Music, spoken word, and historical readings will bring Rhode Island’s complicated Revolutionary-era history to life when Stages of Freedom presents “A Concert for Freedom: Revolutionary Black & White Voices” on Sunday, October 25. The free concert begins at 4pm at the First Baptist Church in America, 75 North Main Street, Providence. Presented as the closing event of the RI250 celebration, the program explores enslavement, resistance, and emancipation, asking what freedom meant to those who fought for it. Click here for details.
The performance will examine Rhode Island’s central role in the transatlantic slave trade while honoring African American men who served in the Revolutionary War in pursuit of their own freedom. Historical texts and spoken-word performances will connect those experiences with the broader struggle for self-determination.
The Schiller Institute Chorus of New York and Boston will perform African American spirituals from the Revolutionary era. The afternoon also includes the world premiere of a song dedicated to Aaron Briggs, a Black Loyalist whose story offers another perspective on the period. Secretary of State Gregg Amore, Ray Rickman, and other guests are scheduled to appear. The concert is sponsored by the RI250 Commission and the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts.
“We are incredibly excited to bring this vibrant, essential history to the stage in such an uplifting and musical way,” said Robb Dimmick of Stages of Freedom. “This concert is not just a reflection on the past – it is an energetic celebration of resilience, freedom, and the enduring human spirit that shaped Rhode Island and our nation.”
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