News and Features
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West Hartford Witness Stones Students Argue for Change
By Katrina Koerting in the Register Citizen on June 28, 2021 WEST HARTFORD — Some streets around town could get new names under an ordinance to honor people or historic events. Local officials said there are still logistical issues to finalize, but the ordinance was largely supported by public speakers and adopted by the Town Council.…
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West Hartford’s Town Green Rededicated as ‘Unity Green’
By Ronni Newton on We-Ha.com on June 20, 2021 West Hartford’s second annual Juneteenth celebration, held over the weekend of June 19-20, 2021, was full of joy juxtaposed by serious messages and actions, with the observation culminating late Sunday morning as a crowd gathered for the rededication of the town’s green as Unity Green. West Hartford’s…
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Juneteenth Celebrations Begin with Witness Stones Installation in Old Center Cemetery
By Sophie Christensen and Lily Guberman on We-Ha.com on June 19, 2021 Even before entering the cemetery, the powerful sound of Afro Caribbean drumming could be heard from a block away. The sounds of the drums traveled far, but they could not overpower the enthusiastic voices of the crowd, about50 people of many ages and backgrounds. Sixteen…
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Suffield to Celebrate Juneteenth on Saturday
Journal Inquirer Staff on June 18, 2021 SUFFIELD — A local group is planning to hold the town’s first Juneteenth celebration Saturday on the town green. Juneteenth is a celebration of the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Texas learned that they were freed by the emancipation proclamation. The local celebration is organized by…
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Town Dedicates Second Witness Stone in Honor of Madison Woman
By Jesse Williams on Zip06.com on June 15, 2021 MADISON — More than 200 years ago, here on the same beaches where Madison residents are currently laid out on the sand catching some sun, a shipwreck washed ashore. From that ship, a handful of people emerged, people who mostly would be spending the rest of their…
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Witness Stone Would Mark Location Where Slave Lived in Suffield
By Matthew P. Knox in the Journal Inquirer on June 15, 2021 SUFFIELD — Residents who walk by the corner of North Main Street and Bridge Street may soon stumble upon a new addition. A witness stone, a plaque 4 inches in length and width, is going to be embedded in the stone wall along the…
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West Hartford Juneteenth Activities Begin with Witness Stones
By Katrina Koerting in the West Hartford News on June 14, 2021 The weekend of events kicks off at 10 a.m. Saturday with an installment ceremony of the Witness Stones Project at Old Center Cemetery. This is the project’s fourth installation, which brings attention to the enslaved people and honors their contributions to West Hartford…
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Bringing to Life the Hidden Lives of Four Greenwich Slaves with Honor and Witness Stones
By Anne W. Semmes in the Greenwich Sentinel on June 12, 2021 Forces have joined in the town of Greenwich to tell its hidden history, “To return the colors to the historical fabrics of our community,” so said Dennis Culliton, co-founder of the Connecticut-based Witness Stones Project that “seeks to restore the history and to…
