First Parish Unveils Historic Memorial Installation
As an early action on our reparations journey, First Parish in Needham, Unitarian Universalist, unveiled and dedicated a Memorial Installation (the first of its kind in Needham) on Sunday March 22 to honor those who were enslaved by Needham colonists, including members and the first minister of First Parish. The Memorial names 15 men, women, and children known to have been enslaved in Needham in the 18th century: Boston, Homer, Ishmael, Jack, Jenney, Jethro, Jupiter, Phebe, Phoebe, Primas, Prince, Rose, Silvia, Terence, and Violet. The Memorial also acknowledges that there were likely more enslaved Needhamites whose names have been lost to history. And, it explicitly names that all of their lives matter.
All are welcome to visit and reflect on this Memorial, which is in the upstairs main hallway of First Parish’s program building — a carefully chosen placement between windows (some panes etched with names of deceased First Parishioners of blessed memory) overlooking our Memorial Garden. First Parish’s own youth group member Josephine Calzada worked with Darlene Troge (a descendant of enslaved Needhamites Jupiter and Private Ishmael Coffee) and First Parish’s Community & Relationship Committee members to bring the memorial design into reality. The design puts the names of those enslaved at the center, surrounding a floral representation of the UU Shared Values that call First Parishioners to the work of reparations: Justice, Equity, Transformation, Pluralism, Interdependence, and Generosity, all grounded in Love. Josephine’s artist’s statement was shared as part of the March 22 ceremony.
Reverend Catie Scudera and the Community & Relationship Committee was honored to have the support and participation of both church members and the wider community in developing and dedicating this Installation, including Dr. Gloria Greis (Needham History Center), members of the Needham Select Board (Chair Heidi Frail, Vice Chair Cathy Dowd, and Kevin Keane), and the ministers of UU Wellesley Hills (Rev. Mark Robel and Terry Dixon). We are especially grateful that our artistic collaborator Darlene Troge and her brother Chief Peter Silva Arrow, both Trustees of the Hassanamisco Nipmuc, traveled to Massachusetts to participate in the unveiling ceremony and to honor their ancestors, Jupiter and Ishmael Coffee.
As an act of reparative restitution, donations were collected at the March 22 worship service and ceremony to split between Jack and Jill Inc. of America’s Newton Chapter’s scholarship program and the start of a Reparations Fund to be seeded at First Parish.
Thanks to our AV team, the entire ceremony was livestreamed and recorded onto First Parish’s YouTube page. The Community & Relationship team also thanks the First Parish Players and other First Parish volunteers for their contributions to the ceremony and reception.
To learn more about Needham’s enslavement history (including narrative biographies of enslaved Needhamites), visit First Parish’s Land and Enslavement Acknowledgement at uuneedham.info/LandEnslavement . For more information about First Parish’s anti-racism, anti-oppressive commitments and how to get involved, contact the Community & Relationship Committee at communityandrelationship at uuneedham dot org.
