(Photo: From left to right: Portsmouth Historical Society president, Ed Mallon (left) and executive director Kathleen Soldati (right), with Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire president Reverend Robert Thompson. Photo by: Raya On Assignment.)
The Portsmouth Heritage Trail (PBHT) has a new home.Originally designed by historian Valerie Cunningham, PBHT previously merged with the Portsmouth Historical Society, but now it’s part of a newly formed statewide nonprofit organization, The Black Heritage Trail of NH (BHTNH).
“I am pleased and proud to announce that the PBHT is now officially owned and operated by the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire," Portsmouth Historical Society president Ed Mallon announced this week. “We have been honored to work closely with the trail staff and volunteers for the last five years as its exciting and important programs grew. The stories of the PBHT have changed the lives of countless thousands who discovered four centuries of African American history in New Hampshire’s only seaport.”
BHTNH launched in 2017, and is led by its president, Rev. Robert Thompson. Fifty volunteers support the nonprofit.
“Black history is American history,” says BHTNH executive director JerriAnne Boggis, “and we want to thank the Portsmouth Historical Society for giving us a home when we needed one which allowed us to grow. We are excited to share the stories of Black lives in New Hampshire statewide and beyond.”
Cunningham’s extensive research on local African-Americans back to 1645 is what helped form PBHT. It initially became a study guide for educators, and then morphed into a self-guided walking tour, which is now a groundbreaking book entitled Black Portsmouth by Cunnigham and historian Mark Sammons.
Current Issue - May 2024