♪ >> TONIGHT ON RHODE ISLAND PBS WEEKLY.

>> BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES OF INDIGENOUS CHILDREN REVEAL AMERICAN -- NATIVE AMERICAN CLOTHING REPLACED BY VICTORIAN DRESS.

STUDENTS WERE PUNISHED IF THEY SPOKE THEIR LANGUAGE, PRACTICED THEIR RELIGION.

THEY WERE GIVEN ENGLISH NAMES AND THE FIRST PART OF THE TRANSITION WAS TO CUT THEIR HAIR.

>> IT IS LIKE THIS OVERT SYMBOL OF THE ERASURE OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE.

I GOT INTERESTED IN THIS IDEA OF THE IMAGES AND USING THE DOWNTOWN LANDSCAPE AS A GALLERY.

♪ >> GOOD EVENING, WELCOME TO RHODE ISLAND PBS WEEKLY.

I AM PAMELA WATTS.

MICHELLE: I AM MICHELLE SAN MIGUEL.

PAMELA: OUR STORIES FOLLOW THE TRAGIC AND HIDDEN HISTORIES PEOPLE ENDURED AND THOSE WHO ARE WORKING TO BRING THE TRUTH TO LIGHT.

MICHELLE: WE BEGIN IN THE LATE 1800S WITH A PRACTICE THAT LASTED ALMOST A CENTURY.

NATIVE AMERICAN CHILDREN TAKEN FROM THEIR FAMILIES AND FORCED INTO INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOLS BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

MANY WERE ONLY TODDLERS.

THE SUFFERING CAUSED BY THE OFTEN TOTAL ASSIMILATION AS RESULTED IN MULTIGENERATIONAL TRAUMA FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, SUCH AS THE NARRAGANSETT'S OF RHODE ISLAND.

AS WE FIRST REPORTED IN FEBRUARY, THE STORIES OF THE FEDERAL INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOLS ARE JUST SOME THAT WILL NOW HAVE THE PLACE IN SPACE TO BE TOLD AT A NEW MUSEUM BEING BUILT IN KINGSTON.

♪ >> THE REAL GOAL WAS TO TAKE THE LAND.

IF THEY COULD NOT EXTERMINATE US THROUGH GENOCIDE, WARFARE, THEY WERE GOING TO EXTERMINATE US THROUGH WORST ASSIMILATION.

>> FORCED ASSIMILATION WAS PART OF A LAND GRAB TACTIC FOR EARLY SETTLERS AND IT WAS AN ATTEMPT BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT TO ERADICATE THE IDENTITY OF NATIVE AMERICANS.

IN THE LATE 1800S, LITTLE CHILDREN WERE TAKEN FAR AWAY FROM HOME TO INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOLS AND WERE ROUTINELY ABUSED.

MANY DIED OF NEGLECT AND DISEASE.

THE PRACTICE RAN FOR DECADES.

LAUREN SPEARS KNOWN IN NARRAGANSETT LANGUAGE AS LADY SLIPPER IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE INDIAN MEMORIAL MUSEUM, AS WELL AS A WRITER AND EDUCATOR.

>> THAT EDUCATION, ON THE SURFACE, SEEMS A GOOD THING.

BUT IN THE CASE OF THE BOARDING SCHOOLS, INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS, RELIGIOUS BOARDING SCHOOLS I CAME BEFORE THE FEDERAL SYSTEM, THESE WERE DETRIMENTAL TO INDIGENOUS CHILDREN, FAMILIES, AND COMMUNITIES.

AND LITERALLY, THEY WERE ACTS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND THEIR NATIONS.

AND THE ULTIMATE GOAL WAS TO TAKE THE LAND, BUT ALSO TO STRIP US OF OUR IDENTITY, CULTURE, COMMUNITIES, NATIONS.

>> IT HAS BEEN BRANDED THE HIDDEN HISTORY.

ONE THAT IS BEING ACKNOWLEDGED AND EXHIBITS SUCH AS THIS, HELD RECENTLY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND.

A POIGNANT PART OF THE DISPLAY, THESE CHILD SIZED HANDCUFFS.

WHEN YOU SAW THESE HANDCUFFS FOR THE FIRST TIME, WHAT WENT THROUGH YOU?

>> YOU KNOW, IT WAS VISCERAL.

TINY CHILDREN WITH THESE TINY HANDCUFFS.

AND I ALWAYS THINK OF IT LIKE THIS, I HAVE A THREE-YEAR-OLD GRANDSON.

AND THE IDEA OF HIM BEING RIPPED FROM HIS FAMILY AND COMMUNITY AND BEING HANDCUFFED IN THAT WAY JUST LIKE IS SO EXTRAORDINARILY PAINFUL.

>> SPEARS FIRST HEARD ABOUT INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOLS FROM HER FAMILY.

>> I LEARNED IT FIRST THROUGH OUR STORIES.

THROUGH OUR ORAL HISTORIES.

THROUGH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THESE STRUCTURES WERE STRUCTURES OF SLAVERY.

YOU CAN PRETTY IT UP WITH WORDS LIKE INDENTURED SERVITUDE, BUT WHEN PEOPLE ARE TAKEN AS YOUNG CHILDREN AND NEVER RETURNED TO YOUR COMMUNITY UNTIL THEY ARE 30 OR MORE, THAT IS SLAVERY.

THEY KEPT THEM EVEN DURING THE LONG SUMMER MONTHS.

BY PUTTING THEM WITH WHITE FAMILIES, TO ACT AS DOMESTIC HELP OR TO DO LABORING JOBS.

THAT WAS A WAY THAT THE BOARDING SCHOOLS ACTUALLY RAISED MONEY TO KEEP THESE KIDS HERE, SO THEY LITERALLY HAVE STOLEN YOU AND NOW, THEY ARE FORCING YOU TO WORK IN ORDER TO KEEP YOU THERE.

>> MANY INDIAN PARENTS WERE THREATENED IF THEY DID NOT RELINQUISH THEIR CHILDREN OR TRIED TO HIDE THEM.

SOME PARENTS WHO RESISTED WERE IMPRISONED.

>> THINK ABOUT WHAT IT IS LIKE WHEN YOU ARE A PARENT AND YOUR CHILD HAS BEEN STOLEN FROM YOU AND YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO PROTECT THEM.

WHAT DOES THAT DO TO YOUR HEART AND YOUR PSYCHE?

>> SPEARS SAYS ONCE THE CHILDREN WERE TAKEN OFF THE RESERVATION, THE CULTURAL CLEANSING BEGAN THE USE BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES OF INDIGENOUS CHILDREN REVEAL THE PROCESS.

NATIVE AMERICAN CLOTHING WAS REPLACED BY STARCHED VICTORIAN DRESS.

THE STUDENTS WERE SEVERELY PUNISHED IF THEY SPOKE THEIR LANGUAGE, PRACTICE TO THEIR CUSTOMS OR RELIGION.

THEY WERE GIVEN ENGLISH NAMES.

BUT THE FIRST PART OF THE TRANSITION WAS TO CUT THEIR HAIR.

>> OUR CULTURE, YOUR HAIR IS YOUR LIFE'S BLOOD.

IT REPRESENTS THE PAST, THE FUTURE.

THIS IS WHY THIS IS SO TRIGGERING.

IT IS THIS OVERT SYMBOL OF THE COMPLETE ERASURE OF YOUR INDIGENOUS NATURE.

>> THIS WAS STARTED IN 1879 BY RICHARD PRATT, A FORMER MILITARY OFFICER.

AMONG THE THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN WHO WERE HELD AT THE CARLISLE INDIAN INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL IN PENNSYLVANIA, OLD RECORDS INDICATE THAT THERE WERE NARRAGANSETT'S, AS WELL AS MEMBERS OF OTHER SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND TRIBES.

>> ONE OF MY UNCLES, HE IS NOT NARRAGANSETT, HE IS FROM ANOTHER TRIBAL NATION, BUT HE WAS LITERALLY TAKEN.

HE AND HIS SIBLINGS, FROM THEIR FAMILY AND COMMUNITY.

AND HE HAS NOT ONLY EMOTIONAL SCARS, BUT PHYSICAL SCARS TO SHOW FOR IT.

>> SPEARS SAYS THOSE SCARS HAVE MARRED THE LIVES OF NATIVE AMERICANS FOR GENERATIONS.

>> THE BALANCE OF THAT THEFT OF YOUR CHILDHOOD, THE THEFT OF YOUR CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE, THE THEFT OF YOUR LANGUAGE.

AND YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH YOUR FAMILY AND COMMUNITY.

AND HOW WHEN YOU THINK OF THESE LATERAL TRAUMAS TODAY OF ALCOHOLISM AND DRUG ABUSE AND POVERTY, THESE ARE ALL CONNECTED.

>> THE INTERCONNECTIONS OF THE STORY IN THIS EXHIBITION ARE TOO LARGE TO DISPLAY IN THE TINY ECM.

IT HAS BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR 60 YEARS AND IS CURRENTLY HOUSED AND WAS ONCE A COUNTRY CHURCH DEEP IN EXETER.

>> THE IDEA IS TO BE INDIGENOUS THE LANDSCAPE IN DIFFERENT KINDS OF WAYS.

>> NOW IN KINGSTON, AND EXTENSIVE MUSEUM COMPLEX WILL BE BAIT -- BUILT ON 18 ACRES OF LAND.

SPEARS POINTS OUT IT IS A PLACE THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A HOMELAND TO NARRAGANSETT'S.

>> ALL OF THIS LAND THAT WE NOW KNOW IS NARRAGANSETT LAND.

>> WHY -- WE WANTED IT TO FEEL RURAL.

WE WANTED TO BE NEAR WATER, LIKE THE EVER AND THE BROOK.

THE CAMPUS WILL HAVE FOUR BUILDINGS.

THE MAIN MUSEUM BUILDING, EDUCATION CENTER, INDIGENOUS EMPOWERMENT CENTER, AND THE ARCHIVE COLLECTIONS RESEARCH CENTER, WHICH WE WILL BE CALLED THE BELONGINGS RESEARCH CENTER.

>> SHE ENVISIONS GARDENS, WALKING TRAILS AND A REPLICA VILLAGE, WHERE EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO LEARN.

EDUCATION IS A FIRST STEP TOWARDS RECONCILIATION.

>> IF WE WANT TO CREATE EQUITY AND UNDO SOME OF THE INJUSTCE THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE, WE HAVE TO ALSO CREATE EQUITY THROUGH EDUCATION.

WE HAVE TO CREATE EQUITY THROUGH JOB TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT.

WE HAVE TO CREATE EQUITY IN ACKNOWLEDGING AND HEALING FROM THE PAINS OF THE PAST.

>> THE LESSONS OF THE PAST AND THAT ALWAYS HELPED HEAL THE WOUNDS INFLICTED BY NATIVE -- ON NATIVE AMERICANS.

THE NARRAGANSETT NATION WAS THE TROUBLE LIES IN THE 1800S AND NOT RECOGNIZED UNTIL 1979.

IT WAS A SLIGHT SHE FELT EVEN AS A LITTLE GIRL.

>> CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT IT WAS LIKE FOR YOU TO BE A NARRAGANSETT IN RHODE ISLAND?

>> THERE WERE TWO THINGS HAPPENING WHEN I WAS WITH MY FAMILY AND MY COMMUNITY, THERE WAS SUCH A PRIDE AND HONOR AND RESPECT TO OUR CULTURE AND OUR COMMUNITY.

AND THEN THERE WAS THE OUTSIDE COMMUNITY THAT DID NOT SEEM TO UNDERSTAND SO, WHEN I WAS IN MY FIFTH GRADE CLASSROOM, I HAD A HISTORY TEXTBOOK THAT SET I DID NOT EXIST RIGHT THERE IN THE TEXTBOOK.

SO HOW DO YOU AS A FIFTH-GRADER UNDERSTAND THAT?

HOW DO YOU PROCESS THAT INFORMATION, HOW DO YOU STAND UP FOR YOURSELF?

IN THE CLASSROOM, IT IS VERY DIFFICULT.

MY DAUGHTER IS A COLLEGE STUDENT NOW AND HER FIRST NATIVE STUDIES COURSE, THE PROFESSOR HAD THEM MAKING UP FICTIONAL TRIBES.

SO THERE IS SUCH A LACK OF UNDERSTANDING AND A LACK OF KNOWLEDGE.

AND A PERPETUATION OF STEREOTYPES AND GENERALIZATIONS.

JUST MISINFORMATION.

EVEN TODAY IN THE 21ST CENTURY.

AND TEACHERS WERE TAUGHT WRONG WHEN THEY WERE IN SCHOOL AND THEY ARE REGURGITATING THAT MISINFORMATION AND PASSING IT FORWARD TO NEW GENERATIONS.

AND MOST OF THE TIME, ONLY TALKING ABOUT IT IN THE MYTHOLOGICAL SENSE OF THE QUOTE UNQUOTE FIRST THANKSGIVING.

AS THEIR WAY OF BRINGING UP INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN THEIR CLASSROOMS.

>> SPEARS HOPES THE NEW PROGRAMS WILL HELP EDUCATE THE EDUCATORS.

>> IT GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH PROFESSORS AND THE BUILD THEIR KNOWLEDGE AROUND LOCAL INDIGENOUS HISTORY AND CULTURE AND THE INTERSECTIONALITY OF THAT.

IT GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH STUDENTS, SO THAT WE CAN HOPEFULLY GO FORWARD IN THE NEXT GENERATION IS NOT AS MISINFORMED AS THE LAST SEVERAL GENERATIONS HAVE BEEN.

>> SPEARS BELIEVES DESPITE THE LOSS OF FAMILY AND FREEDOM DURING THE TIME OF BOARDING SCHOOLS, SOME NATIVE AMERICANS FLOURISHED BY USING THEIR EDUCATION AND THE SKILLS THEY LEARNED THERE.

FOR EXAMPLE, FORMER FEMALE NARRAGANSETT, PRINCESS REDWING WHO WAS SENT TO A QUAKER SCHOOL.

>> SHE WAS AN EDUCATOR AND ADVOCATE.

HER WHOLE LIFE.

YOU KNOW, AND A CULTURE BEARER.

PASSING FORTH TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE.

SO SHE WAS ABLE TO -- AS MANY PEOPLE WHO IF YOU WILL WERE SUBJUGATED UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF BOARDING SCHOOLS, IN ONE WAY WAS ABLE TO THEN TAKE THE KNOWLEDGE AND UTILIZE THAT TO SUPPORT INDIGENOUS INITIATIVES INCLUDING SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE INDIGENOUS RIGHTS AT THE UNITED NATIONS.

>> SPEARS SAYS THE MUSEUM WILL BETTER PRESERVE THE RICH HISTORY AND CULTURE OF NARRAGANSETT'S INCLUDING A FULLY FLUENT LANGUAGE.

IT IS BEING REVIVED TODAY AND GREETINGS, STORYTELLING'S AND PRAYER.

>> IT TRANSLATES IN PART.

>> TODAY CREATOR WE COME TO YOU WITH A QUIET HEART AND GIVE THANKS FOR OUR BELOVED RELATIONS.

WE GIVE THANKS FOR THOSE THAT PERSEVERED AND SURVIVED, SO THAT WE COULD BE HERE TODAY.

>> THIS SUMMER DURING HIS PILGRIMAGE TO CANADA, POPE FRANCIS BEGGED FORGIVENESS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE.

HE APOLOGIZE FOR CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THE ABUSE AND CULTURAL GENOCIDE OF NATIVE CHILDREN AT CHURCH RUN BOARDING SCHOOLS.

UP NEXT, THROUGH A BLEND OF PHOTOJOURNALISM AND ART, PROVIDENCES MARY BETH HAS BUILT A CAREER EXAMINING OVERLOOKED AND MISUNDERSTOOD COMMUNITIES FROM TRADITIONAL IMAGES IN NEWSPAPERS TO REIMAGINING WHERE AND HOW HER ART CAN BE DISPLAYED.

HER CAREER OF ALT IN WAYS THAT EVEN SHE COULD NOT HAVE PREDICTED.

CONTRIBUTING REPORTER BILL BARTHOLOMEW SAT DOWN BACK IN JUNE OF 20 TO ONE -- 2021 TO LEARN ABOUT HER PROCESS, MOTIVATION, AND STRONG DESIRE TO GO BEHIND THE MYTHS AND A SCORE THE LIVES OF PEOPLE THAT OFTEN TIMES SOCIETY COMPLETELY IGNORES.

>> PEOPLE THAT HAVE BROUGHT ME INTO THEIR HOMES AND SHARE THEMSELVES WITH ME HAVE BEEN JUST LIFE-CHANGING FROM DAY ONE.

JUST AN HONOR THAT SO MANY OF THESE AMAZING HUMAN BEINGS HAVE OPEN THEMSELVES TO ME IN ORDER TO TEACH ME SOMETHING.

BILL: PHOTOJOURNALIST AND ARTIST MARY BETH HAS THROUGH VIVID AND OFTEN HAUNTING IMAGES, EXPLORED CULTURE AND VISIBILITY, TELLING THE STORIES OF PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES THAT ARE MISREPRESENTED OR MISUNDERSTOOD.

>> THERE'S THOUSANDS OF THEM.

WHEN I THINK ABOUT THEM ALL AND I TRY TO REMOVE THEM IN MY MIND, LIKE WHAT IF I HAD GONE THROUGH LIFE WITHOUT HAVING ENTERED THOSE SPACES?

MY LIFE WOULD BE SO -- THE POVERTY, THERE IS A KIND OF POVERTY OF SPIRIT THAT I AM SO GLAD THAT I DO NOT HAVE TO WALK A PATH IN THAT WAY.

BILL: FROM HER DAYS AS A NEWSPAPER COLUMNIST TO A SERIES OF LARGE SCALE INSTALLATIONS PRINTED ON VINYL BANNERS IN CITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY, MARYBETH HAS SOUGHT TO BUST THE MYTHS THAT DEFINE PLACES AND PEOPLE.

SHE GREW UP IN BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A SMALL CITY LOCATED 40 MILES FROM PROVIDENCE.

BACK THEN, BROCKTON WAS A TYPICAL NORTHEAST WORKING-CLASS COMMUNITY OF MOSTLY IRISH HERITAGE.

THE CITY WOULD ULTIMATELY PLAY A IDENTITY.

BUT SHE SAYS IT WAS WHEN SHE WAS IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL AND AN UNCLE OF HERS HAD GONE TO NEW YORK CITY TO PURSUE A CAREER IN PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILM, THAT SHE FIRST BEGAN TO SEE HER FUTURE.

>> I REMEMBER JUST BEING A KID AND BEING SO ENTRANCED WITH HOW YOU COULD LOOK INTO A PICTURE AND REALLY IMAGINE THESE WORLDS.

AND TRY TO INHABIT THESE WORLDS.

THEY COULD BE FROM ANYWHERE, YOU KNOW, AND YOU COULD COME BACK TO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN AND IT DID NOT CHANGE.

BUT YOU COULD ALWAYS SEE THINGS INTO IT, NEW ASPECTS.

BILL: IT WOULD TAKE SEVERAL YEARS BEFORE SHE REALIZED THAT PHOTOGRAPHY COULD BE MUCH MORE THAN A HOBBY.

>> HEY, WAIT, THIS IS SOMETHING YOU CAN BUILD A LIFE AROUND.

SO I DID NOT REALLY KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ART SCHOOL OR JOURNALISM SCHOOL OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT I ENROLLED IN A PHOTOJOURNALIST PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI, AND A MASTERS PROGRAM.

AND I GOT INTRODUCED TO THE WORLD OF JOURNALISM.

AND THE WORLD OF PHOTOJOURNALISM, WHICH ENTAILED, YOU KNOW, JUST REALLY BEING IN THE WORLD.

BOOTS ON THE GROUND, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT PEOPLE'S LIVES WERE LIKE, BRINGING DOORBELLS, INTERVIEWING STRANGERS, GETTING REALLY COMFORTABLE WITH THIS ROLE OF SEEING MYSELF AS THIS KIND OF PORTAL.

A KIND OF PORTAL THAT I CAN COLLABORATE WITH PEOPLE THAT I DID NOT KNOW, TO TRY TO AMPLIFY STORIES THAT I THOUGHT WERE IMPORTANT TO BE HEARD.

BILL: SHE EVENTUALLY ENDED UP IN BOSTON, WHERE SHE BEGAN DOING FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHY FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES AND THE BOSTON GLOBE.

AS WELL AS DEVELOPING HER OWN PROJECTS, INCLUDING ONE FOCUSED ON BOSTON ITALIANS, WHO WERE TRACING THEIR HERITAGE IN ITALY.

>> I STARTED GOING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN ITALY AND BOSTON TO TALK ABOUT IMMIGRATION AND HOW IT IS NOT JUST A ONE-WAY JOURNEY, BUT PEOPLE RETAIN THEIR CONNECTIONS AND IT IS KIND OF THIS BACK IN WORTH AND THIS CONSCIOUSNESS OF BEING AN IMMIGRANT AND WHAT YOU CARRY WITH YOU WHEN YOU COME TO THIS COUNTRY.

BILL: SHE BECAME A STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER FOR THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL.

ULTIMATELY LANDING HER OWN WEEKLY COLUMN.

>> IF YOU TALK ABOUT A PLACE LIKE CENTRAL FALLS, IT WAS ABOUT CRIME OR CORRUPTION.

OR IF REPORTERS FROM THE ETERNAL NEWSROOM WENT TO SOUTH PROVIDENCE, IT WAS BECAUSE A CRIME HAD OCCURRED.

BUT I UNDERSTOOD HAVING GROWN UP IN BROCKTON, THAT HAVING BEEN MY IDENTITY, I COME FROM IMMIGRANTS.

BUT THERE WERE OTHER STORIES THAT NEEDED TO BE TOLD AND OTHER WAYS OF LOOKING AT THOSE COMMUNITIES.

BILL: AFTER A MOVE TO PROVIDENCE AND A BREAK FROM HER WORK TO FOCUS ON RAISING HER CHILDREN, SHE DECIDED TO RETURN TO HER ROOTS.

IN A BIG WAY.

>> MY FIRST IMPULSE WAS TO GO BACK TO BROCKTON, BECAUSE AFTER I HAD LEFT, WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS IT HAD BEEN 15, 20 YEARS SINCE I HAD LIVED THERE AND WHAT I WAS HEARING WAS THAT MY OLD WHITE IRISH UNCLES WERE SEEING THE CITY CHANGE.

YOU KNOW, THE SHOE FACTORIES HAD CLOSED, THE ECONOMY HAD SHUT DOWN.

IMMIGRANTS WERE STILL COMING, BUT THEY WERE COMING FROM HAITI.

BILL: SHE BEGAN PHOTOGRAPHING MEMBERS OF THE BROCKTON COMMUNITY.

>> HOW DO I MAKE A BODY OF WORK THAT TRIES TO RECONCILE WHAT IS LEFT OF THE OLD, WHAT IS YOUR OF THE NEW?

AND AS I WAS MAKING THAT WORK, IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING WONDERFUL ABOUT BEING ABLE TO SHOW THAT IN A MUSEUM IN A GALLERY, BUT THERE WAS ALSO SOMETHING DISTRACTING TRADE WHY DID I WANT TO TAKE THE CITY -- THE WORK OUT OF THE CITY AND SHOW IT IN A SPACE WHICH BY NATURE WOULD BE NECESSARILY MOST LIKELY AN UPPER-MIDDLE-CLASS WHITE SPACE.

BROCKTON, SINCE I LEFT, BECAME A MAJORITY MINORITY CITY, YOU KNOW?

AND SO, I GOT REALLY INTERESTED IN THIS IDEA OF ACTIVATING THE CITY, ITSELF, WITH THE IMAGES.

AND USING THE DOWNTOWN LANDSCAPE HAS A GALLERY, A PHYSICAL GALLERY.

BILL: IN 2011, THESE IMAGES WERE BLOWN UP AND DISPLAYED AS HUGE ON A PORTRAITS AND AT THE HEART OF THE CITY.

MARY BETH WAS APPROACHED BY THE PROVIDENCE ARTIST AND FOUNDER OF THE EAS 220 GALLERY AND ARTSPACE.

THEY WANTED HER TO DO SOMETHING SIMILAR IN PROVIDENCE.

BY 2015, OR PROVIDENCE PORTRAITS WERE PART OF THE CITY'S FIRST ARTS FESTIVAL.

IT WAS NOT LONG BEFORE MARYBETH WAS GETTING CALLS FROM PEOPLE AROUND THE COUNTRY WHO WANTED HER TO COME TO THEIR CITY AND DO PORTRAITS.

ONE OF THE FIRST INVITATIONS CAME FROM TWO GENTLEMEN FROM A SMALL SOUTHERN TOWN ABOUT 40 MILES FROM ATLANTA.

>> SO THAT WAS JUST OVERWHELMING GRADE I MEAN, WHAT DID I KNOW ABOUT THE SOUTH?

I WAS THIS WHITE LIBERAL NORTHERNER WHO THOUGHT I KNEW EVERYTHING THERE WAS TO KNOW ABOUT THE SOUTH.

SO I WENT AND IT WAS HARD.

I WAS REALLY NERVOUS, BECAUSE I HAD ONLY EVER REALLY WORKED IN NEW ENGLAND, WHICH I FELT I KNEW, I UNDERSTAND THE LAYERS OF IMMIGRATION.

I HAD LIVED IN IT AND LOVED IT.

BILL: AFTER STARTING HER SOUTHERN EFFORT, SHE WAS APPROACHED BY A PROFESSOR AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY, WHO WAS CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT HE DESCRIBED AS THE MYTHOLOGY SURROUNDING SILICON VALLEY.

>> THERE IS DEFINITELY AN OVERLAP BETWEEN JOURNALISM INTO ART AND THAT YOU ARE SERVING AS A MIRROR FOR A COMMUNITY.

AND YOU KIND OF START TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO WALK IN BOTH OF THOSE SPACES.

>> OLD COLLEAGUES IN PHOTOJOURNALISM HAVE NOW SAID THIS IS NOT JOURNALISM ANYMORE, OR THIS IS NOT FINE ART BECAUSE YOU ARE INTO JOURNALISM.

SO I JUST DECIDED I DON'T CARE WHAT ANYBODY CALLS IT, BECAUSE I JUST THINK THAT WE ARE ALL TRYING ON SOME LEVEL, WE ALL HAVE THIS URGE TO REFLECT BACK.

WHAT WE ARE SEEING.

>> AND SO MUCH OF WHAT YOUR WORK HAS BEEN ABOUT, MYTH BUSTING, SO TO SPEAK, ABOUT THE HUMAN CONDITION, BUT ALSO ABOUT ENVIRONMENTS AND STIGMA.

>> WELL, I THINK THAT WHAT WE NEED TO REALLY NAME IS THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, WHITE PEOPLE HAVE MADE A CONCERTED CAMPAIGN FOR 400 YEARS TO REPRESENT THE BLACK COMMUNITY IN REALLY DEROGATORY AND JUST DEROGATORY WAYS.

AND DISTORTED, HORRIBLE WAYS.

AND THAT HAS BEEN INTENTIONAL.

AND WE HAVE ALL INGESTED MESSAGES, DISSEMINATED BY PEOPLE IN POWER IN ORDER TO JUSTIFY THEIR OWN POWER.

SO, WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED THROUGH IMAGERY AND THROUGH THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE CLAIMED THE RIGHT TO DEFINE THE NARRATIVES HAS NOT BEEN NEUTRAL.

IT HAS BEEN EXCESSIVELY NEGATIVE IN MANY CASES.

SO HOW DO WE, PARTICULARLY AS A WHITE PRACTITIONER, HOW DO WE PUSH AGAINST THOSE NARRATIVES WITHOUT RE-INFLICTING MORE DAMAGE, RE-INSCRIBING THOSE SAME POWER DYNAMICS, GETTING IT WRONG, EVEN WITH THE BEST INTENTIONS?

FOCUSING SO SOLELY ON THE SYMPTOMS OF THE CORRUPT SYSTEM THAT WE END UP RE-INSCRIBING THOSE SYMPTOMS AS CONDITIONS OF THESE COMMUNITIES, WHEN IN FACT, WERE NOT LOOKING AT THE SYSTEMS AT ALL.

BILL: IN WHAT SHE SAYS IS HER INSTINCTUAL PURSUIT OF AUTHENTICITY, SHE HAS TOUCH THE LIVES OF COUNTLESS PEOPLE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIF.

WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR BODY OF WORK WHEN IT IS WRITTEN IN THE STARS, SO TO SPEAK?

>> GOD.

WRITTEN IN THE STARS.

I HOPE THAT THEY NOTICE WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN TAUGHT TO THINK ABOUT THE PEOPLE AROUND THEM, HOW THOSE ASSUMPTIONS ARE HAVING AN IMPACT ON THEIR INTERACTIONS IN A DAY-TO-DAY WAY.

AND TO TAKE A CHANCE, TO BUST THROUGH THOSE MYTHS OR BUST THROUGH THOSE ASSUMPTIONS THAT THEY ARE CARRYING AND INTERACT WITH THE WORLD IN AN AUTHENTIC WAY.

>> OUR THANKS TO BILL BARTHOLOMEW.

FINALLY TONIGHT, IN OUR CONTINUING SERIES, WE REVISIT LINDEN PLACE, ONCE THE HOME OF THE DOUBLES.

THEY WERE THE LARGEST SLAVE TRADING FAST RE-IN DUTCH FAMILY IN AMERICA.

WE TAKE A HARD LOOK AT RELATIONSHIP'S WITH RACIAL JUSTICE AND SO TOO HAS LINDEN PLACE.

♪ >> BEHIND ME IS LINDEN PLACE MANSION.

IT IS A FEDERAL STYLE, BUILT IN 1810 BY GEORGE DEWOLFFE.

GEORGE AND CHARLOTTE CAME FROM PROMINENT, WEALTHY FAMILIES, HERE IN BRISTOL.

GEORGE WAS VERY MUCH A WHEELER AND A DEALER OPPORTUNIST.

HERE IN TOWN, IN TERMS OF BUSINESS.

WE ALWAYS LIKE TO THINK OF THE NORTHERN STATES BEING SORT OF THE LIBERATORS, THE ONES WHO SORT OF WORKED AGAINST SLAVERY, THE ABOLITIONIST SOCIETIES.

WHEN, IN REALITY, THE TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE INVOLVED EVERY BIT OF THE RHODE ISLAND ECONOMY IN THE 18 AND EARLY 19TH CENTURIES.

THE FAMILY OWNED MNY SHIPS.

AND THEY ALSO OWNED THE TOWN BANKS.

THEY WOULD TAKE THESE SHIPS, THEY WOULD LOAD THEM UP WITH REALM, WHICH WAS MADE HERE IN BRISTOL AND THEY WOULD SAIL TO AFRICA, SPECIFICALLY GHANA WHICH THEY CALLED THE GOLD COAST.

THEY WOULD TAKE THE ROM AND THEY WOULD TRADE FOR ENSLAVED PEOPLES TO BE BROUGHT ON THEIR SHIPS, TO PLANTATIONS IN CUBA.

IT WAS A VERY BRUTAL JOURNEY, RAMA WAS IN HIGH DEMAND.

RHODE ISLAND RUM IN PARTICULAR WAS VERY SOUGHT AFTER.

THIS WAS A HUGE MONEYMAKER FOR THE FAMILY.

IN 1825, GEORGE HAD A RUSH OF SOME REALLY BAD LUCK FINANCIALLY.

HE WAS LEFT BASICALLY BANKRUPT, BUT BECAUSE THE ENTIRE TOWN'S FORTUNES WERE INVESTED IN THE DWOLFFE BUSINESS VENTURES, THE ENTIRE TOWN OF BRISTOL WENT BANKRUPT.

GEORGE WITH HIS WIFE CHARLOTTE AND THEIR CHILDREN FLED FROM LINDEN PLACE.

THEY WENT TO BOSTON WHERE THEY CAUGHT THE FIRST SHIP TO CUBA AND THEY WENT AND LIVED OUT THE REST OF THEIR LIVES AT THAT CUBAN SUGAR PLANTATION.

PEOPLE WOKE UP THE NEXT DAY AND THE BANKS WERE CLOSED.

AND THEY WANTED AN EXPLANATION OF WHETHER MONEY WAS.

THIS LED THE TOWN OF BRISTOL INTO FINANCIAL DEPRESSION THAT LASTED DECADES.

LINDEN PLACE HAS BEEN OPERATING AS A HISTORIC HOUSE FOR ABOUT 30 YEARS.

SO WHEN COVID TOOK PLACE IN WINTER LAST YEAR, IT REALLY GAVE US AT LINDEN PLACE A CHANCE TO STEP BACK, LOOK AT OUR STORY, THINK ABOUT WHAT WE ARE DOING WELL BUT MORE PORTLY, WHAT ARE WE NOT DOING WELL.

WHAT ARE WE NOT TALKING ABOUT?

WERE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS TO BRISTOL HISTORY AND TO THE HISTORY OF THIS HOUSE.

SO, WE HAVE REALLY SET ON INVESTIGATING AND RESEARCHING STORIES THAT WE WERE NOT AWARE OF BEFORE.

>> MY NAME IS LYNN SMITH AND I'M A VOLUNTEER HERE AT LINDEN PLACE.

I DO A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH THROUGH THE SENSES, BIRTH RECORDS, MARRIAGE RECORDS.

WE STARTED TO BUILD A MORE ROBUST STORY.

DANIEL TANNER WAS AN ENTREPRENEURIAL BLACK MAN, FREE BLACK MAN, WHO RAN A BUSINESS RIGHT HERE IN THE CONSERVATORY ON LINDEN PLACE.

A BARBERSHOP.

ON THE SOUTHERN PLANTATIONS IT WAS QUITE COMMON FOR WEALTHY PLANTATION OWNERS TO HAVE WHAT WAS KNOWN AS A WAITING MAN.

IT WAS A BLACK SLAVE, A MAN SERVANT WHO WAS SORT OF HIS PERSONAL VALET.

MAKE SURE THAT HIS CLOSE WERE PERFECT, THAT TRADITION SORT OF MIGRATED NORTH AND BARBERS BECAME WELL-KNOWN BLACK BARBERS FOR THE EXCELLENCE OF THEIR SKILL.

SO, WE KNOW THAT DANIEL TANNER WAS PROBABLY THE GREAT-GRANDSON OF A LOCAL SLAVE, BUT INTERESTINGLY, HE WAS MUCH MORE THAN JUST A BLACK BARBER.

WE FOUND HIS STORY IN THE LOCAL BRISTOL PHOENIX, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT HE STARTED THE EXCELSIOR CORONET BAND.

AND WAS QUITE PROUD THAT HE AND HIS BAND MARCHED IN THE VERY FAMOUS BRISTOL FOURTH OF JULY PARADE EVERY YEAR.

>> THIS WHOLE ADVENTURE OF DELVING INTO NOT ONLY DANIEL TANNER'S HISTORY, BUT THAT OF HIS FAMILY AND THEIR CONNECTIONS TO BRISTOL, THEIR CONNECTIONS TO NEWPORT, WE FEEL WILL OPEN UP A WHOLE NEW SIDE OF THIS MANSIONS HISTORY THAT NO ONE KNEW ABOUT.

>> OUR THANKS TO SUSAN AND LYNN SMITH.

THAT IS OUR BROADCAST THIS EVENING.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

I MICHELLE SAN MIGUEL.

PAMELA: I'M PAMELA WATTS.

WE WILL BE BACK NEXT WEEK WITH ANOTHER EDITION OF RHODE ISLAND PBS WEEKLY.

UNTIL THEN, YOU CAN VISIT US ONLINE TO SEE ALL OF OUR STORIES AND PAST EPISODES AT RIPBS.ORG/WEEKLY OR LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST, AVAILABLE ON ALL OF YOUR FAVORITE AUDIO STREAMING PLATFORMS.

THANK YOU, GOOD NIGHT.

♪