Digital Exhibits

This collection of exhibits features figures Black figures who shaped Boston's history, and thusly, its present. Included are exhibits about “Philis Wheatley Peters,” “Crispus Attucks,” “Pauline Hopkins,”  “Chloe Russel,” “Maria Stewart,” “Robert Morris,” “Chloe Spear,” and “David Walker.” Our collections attempt to show the multidimensionality of Black individuals and the heterogeneous ways that these individuals influenced the culture, history, resistance, and being of Black Boston. This list is by no means exhaustive, but rather a starting point, which we will continue to add to. 

Crispus Attucks was the first man to die in the Boston Massacre and thus, the American Revolution. He was regarded as a martyr during the war and as an anti-slavery symbol in the nineteenth century.

Frederick Douglass was a dedicated and well-known abolitionist, author, recruiter for the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, founder and president of the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company, and the first Black man to serve as US Marshal of the District of Columbia under President Hayes. Most of Douglass’ work involved fighting for the freedom and equality of all African Americans and he is widely known for his writing on the abolition of slavery, particularly Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.

Elizabeth Freeman, initially known as Mum Bett, was the first Black woman to win a freedom lawsuit in Massachusetts. Her case made way for the “freedom suits” which outlawed enslavement in all of Massachusetts in 1783. She changed her name from Bett to Freeman in honor of her success and spent the last part of her life working as a paid domestic worker, healer, midwife, and nurse.

Prince Hall, enslaved to William Hall, was freed after the Boston Massacre and began to make a living as a peddler, caterer, and leather maker. Hall served as the grandmaster for the first all-black army lodge, African Lodge #1. As a huge activist in the community, he also helped pass Massachusetts legislation that outlawed the slave trade in 1788 and petitioned Massachusetts for Black public school funding— which eventually operate out of his home.

Pauline Hopkins was a Black woman recognized widely in the 19th century as an intellectual, a singer, and a novelist. She's known for being the editor of the Colored Cooperative Publishing Company, as well as her efforts promoting racial equality and uplift.

Colonel Samuel Middleton is most famously known for leading the Bucks of America and protecting merchant property of African-Americans in Boston. He was a leader who helped build and sustain the early Black activism institutions in the city of Boston, especially through his work co-founding the Boston African Benevolent Society.

Robert T. Morris was a wealthy 19th-century Boston businessman and philanthropist. While acting as its president, he managed Pacific Mills' transformation into a prominent textile plant. He generously donated to charities, hospitals, and schools while promoting Boston's economic development.

While little is known about her life, Chloe Russel is recognized as the author of The Complete Fortune Teller and Dream Book (1842). As a free Black woman living in Boston, she bought property, raised money to free enslaved people, and ran her own business.

Peter Salem, born enslaved in 1750, was emancipated and became part of Framingham’s Minute Men, where he and other Black minutemen fought in the Battle of Lexington and Concord. Salem later served as part of Colonel John Nixon’s 5th Massachusetts Regiment and as a member of the 6th Massachusetts Regiment. After his military service ended, he worked as a cane and chair weaver before eventually passing away in 1816 at a Framingham poorhouse

Richard Seavers was a seaman, who lived in Boston, Massachusetts after returning from the Revolutionary War. He fought in the war continuously from the time he was 16 years old. Seavers gained a well-known reputation for being a respectable and top-notch trainer in the Black community after being held prisoner by the British.

Chloe Spear, an enslaved woman in 18th-century Boston, found freedom after the Revolutionary War. Chloe was recognized for her status as a popular figure in the working and religious communities. Her life narrative, which was chronicled in obituaries and a biography, is a monument to tenacity and accomplishments in the face of difficulty.

Maria Stewart was a feminist and abolitionist, known for fighting against the "Cult of Domesticity" and using religion to advocate for progress. She was also the first Black woman to make a public speech to mixed male and female crowds.

Belinda Sutton, enslaved to the Royall Family, petitioned the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that she should be paid from Isaac Royall’s estate for her work. Her case is one of the first recorded accounts of reparations. Although the state repeatedly missed payments on Belinda’s pension in the years following her petition, Belinda continued to renew her claim every year in an effort to collect the money she was entitled to.

Walker was a prominent member of Boston's free African American and abolitionist community. Walker is most remembered for his ardent demand for the immediate and total abolition of slavery in the United States in his influential and contentious booklet titled "Walker's Appeal." His outspoken opinions made him a target for pro-slavery persons and more moderate abolitionist organizations.

Phillis Wheatley is recognized as the first African-American to publish a volume of poetry. As a child, she was kidnapped from West Africa and sold in slavery to the Wheatley family. It was here in Boston that she learned to read and write.