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  • Was Freedom Sweet? The Travels of Arthur Bowler, Black Loyalist: a Book Talk with Jane Lancaster

    The Vernon House 46 Clarke Street, Newport, United States

    This book talk from author and historian Jan Lancaster will share the story of Arthur Bowler, an enslaved African, who lived in the house later called the Vernon House for at least a decade — before Cato Vernon’s time. She’ll discuss the clues available about his life in Newport, and his subsequent life in Portsmouth, New York, Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone. As a so-called Black Loyalist his life followed a very different trajectory from that of Cato Vernon.

  • Book Event: The Forest Year by Ethan Tapper

    Rough Point Museum 680 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, RI, United States

    In partnership with our friends at Charter Books, join us for an event with author In partnership with our friends at Charter Books, join us for an event with author Ethan Tapper. Tapper will discuss his new book, The Forest Year; a meditative and lyrical ode to the land, weaving complex scientific and ecological concepts with beautiful narrative prose, making nuanced ideas easy to understand and deeply resonant. Both place-based and practice-driven, Tapper writes not as an armchair philosopher or an academic, but as a working forester and ecologist stewarding real forests in real time, blending emotional insight with ecological rigor.

  • Artist Talk with Lois Harada

    The Vernon House 46 Clarke Street, Newport, United States

    Join Lois Harada for an artist talk about her practice, recent projects and her work on encouraging a name change for the RI holiday Victory Day.

  • Welcome Home: Exhibition and Artist Talk with Eric E. Sung

    The Vernon House 46 Clarke Street, Newport, United States

    Created as part of a larger body of work titled Welcome Home, this series contributes to an ongoing exploration of the carceral experience in the United States. The broader project includes contemporary portraits and personal narratives of individuals impacted by incarceration today, situating these historical artifacts within a continuum of justice system experiences across time, which will be introduced at the artist talk.

  • From Revolution to Reclamation, Indigenous Perspectives of Sovereignty, Independence, and the American Revolution: a Talk with Chrystal Mars Baker of the Tomaquag Museum

    The Vernon House 46 Clarke Street, Newport, United States

    Though many people know that African heritage people served in the American Revolutionary War, we sometimes overlook the Narragansett and Wampanoag people who fought. In this presentation from Chrystal Mars Baker of the Tomaquag Museum we’ll learn more about their crucial contributions and the long history of Indigenous service.

  • Strangers in a Strange Land: a Talk on the Free African Union movement by Keith Stokes

    The Vernon House 46 Clarke Street, Newport, United States

    Held on the anniversary of its founding, this talk given by RI State Historian Laureate Keith Stokes will interpret the evolution of the Free African Union movement during the American Revolution era, showcasing the profound influence of the African Diaspora on the advancement of Black identity in early America.

  • Reflections on Soul Value and Research-to-Performance Method Writing: a Conversation with April Brown and Jessica Pearson

    Soul Value is an interdisciplinary, duet performance project created by April H. Brown and Jessica T. Pearson which brings to life the stories of New England Black women—Elleanor Eldridge, Elizabeth Freeman, and Margaret Kinnicutt—and the men of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment during and after the American Revolutionary War. Through a compelling blend of monologue, dance, ritual, and song, Soul Value illuminates the often-overlooked contributions of Black and Indigenous people in New England history, centering their advocacy, resilience, and determination to survive and thrive. The work invites audiences to engage with a more complete and inclusive understanding of the American story while creating meaningful connections between the past and the present.

  • Finding Cato Vernon in Photography Artist Talk with Dominique Sindayiganza

    The Vernon House 46 Clarke Street, Newport, United States

    While creating the Cato Vernon Freedom Library, Lead Artist and Photographer Dominique Sindayiganza visited sites in Rhode Island where Cato Vernon may have been. As he photographed these places which are now often manicured, leisurely, and serene, he wondered what Cato’s view would have been — did this tree see Cato when it was an acorn? Does the mitochondria still hold his memory? Despite the peace of these places today, Dominique imagined the battlefields, enslavement, imprisonment, and war that Cato would have seen. The more images he took, the more he felt Cato Vernon.