Lucy terry prince: a window into african american life in early rural new england [this project will create a prototype of a website that will increase understanding of the lives of african…

This $100,000 Project Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities under the Promotion of the Humanities Public Programs program (CFDA 45.164) will support the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association in developing a prototype website that increases understanding of African American life in early rural New England. Specifically, the website will focus on Lucy Terry Prince, the first documented African American poet, illuminating her life from captivity in Africa circa 1726 to enslavement in Deerfield, Massachusetts, to achieving freedom in Vermont just before her death in 1821. By highlighting Ms. Prince's experiences within the contexts of the colonial maritime economy, Revolutionary-era desires for independence, post-Revolution struggles to enact egalitarian principles, and African American expressions of humanity and self-determination, the website aims to provide new historical perspectives into how slavery and freedom shaped the lives of African Americans in New England from the 18th to early 19th centuries.

Lucy terry prince: a window into african american life in early rural new england [this project will create a prototype of a website that will increase understanding of the lives of african americans in early rural new england. Its focus will be on lucy terry prince, the first documented african american poet. Her life, from birth and captivity in africa C.1726 to enslavement in deerfield, MA, to her death as a free woman in vermont in 1821, encompasses signal events in the lives of enslaved people. Lucy?S life illuminates important aspects of the revolutionary ERA: a) how the slave trade and enslaved african american labor were instrumental in creating a thriving maritime economy in colonial new england; B) how desire for independence fueled by that economy gave rise to revolutionary political principles that enslaved people seized upon to obtain their freedom; C) how african americans struggled to enact those principles after the revolution; and D) how, in this context, african americans cultivated and expressed their essential humanity and self-determination.]