Tag Archives: Juneteenth

Juneteenth Celebration Brings Jazz, Poetry, Reflection to Old Lyme

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Witness Stones Old Lyme poets at the Juneteenth celebration. From left to right: Rhonda Ward, Antoinette Brim-Bell, Kate Rushin and Marilyn Nelson. All photos courtesy of Witness Stones Old Lyme.

OLD LYME—The north lawn of the Florence Griswold Museum earlier this month filled with music and poetry as the community gathered for a Juneteenth celebration honoring those who once lived enslaved in the historic town of Lyme.

The Avery Sharpe Quartet performing at the Juneteenth event.

The June 22 event in partnership with the Witness Stones Old Lyme organization featured a powerful performance by renowned bassist and composer Avery Sharpe and his Quartet—Zaccai Curtis on piano, Haneef Nelson on trumpet, and Yoron Israel on drums—whose dynamic jazz rhythms set the tone for an afternoon of remembrance and hope.

Artists gather at the Juneteenth Jazz & Poetry event on Sunday, June 22. Left to right: Poets Marilyn Nelson, Kate Rushin, Rhonda Ward and Antoinette Brim-Bell with musicians Zaccai Curtis, Avery Sharpe, Yoron Israel, and Haneef Nelson

Interwoven with the music were readings by four of Connecticut’s most distinguished poets: Marilyn Nelson, Kate Rushin, Rhonda Ward, and Antoinette Brim-Bell. Their verses, inspired by the lives of those commemorated through the Old Lyme Witness Stones Project, gave voice to the past and called listeners to deeper understanding and reflection. 

Audience members enjoy the sounds of live jazz and poetry on the lawn of the Florence Griswold Museum.

The poets, who began their partnership with the Witness Stones Project in 2021, created a cycle of poems that was later published in Poetry magazine. Their verse continues to serve as a poignant tribute to the lives, labor, and humanity of those long forgotten by history.

Photographer William Earle Williams signs copies of the exhibition catalogue for poets Rhonda Ward, left, and Kate Rushin.
Photographer William Earle Williams signs copies of the exhibition catalogue for poets Rhonda Ward (left) and Kate Rushin.

Following the program, the Florence Griswold Museum welcomed guests to view Their Kindred Earth: Photographs by William Earle Williams on its closing day. Drawn by his interest in the Witness Stones Project, Williams became the museum’s third artist-in-residence and made stunning photographs that reveal historic sites of enslavement in Old Lyme and elsewhere in Connecticut.

Witness Stones Old Lyme

Between 1670 and 1826 at least 300 enslaved and indentured African Americans and Native Americans labored in the historic town of Lyme.

Today, Witness Stones honor the humanity and the contributions of vital members of our community. The bronze plaques that mark sites of enslavement on Lyme Street restore forgotten history and serve as memorials to those once held here in bondage. 

Each of the 60 Witness Stone placed on Lyme Street, McCurdy Road, Old Shore Road, the Sill Lane Green 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 of the small brass plaques that are installed flush with the ground on Lyme Street and elsewhere in the community.

For more information about the Witness Stones Project in Old Lyme, visit the Witness Stones Old Lyme website: https://www.witnessstonesoldlyme.org/

Editor’s Note: Liz Frankel is a member of the Witness Stones Old Lyme Committee.

Witness Stones of Old Lyme, FloGris Museum Celebrate Juneteenth with Jazz & Poetry, June 22

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Witness Stones Poets (left to right) Antoinette Brim-Bell, Rhonda Ward, Marilyn Nelson and Kate Rushin will read tributes in verse to enslaved people remembered on Witness Stones plaques. Photo courtesy of Witness Stones Old Lyme.

Free Admission to ‘Their Kindred Earth’ Photography Exhibit on African-American History to Follow

OLD LYME–Witness Stones of Old Lyme will celebrate Juneteenth with jazz music and poetry at the Florence Griswold Museum from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 22. 

The museum will offer free admission from 3 to 5 p.m. to view the closing day of Their Kindred Earth: Photographs by William Earle Williams, an exhibition that seeks to deepen understanding of sites of enslavement in Old Lyme and beyond. 

The museum will be closed on the federal holiday, which falls each June 19 to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved African-Americans. 

Sunday’s event on the museum’s north lawn will feature music by the Avery Sharpe Quartet and readings by Witness Stones Poets Marilyn Nelson, Kate Rushin, Rhonda Ward, and Antoinette Brim-Bell, according to the event listing on the museum’s website. The poets will present tributes in verse to those remembered with Witness Stones plaques. 

Witness Stones Old Lyme for five years has been marking local sites of enslavement with brass plaques. The group during that time brought in the four poets and several successive classes of middle school students from Lyme and Old Lyme to help tell the stories behind the plaques.

Three of the markers are located on the Florence Griswold Museum’s front lawn to honor those who labored in a house that once stood where the Griswold House is now located, according to the museum. 

William Earle Williams, the museum’s artist in residence, will be on hand to sign copies of the newly released exhibition catalogue, Their Kindred Earth. Copies will be on sale at the event and in the museum shop. 

Seating for the music performance and poetry readings will be provided under a tent and additional lawn chairs are welcome and encouraged.

The museum is located on 96 Lyme St. In the event of rain, the celebration will be held at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, 2 Ferry Road.