UU's meet a Princess!

This week, Rev. Jason and others joined connections from across our region and beyond for an informative gathering entitled "Walk in the Footsteps of a Prince."  The program, hosted by the history team at Center Church in Hartford, connects with UUSGS history, as we were among the sites that offered support for the prince's freedom journey in the 1820's.  Pictured above is Rev Dr. Eric J. Hearst, Minister for Justice and Faith Formation at City Church and Her Royal Highness Princess Karen Wright Sori Brengettsy-Chatman, a direct descendant of Prince Sori!

Special thanks to Center Church for the invitation to connect at such a personal level with our own history.  UUSGS folks: wouldn't it be cool to have our own hisotry team?  What do you say?  :-)

ABOUT THE PROGRAM:
Walking in the Footsteps of a Prince is an annual convening that brings together scholars, academic institutions, and descendants to examine and engage in ongoing dialogue regarding the historical legacy of Prince Abdulrahman Ibrahima Ibn Sori. The program provides a structured forum for interdisciplinary discussion, focusing on documented historical connections between Prince Abdulrahman and prominent figures in early American history, including John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, as well as emerging research related to Francis Scott Key. Through critical inquiry and scholarly exchange, the convening contributes to a broader understanding of transatlantic histories, the conditions and processes of enslavement and emancipation, and their continuing significance within African American and African diasporic studies.

HISTORY:
In 1788, Prince Abdulrahman was captured during warfare in Guinea, West Africa, sold into slavery in Natchez, Mississippi, and freed forty years later. His freedom journey brought him through Hartford and to Center Church at the invitation of the Rev. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet in October 1828. Rev. Gallaudet traveled with Prince Sori throughout Southern New England raising funds for his passage to the Colony at Liberia, West Africa.