August 14, 2009
Exploring Paul Cuffe: The Man and his Legacy
A Public Symposium
Saturday, October 3, 2009
8:30 AM – 5 PM
New Bedford Whaling Museum
18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA
In commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Paul Cuffe (1759 – 1817), a symposium of local and national scholars will explore the many aspects of Captain Cuffe. Each session will include a panel discussion and time for questions and comments with a focus on:
• Paul Cuffe and relationships with the black and white community
• Cuffe’s entrepreneurial and philanthropic ventures
• Sierra Leone - Rise to be a people
• Contemporary relevance of Cuffe and his legacy
Sponsors: New Bedford Historical Society; New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park; Westport Historical Society, Old Dartmouth Historical Society; Rotch-Jones Duff Museum; University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
This Public Symposium is FREE of charge and open to the public.
Pre-registration is advised as space is limited.
8:30 – 9 AM Coffee and Registration
9:00 – 9:15 Welcome and Introduction
9:15 – 9:45 Opening Keynote by Lamont Thomas, author of Rise to be a People: A Biography of Paul Cuffe.
9:45 – 10:00 Panel Discussion, Q & A
10:00 – 10:15 Break
10:15 – 11:00 Local relationships and Cuffe
Marion Kilson, Scholar, Museum of African American History, Boston, author of Kpele Lala: Ga Religious Songs and Symbols
Paul Cuffe’s Social Networks and Economic Success
Richard Kugler, former Director of New Bedford Whaling Museum.
The Collaboration of Captain Paul Cuffe and Captain Isaac Cory of Westport
11:00 – 11:15 Panel Discussion, Q & A
11:30 – 12:00 Ray Rickman, former president of the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society and was secretary of the Rhode Island Historical Society and is a dealer in rare African American books.
Reading Paul Cuffe
12:00 – 1:30 Lunch
1:30 – 2:15 In the Time of Cuffe
Julie Winch, University of MA-Boston, is the author of a Gentleman of Color; A Biography of James Forten.
“Thou Art Often the Companion of my Mind”: Cuffe, James Forten and the Portrait of a Friendship
Valerie Cunningham, vice president of the Afro-American Historical &
Genealogical Society-New England Chapter and co-author with Mark J. Sammons of Black Portsmouth: Three Centuries of African American Heritage.
Struggles for Freedom in Seacoast New Hampshire
2:15 – 2:30 Panel discussion, Q & A
2:30 – 2:45 Break
2:45 – 3:30 Rise to be a People - Sierra Leone
David Cole, former Lecturer on Economics, Harvard University, author of Between a Swamp and Hard Place: Developmental Challenges in Remote Rural Africa
Overcoming Incredible Odds: Paul Cuffe and Sierra Leone
Kevin Lowther, former director of Africare, author of The African-American Odyssey of John Kizell
Sierra Leone: If Paul Cuffe had Lived
3:30 – 3:45 Panel discussion, Q & A
3:45 – 4:30 Closing keynote
This project is funded by the Helen E. Ellis Charitable Trust administered by Bank of America and by a grant from the Westport Cultural Council a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
