Friday September 18 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. join us for a special screening of Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North at the Missouri History Museum in St. Louis’ Forest Park. This film was nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy last Wednesday. Filmmaker Katrina Browne will be in attendance, and will hold a conversation with the audience after each showing.
The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri and our Commission on Dismantling Racism is sponsoring this event in partnership with the Missouri History Museum.
Traces of the Trade is a film about a family (the Dewolfe Family) in Bristol, Rhode Island, and that family’s generational participation in the slave trade in America. The DeWolfe Family was and is still a member of the Episcopal Church and has done the research that demonstrates how members of the Episcopal Church participated in the growth and development of the slave trade in America while living in the northern part of the United States.
Chester Hines, Commission on Dismantling Racism’s chair, said, “This program fits perfectly with the vision and mission of the Commission. Traces of the Trade shows the connection between historical lack of social justice and the impact it has had on our church and community. History plays an important part in better understanding what steps must and should be taken to begin the process of healing racial wounds and moving toward reconciliation. Traces of the Trade shows one family’s approach to this process. It happens that the family has significant ties and continuing relationships with the Episcopal Church. It is an opportunity for us to take a look at who we are.”
DeWolf descendant and first-time filmmaker Katrina Browne said, “What most Americans don’t realize, is that it was Northern merchants who were largely responsible for the slave trade, not Southern ones.” It was Northern ships, with Northern trade goods, and Northern financing that propelled the slave trade. The North sent out 85% of all U.S. slaving voyages; New England sent 75%; and small Rhode Island was responsible for 58% of all U.S. voyages. Outside of R.I., the busiest ports were Boston and NYC. “We are thrilled and honored to be nominated for an Emmy in Research in recognition of our work to bring forward this buried history,” said Browne.
In January 2010, the Missouri History Museum welcomes the special exhibition RACE: Are We So
Different? . In preparation for the exhibition, the History Museum will be partnering with several St. Louis institutions. The St. Louis Beacon and St. Louis’ purblic television station KETC/Channel 9 will present a monthly series of programs “addressing issues related to race in the region and nation-wide.” The first program is Wednesday, July 22, 2009, 5:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. presenting an evening of theatrical vignettes performed by the History Museum’s acting troupe.
Tags: Commission on Dismantling Racism, Discussion, Film, Media
