‘Juneteenth’ Celebration with Jazz & Poetry Slated for June 22
OLD LYME – ‘Witness Stones Old Lyme’ will expand its project in 2024 to honor 10 enslaved persons, who labored in the Town of Lyme—historically known as North Lyme.
Ten new Witness Stones—historical plaques commemorating the lives of enslaved African Americans—will be placed in late May at the Lyme Public Library.
In 2021, 2022, and 2023, the Project installed a total of 38 plaques on Lyme Street, McCurdy Rd., and Old Shore Rd. in Old Lyme.
To deepen the untold story of local enslavement, ‘Witness Stones’ this year will honor Dina, Jenny, Pompey, Peter, Bristo, Suberiah, Boston, Cuff Condol, Prince Brown, and Pomp Henry.
To celebrate the town’s newly-installed Witness Stones, the Old Lyme Witness Stones Partnership is holding events in May and June. All events are free and open to the public and take place rain or shine.
Witness Stones Installation Ceremony
Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library, 2 Library Lane, Old Lyme CT
Friday, May 31, 10 a.m.
The community will gather on the lawn of the Old Lyme Library to celebrate the fourth installation of Witness Stones in the Lyme-Old Lyme area. The program offers music, poetry, and words from community partners.
Guest speakers include Rhonda Ward, Witness Stones Old Lyme poet and first New London Poet Laureate; Nikita Waller, soloist; Rick Wyman, saxophone; Martha Shoemaker, Old Lyme First Selectwoman; Melissa Fournier, Lyme librarian; Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School poets and Select Chorus.
Juneteenth Celebration with Jazz & Poetry
Florence Griswold Museum—north lawn, 96 Lyme Street, Old Lyme CT.
Saturday, June 22, 2 to 4 p.m..
The celebration in honor of Juneteenth—a federal holiday that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans—will take place on the north lawn of the Florence Griswold Museum.
The event features a quartet led by legendary bassist Nat Reeves and new work by Connecticut poets Marilyn Nelson, Kate Rushin, Rhonda Ward, and Antoinette Brim-Bell, who in 2021 created a tribute in verse to those enslaved in the historic town of Lyme. The jazz quartet includes world-renowned saxophonist Abraham Burton, celebrated pianist James Austin, Jr., and impressive percussionist Michael Ode.
The event has received generous funding from the Connecticut Office of the Arts. In case of rain, the Juneteenth celebration will take place at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, 2 Ferry Road.
Witness Stones Old Lyme joins a growing coalition of Witness Stones Project communities dedicated to restoring history and honoring the humanity and contributions of those formerly enslaved. The Old Lyme initiative was made possible through the support of the Lyme-Old Lyme community, including local institutions and the Lyme-Old Lyme Schools.
The Witness Stones Old Lyme website gives additional information about those who lived enslaved in our towns.
The Witness Stones Project in Old Lyme is vital at this time of learning about and engaging with the history of slavery in Connecticut. But this local project also has national reach as America comes to grips with its complicated past regarding the enslavement and indenture of African and Native people.
Each Witness Stone placed on Lyme Street, McCurdy Rd., Old Shore Rd., and at the Lyme Public Library includes the name of an enslaved individual, along with details about their lives and circumstances derived from land records, emancipation certificates, and other available historical documents.
An interpretive sign installed on the lawn of the Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library provides a map showing the locations on Lyme Street of the small brass plaques that are installed flush with the ground.
The Old Lyme Witness Stones Partnership
The Old Lyme Witness Stones Partnership’s goal is to expand the understanding of local history and honor the humanity and the contributions of those formerly enslaved in our community.
The partnership’s founding members include the Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library, the Florence Griswold Museum, the Lyme-Old Lyme Schools, and the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme.
Community partners include the Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center, St. Ann’s Episcopal Church, Lymes’ Youth Service Bureau, and the Old Lyme Historical Society.
The Partnership has received generous support from a Health Improvement Collaborative of Southeastern Connecticut (HIC) Partnership Grant for Racial Equity.
