New Exhibit To Highlight North Shore Black, Women Contributions To Revolutionary War

SALEM, MA — A forthcoming interactive digital exhibit will focus on the role that Black individuals and women played in the Revolutionary War effort on the North Shore.

Essex Heritage was awarded a $20,000 Mass Humanities grant to create "Untold Voices of Essex County's Revolutionary Maritime History" that will focus on the experiences of Black mariners and dockworkers and the contributions of women who sustained Essex County's bustling Revolutionary-era ports while men were fighting the 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 exhibit is expected to launch in January 2027 on the Essex Heritage websites and will include a timeline, biographical profiles, ship records 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," said 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 project has received additional support through a $9,000 African American Civil Rights Grant from the National Park Service.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)