Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project (MPCPMP) just announced the highlights of its 2024 accomplishments with documenting Middle Passage arrival locations.
Former Port of Harlem magazine co-editor Ann Chinn’s "Middle Passage Project," appeared in the November 2008 - January 2009 Port of Harlem magazine print issue. The history-making article was the first public write-up on her vision of what is now the MPCPMP.
The Project’s first ceremony was in Baltimore in 2012
and Port of Harlem magazine captured the event on video. For more information, you are encouraged to visit the
website, especially the
interactive map on the Documented Arrival Sites and Tours page.
Chin says, “MPCPMP is pleased to share our accomplishments and update those of you interested in the work of remembering and honoring African ancestors who endured the trans-Atlantic voyage known as the Middle Passage – those who perished and those who survived.”
- Marker installations – Port Arthur, Texas (March) and Ponce, Puerto Rico (July)
- Pending marker installations – Africatown, AL (TBD); Biloxi, MS (November); Sapelo Sound/Darien, GA (TBD); and Bristol, RI (TBD)
- Outreach and planning – Savannah, GA; Maine (Kittery); Maryland (Charles, Prince George’s and St. Mary’s Counties); Beaufort, SC; and Washington, DC (Georgetown)
- On-going research of possible documented arrival locations – Chestertown, MD; Georgetown, SC; and St. Germán, PR
- Completed research, QR codes, and OpenTour platforms for 19 documented arrival locations (see interactive map on website)
- Initiated update and revision of website design and formatting
- Published “Our Story” with copyright pending
- Developed our theme for this year – the Diaspora: February series (4 videos), “Many Rivers to Cross”; Mother’s Day webinar, “The Bridges that Carried Us Over” Black Maternal Health; and a September podcast with the World Heritage USA-Monuments Toolkit
- Board of Directors – Appointed three new members: Erika Berg, Candace Chambers and Gail Pellum
- New contract staff – Hired two researchers: Hannah Fisher-Gray and Heather Walker as well as an Administrative Assistant, Rachel Bloomfield
Remembering Ancestors
The Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project (MPCPMP) needs your financial help to continue working with local communities in the U.S. on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts to commemorate African ancestors and to install Middle Passage history markers.
