE WELCOME LYLAH ALPHONSE ON WHY HEARTACHE FOR THE NEED FOR HISTORICAL TRANSPARENCY HAS NEVER BEEN MORE IMPORTANT.

LYLAH: PAUL STATES DEBATE ISLAND STATE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TOOK A GREAT STEP FORWARD WHEN THEY VOTED TO MAKE SURE AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY IS TAUGHT IN RHODE ISLAND SCHOOLS.

ALTHOUGH THE VOTE WAS UNANIMOUS, IT HAS SOME CONTROVERSY AT THE START.

SEVERAL MAKERS OBJECTED TO THE PHRASE "BLACK LIVES MATTER" IN THE PREAMBLE.

ONE LAWMAKER ATTEMPTED TO REQUIRE EDUCATION ABOUT ITALIAN AMERICANS, IRISH-AMERICANS, AND AMERICANS WITH ROOTS IN MORE THAN TWO DOZEN OTHER COUNTRIES.

LET'S BE CLEAR.

THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF ALL THOSE CULTURES TO THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY AND STATE ARE IMPORTANT, GIVEN OTHER HISTORIES PERHAPS DON'T STRETCH AS FAR BACK AND ARE NOT AS FRAUGHT AS THAT OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS.

BUT WE NEED A LOT TO MAKE SURE KIDS AND RHODE ISLAND LEARN ABOUT THE LIVES AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF PEOPLE OF COLOR COMES DOWN TO ONE UNDENIABLE FACT.

WE ARE NOT TAUGHT ENOUGH ABOUT OUR OWN HISTORY IN OUR SCHOOLS.

ACTIVELY TEACHING HISTORY IS NOT RACING IT -- ERASING IT.

OMITTING PARTS OF HISTORY IS.

WE ARE JUST STARTING TO FILL IN SOME OF THE GAPS IN OUR KNOWLEDGE.

TO GET A SENSE OF HOW MUCH IS BEEN OMITTED.

IF YOU, LIKE ME, LEARNED ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR IN SCHOOL BUT NOT MUCH ABOUT THE RECONSTRUCTION ERA, IF THE NAME JOHN ROCKEFELLER IS FAMILIAR BUT MADAM CJ WALKER IS NOT, IF YOU'VE HEARD OF CENTRAL PARK BUT NOT SENECA VILLAGE, IF YOU LISTENED TO THE REVEREND DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.'S ICONIC "I HAVE A DREAM" SPEECH BUT NOT HIS "BEYOND VIETNAM" SPEECH AT THE RIVERSIDE CHURCH, IF YOU VENT ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER BUT NOT KATHERINE JOHNSON OR MARIE DALY OR PERCY JULIAN, YOU, LIKE SO MANY OF US, MISSED OUT ON A MORE COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF OUR COUNTRY SIMPLY BECAUSE PARTS OF ACTUAL AMERICAN HISTORY HAVING TO DO WITH LIFE-CHANGING INVENTIONS, LANDMARK DECISIONS, MIND-BOGGLING SUCCESSES AND DEVASTATING GRIEF WHERE RARELY TOLD OR TAUGHT IN HISTORY CLASS.

IT IS TIME TO RESTORE WHAT WAS ERASED.

I'M SO GLAD THAT SCHOOLS IN RHODE ISLAND WILL NOW BE REQUIRED BY LAW TO TEACH MORE ABOUT THE GREAT PEOPLE, PLACES AND THINGS THAT WERE GLOSSED OVER OR LEFT OUT OF THE HISTORY BOOKS.

WE SHOULD NOT NEED A LOT TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THAT.

>> OUR THANKS TO LYALLAY.

>> CLEAR BACK NEXT WEEK WITH ANOTHER ADDITION OF "RHODE ISLAND PBS WEEKLY."

♪