Hidden Presence: God’s Little Acre and Beyond

Evidence of the history of African Americans in New England from the 18th and 19th centuries is found in many historic burial grounds and cemeteries in the region, with the most significant and extensive of these sites being God’s Little Acre in Newport.

On Thursday March 8, 2018, at 5:30pm, historian and author Glenn Knoblock will discuss some of these historic sites, including the burying ground in Newport. Through these oft-times forgotten or neglected sites and the gravestones found within, important clues which help to document the lives of African Americans in the region are revealed. Such burial sites and gravestones are often the only physical evidence of an African American presence and the existence of slavery in a given locale, making them historically important beyond their original function and purpose. The presentation will be richly illustrated with photographs of many important gravestones found in Newport and beyond, and is based on Knoblock’s book “African American Historic Burial Grounds and Gravesites of New England (McFarland Publishing, 2016), which will be available for purchase after the event.

Knoblock has worked as an independent scholar and author with an interest in many aspects of American and, specifically, New Hampshire and African American history, lecturing extensively throughout New Hampshire via the New Hampshire Humanities To Go program. He has an over five-year long collaboration with Harvard’s African American National Biography Project (AANB), for which he suggested and wrote over 100 entries in many different areas, serving as their main military contributor.

“God’s Little Acre and Beyond” takes place at the NHS Resource Center, 82 Touro Street, Newport, RI, and costs $5 per person, $1 for NHS members, active and retired military with ID. Please RSVP online at NewportHistory.org or call 401-841-8770.