1st Africans Arrived In Middletown In 1660!

2019 marked the 400th anniversary of the first Africans arriving on America’s English-claimed shores as enslaved people with the first such Africans recorded as being in Middletown in the 1660s, only 10 years after the city’s founding. The Middletown Middle Passage Ceremony and Port Marker Project Committee held a ceremony and the unveiling of a plaque of remembrance on Saturday, September 28th on the riverfront in Harbor Park:

Our city has been designated as a Site of Memory by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, as part of the international project, “The Slave Route: Resistance, Liberty, Heritage.” Two ships, the Martha & Jane and the Speedwell are documented as having arrived from Africa to Middletown’s harbor with their human cargo that survived the treacherous transatlantic trade voyage that was the Middle Passage.

Here Is A Video Of The Unveiling:

For Videos Of The Event Visit: The Middletown Middle Passage Ceremony and Port Marker Project