November 6, 2025 – The Essex National Heritage Commission (Essex Heritage) has been awarded a $20,000 grant from Mass Humanities to create “Untold Voices of Essex County’s Revolutionary Maritime History,” an interactive digital exhibit that will shine a light on the overlooked contributions made by Black individuals and women during the American Revolution.
The grant, part of Mass Humanities’ Expand Massachusetts Stories initiative focusing on the “Promises of the Revolution,” will support the research and development of a digital platform exploring the experiences of Black mariners and dockworkers and the contributions of women who sustained Essex County’s bustling Revolutionary-era ports while the men were away at war.
“Essex County held a uniquely critical role in the Revolution as a center of shipbuilding, trade, and privateering,” said Annie Harris, CEO of Essex Heritage. “Yet the contributions of the laborers who powered these industries have been largely overlooked by history. This project will help us reclaim these important voices – especially those of Black individuals and women.”
The digital exhibit will launch in January 2027 on Essex Heritage’s existing “Essex County Black Experience” and “Essex County Rev250” websites. The project will feature a timeline, biographical profiles recovered through archival research, primary source documents including ship records and freedom suit cases, and educational resources for teachers and students.
“This project will expand Massachusetts stories by reclaiming narratives that have long been ignored in official Revolutionary histories,” explained Beth Beringer, Essex Heritage’s Director of Education. “In presenting these stories, the exhibition will confront the contradiction at the heart of the Revolution: a fight for independence waged in a society that permitted slavery.”
The project team includes leading scholars Dr. Kabria Baumgartner, Dean’s Associate Professor of History and Africana Studies at Northeastern University, and Dr. Brad Austin, Professor of History at Salem State University, along with archivist and historian Beth Bower.
The digital exhibit will be designed to complement an upcoming in-person exhibit and educational programming developed by Essex Heritage and the National Park Services at Salem Maritime National Historical Park for 2026-27, expanding public access to these significant stories as the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.
The project has received additional support through a $9,000 African American Civil Rights Grant from the National Park Service.
For more information about “Untold Voices of Essex County’s Revolutionary Maritime History” and Essex Heritage’s work, visit essexheritage.org.
