December 30, 2024
The African Assembly Home in Nantucket, Massachusetts will probably be celebrating its 2 hundredth anniversary on January 4
The African Assembly Home in Nantucket, Massachusetts, will probably be celebrating its 2 hundredth anniversary on January 4 by way of a night of stay performances and a rededication of the assembly home, which is now solely used for ceremonies and particular occasions.
Based on the Cape Cod Occasions, each the assembly home and the Museum of African American Historical past are central places for Nantucket’s Black neighborhood.
Per the Nantucket Preservation Belief, the home is the final remaining public construction that was an important a part of Black communities of the 18th and Nineteenth centuries.
Though it was constructed in 1827 by the African Baptist Society, the constructing was bought in 1933 by Florence Higginbotham, who understood the significance of the constructing.
Regardless of Higginbotham’s buy, the constructing fell into disrepair over time and was in want of great repairs.
In 1989, Higginbotham’s descendants bought the Assembly Home to Boston’s Museum of African American Historical past and the constructing was renovated and reopened to the general public in 1999.
Based on the museum’s web site, “The small post-and-beam constructing, a Nationwide Historic Landmark, is the island’s most vivid reminder of a thriving Nineteenth-century Black neighborhood. The Museum presents cultural packages and interpretive reveals on the historical past of African Individuals on Nantucket and makes the African Assembly Home obtainable for ceremonies and particular occasions.”
Sage Morgan-Hubbard, the Director of Studying and Engagement on the Museum of African American Historical past, instructed the Cape Cod Occasions that the occasion seeks to honor the historical past of the constructing.
“It truly is simply to honor the essential historical past,” Morgan-Hubbard stated. “It will likely be enjoyable to be taught concerning the historical past collectively and share within the celebration.”
Based on the occasion’s itemizing on Eventbrite, though the occasion is free and open to the general public, seating is restricted, however reservations can be found on the positioning.
RELATED CONTENT: First Black Mayor In New England, Thirman Milner, Dies At 91