Wharves and Harbor Area,

Middletown

Middletown
Middle Passage
Ceremony
and Port Marker
Project
Saturday, September 28, 2019
10:00 am • Harbor Park
It has been 400 years since the first kidnapped Africans were
enslaved in English-claimed America. Captured and chained blacks
were shipped across the Atlantic Ocean (the Middle Passage) to
be sold into slavery. UNESCO has designated Middletown as a
Site of Memory because, in the 1700s, two such slave vessels sailed
into Middletown’s riverfront with their abducted human cargo.
The ceremony will remember and honor these and other enslaved
Africans who contributed to the building of this community.

Featuring African Drumming and Libation Ceremony, Native

American and youth elements, speakers, and the unveiling of the Native American woman Bessie Palmer,
a Wangunk descendant.
Middle Passage commemorative plaque.

Limited seating will be provided,

but attendees are encouraged to bring
lawn chairs.