After 15 years of service, Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project (MPCPMP)’s founding leaders, Executive Director Ann Cobb, and Program Director Ann Chinn,—widely known as “the Anns”—will step away from daily management of the organization by the end of 2026 and transition into permanent roles on the MPCPMP Executive Board. The Executive Board has officially begun a succession process to find their replacements.

The ‘Anns’ have been, and will continue to be, deeply involved in this profoundly impactful organization,” said Erika Berg, Co-Chair of the Executive Board. “They bring hard-earned wisdom and a vast network of relationships to this transition process and will work closely with the incoming directors to ensure continuity and stability.”

A Mission Rooted in Memory, Truth, and Community

Incorporated in 2011, MPCPMP is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization identifies historic arrival sites of captive Africans spanning over 350 years of the trans-Atlantic human trade and collaborates with local communities and organizations to:

• Document and commemorate each port of entry with historic markers and ancestral remembrance ceremonies  
  
  
• Educate residents about the profound contributions of enslaved Africans and their descendants to their communities and this nation
  
  
• Preserve African diaspora history and culture through partnerships with cultural, educational, religious, governmental, and community organizations  

Since its inception, MPCPMP has:

• Identified and documented 90 Middle Passage arrival locations from Maine to Texas to the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, all designated by the UNESCO Routes of Enslaved Peoples Project, and the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience as places of memory
  

• Built affiliations with more than 78 local, national, and international partner organizations  
• Supported and/or conducted more than 125 remembrance ceremonies honoring the African ancestors
• Helped communities install 51 physical and 49 digital markers, with an additional 9 physical and 9 digital markers scheduled for installation over the next year. UNESCO has designated the markers as Sites of Memory and Conscience
  

Mellon Foundation Support and Strategic Growth

In 2025, the Mellon Foundation awarded MPCPMP an $800,000 grant to develop a comprehensive Strategic Framework and Implementation Plan for 2026–2029.

Leadership Recruitment and Transition Timeline  

The search for new leadership is a central element of MPCPMP’s transition strategy. Leadership recruitment will begin in April 2026. Individuals interested in learning more about these opportunities or in recommending prospective candidates may contact MPCPMP.

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Port of Harlem magazine's
Historic Coverage of MPCPMP

The Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project (MPCPMP) was first publicly announced in the November 2008 – January 2009 print issue of Port of Harlem magazine. In the article, MPCPMP introduced readers to its proposed work and mission to commemorate Africans who died and survived the Middle Passage before the project formally launched as a national nonprofit.

The basic form of the honor comes from placing markers and holding remembrance ceremonies in the Americas where the Africans were deshipped. The first marker was placed and remembrance ceremony held in Baltimore in 2012 and covered by Port of Harlem magazine.