Bell Dedicated to Atone for Slavery

In 1636, an area now known as Rhode Island became a place of refuge for the religiously oppressed. But in the 18th century, its ports accommodated slave trading. No colony in New England had such a high proportion of slaves as Rhode Island.

In an act of repentance, the United Church of Christ has dedicated an 80-pound, cast iron “bell of freedom.” The bell is in Abbott Park, next to the Beneficent Congregational Church, which was part of the Underground Railroad that helped slaves escape to freedom.

The ceremony took place on the fifth day of the national convention of the United Church of Christ, a liberal-minded church with an antislavery heritage.

By 1760, Rhode Island had 184 vessels running between New England and the West Indies on a triangular trade route. The first leg was made by merchants selling rum to West Africa in exchange for slaves to be sold in the Caribbean. Then molasses and sugar from the Caribbean would be brought to New England.

“Americans were only minor players in the whole slave trade, but Rhode Islanders were the principal American slave traders,” said Stanley Lemons, a history professor at Rhode Island College.