At least 27 Africans were enslaved in Jamaica Plain in the 1700s.  Hidden Jamaica Plain will present an overview of slavery in Jamaica Plain. This history includes land theft, enslavement first of Indigenous people and then expansion to Africans.  Massachusetts Bay was the first English colony in North America to legalize slavery in 1641.  Chattel slavery existed in Massachusetts at the time of the American Revolution, and several Jamaica Plain patriots were enslavers.   

Hidden Jamaica Plain is a volunteer group researching the history of land theft, enslavement, resistance and community in Jamaica Plain. This event will be held in the First Church Parish Hall. It is free and open to the public and light refreshments will be served.

The event will be in a hybrid format. You can attend in-person or via Zoom. Please register for the Zoom presentation here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_sI0VoNghTtqTdZbv4Tg3QA

No registration is required if you are coming in person - just show up!

Please note: in the case of heavy snow, the event will be held only via Zoom.

Several local groups/organizations are co-sponsoring this event:

• Hidden Jamaica Plain

• First Church in Jamaica Plain, Unitarian Universalist

• Jamaica Plain Historical Society

• First Baptist Church of Jamaica Plain

• The Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts

• Hidden Brookline

• St. John’s Episcopal Church

• Loring Greenough House

• Roxbury Historical Society