Story & Photos by Marianne Salza
When public historian Doctor Noelle Trent looks at the over 200-year-old wooden floor planks of the African Meeting House she sees the path of prominent figures who have come before her, like abolitionists, Frederick Douglas and William Lloyd Garrison. Doctor Trent also imagines the common, working people, tired and with little disposable income, attending a lecture and donating their funds for a liberated future beyond their comprehension.
“Every time you enter the sanctuary, you are stepping in the footsteps of history,” said Dr. Trent, President & CEO, Museum of African American History (MAAH), Boston and Nantucket. “I want to honor that history, the sacrifices people made, the vision, the daring resilience, and endurance that the community had.”
During Dr. Trent’s presentation, “Museum of African History: Part of a Larger Story,” she described the empowering experiences of the black community members whose outspokenness and persistence led to Boston becoming the epicenter of the Abolitionist Movement, and home to a respite for all at the Meeting House.
At the February 11 Beacon Hill Women’s Forum (BHWF) meeting at The Hampshire House, Doctor Trent explained the origins of Black History Month, a national observance created almost 100 years ago by historian, Carter G. Woodson, who was the second African American to receive a Ph.D. degree from Harvard University.
As early as the 1890s, there had been celebrations across the country in black communities around Negro History Week, recognized during the second week in February to coincide with the birthdays of President Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas.
“It evolved to become a month. The goal of this celebration was for it to not be the only time of the year you talk about black history, but it’s the time when you most uplift it,” said Dr. Trent. “It’s a great tradition.”
Doctor Trent described how the cataloging of black history dates back to the mid-19th century, with early writers of African American history, such as William Cooper Nell (1816-1874), who was born and raised in Boston. The civic activist resided on the North Slope of Beacon Hill, a well-established African American neighborhood.
Nell’s major works include “Services of Colored Americans and the Wars of 1776 and 1812,” published in 1851, and “The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution,” published in 1855.
“Early historians were concerned about demonstrating that African American history is rooted in this country’s existence. The academic writing and research using historic methodology was one phase of preserving this critical piece of history. The objects and physical spaces are another piece to that,” exclaimed Dr. Trent. “The Museum of African American History exists within a community that has been actively researching, interpreting, and preserving its history for over 150 years.”
The Museum of African American History, located at 46 Joy Street, Beacon Hill, was founded by Sue Bailey Thurman, who arrived in Boston with her husband, Howard Thurman, in 1953, when he became the dean of Marsh Chapel, at Boston University.
“She began to ponder the Abolitionist Movement,” said Dr. Trent. “As a point of pride, Boston was the epicenter of action. She wondered where the monuments and houses of the participants of the Abolitionist Movement were. In the 1950s, she didn’t see any plaques marking African American History. Every town she found herself in, she was active in preserving the buildings that were hallmarks of the black community.”
The couple were advisors of the Civil Rights Movement, and early participants of the Interfaith Movement. Thurman was known for her tolerance and willingness to engage with people of all faiths. She also devised a walking tour connecting sites that would eventually become Boston’s Black Heritage Trail.
“We know the ‘60s as a period of sit-ins and marches; but there was also a revolutionary spirit within how we present this story,” beamed Dr. Trent. “Boston was center-stage in that conversation.”
Exhibitions and programs at MAAH began as early as 1963. By 1967, the museum was formally organized, became officially incorporated in 1972, and in 1986, Congress passed legislation establishing the National Park Service’s Boston African American National Historic Site, which included the Black Heritage Trail.
“Today, MAAH remains a private non-profit, and the Black Heritage Trail is its intellectual property,” noted Dr. Trent. “We are also an affiliate site for the National Trust for Historic Preservation.”
The African Meeting House, located at 8 Smith Court, Beacon Hill, was the first building to come under MAAH’s stewardship. It was acquired in 1972, and is the oldest existing black church building in the country, and served as a founding place for the Massachusetts General Colored Association. In 1832, William Lloyd Garrison started the New England Anti-Slavery Society in the Meeting House.
“This place was a haven – a refuge – from the rest of the world,” revealed Dr. Trent.
Part of the Boston campus includes the Abiel Smith School, at 46 Joy Street. In 1815, white businessman, Abiel Smith, bequeathed $4,000 to the City of Boston to benefit the education of African American children. The Abiel Smith School opened in 1835, and was the first public school in the country specifically built for African Americans.
Doctor Trent remembers being awe-struck at the MAAH’s Boston site, which is entirely dependent on generosity of the community. She encourages BHWF members to visit as she and her team usher the museum into the 21st century by exploring digital technology.
The Museum of African American History’s latest exhibition, “Being Frederick Douglas,” features a hologram of Frederick Douglas that uses artificial intelligence with a closed dataset to answer inquiries from the audience.
“We find ourselves in a challenging time; but we know the importance of this story. It’s deeply ingrained into the legacy of this country,” asserted Dr. Trent. “We lean into our mission, which is to explore the presence of black people in early American history prior to 1900 in Boston, Nantucket, Massachusetts, and the greater New England region, while also connecting it to contemporary society.”