Tavern Talk - "When the Declaration of Independence Was News" with author Emily Sneff

Tuesday, May 5, 2026 Richard I. Burnham Resource Center | 82 Touro Street, Newport Admission $15 – $20 per person | *Student Discounts now available $10 with valid student ID 6:30pm to 7:30pm doors open at 5:30pm for a complimentary reception   In 1776 people could hear......More

Tuesday, May 5, 2026 Richard I. Burnham Resource Center | 82 Touro Street, Newport Admission $15 – $20 per person | *Student Discounts now available $10 with valid student ID 6:30pm to 7:30pm doors open at 5:30pm for a complimentary reception   In 1776 people could hear the Declaration of Independence proclaimed in public squares and could read it in the pages of their local newspapers. Stories of the Declaration typically recount the work that took place inside the Continental Congress, focusing on the men tasked with drafting the text. Although Congress declared independence, the work of spreading the news involved printers, post riders, ship captains, civic leaders, soldiers, clerks, orators, preachers, diplomats, and translators. When the Declaration of Independence Was News reveals the stories behind how the Declaration was communicated in the United States and around the Atlantic. Tracing the travels of the founding document of the United States from Philadelphia to New York, Boston, Charleston, London, Leiden, Paris, and beyond, Emily Sneff shows how people both celebrated the Declaration and critiqued it. In the weeks after the document was penned, it was printed in the columns of newspapers, translated into German and French, and shared with Native American allies. The document induced some people to make public their privately held beliefs about whether they wanted the United States to be independent or to reconcile with King George III. The Declaration was met with unique circumstances everywhere it went, and people modified the text along the way. The questions of who experienced the news of independence, when, and how reveal an expansive and complex history of a critical moment in the American Revolution. Publishing for the 250th anniversary of the United States, When the Declaration of Independence Was News focuses on the nation’s founding document at the moment of its creation in 1776, before anyone knew what the legacy of the Declaration would be or if the United States would win the war against Great Britain. It explores how the Declaration was communicated to people in the new nation and around the Atlantic world and reveals the stories of the many people involved in the process of declaring independence, from printers to soldiers to diplomats to translators.   Book now!

Richard I. Burnham Resource Center, 82 Touro Street, Newport, Rhode Island, 02840

History Happy Hour & Exclusive Book Signing with Dr. Akeia de Barros Gomes

Tuesday, May 19th, 2026 3pm to 6pm Richard I. Burnham Resource Center | 82 Touro Street, Newport Exclusive Book Signing | Free with any Donation At this month’s History Happy Hour, the NHS will be selling advance copies of Echoes From the Attic: Stories of Slavery and F......More

Tuesday, May 19th, 2026 3pm to 6pm Richard I. Burnham Resource Center | 82 Touro Street, Newport Exclusive Book Signing | Free with any Donation At this month’s History Happy Hour, the NHS will be selling advance copies of Echoes From the Attic: Stories of Slavery and Freedom-Making in Newport, RI, edited by Dr. Akeia de Barros Gomes and containing contributions by NHS staff, scholars, and community members. Dr. de Barros Gomes will be available to sign books and discuss the opening of Newport’s first Center for Black History in June 2026. The NHS’ current exhibition, “Occupied! Newport and the Fight for Independence,” will remain open past normal business hours every third Tuesday of the month from 4pm to 7pm for you to enjoy during happy hour. RSVP to Attend here: https://newporthistorytours.org/calendar/

Richard I. Burnham Resource Center, 82 Touro Street, Newport, Rhode Island, 02840

"Emerson's Daughters: Ellen Tucker Emerson, Edith Emerson Forbes and Their Legacy" with author Kate Culkin

Thursday, May 21, 2026 Richard I. Burnham Resource Center | 82 Touro Street, Newport Admission $15 – $20 per person | *Student Discounts now available $10 with valid student ID 6:30pm to 7:30pm doors open at 5:30pm for a complimentary reception   As part of an ongoing a......More

Thursday, May 21, 2026 Richard I. Burnham Resource Center | 82 Touro Street, Newport Admission $15 – $20 per person | *Student Discounts now available $10 with valid student ID 6:30pm to 7:30pm doors open at 5:30pm for a complimentary reception   As part of an ongoing attempt to uncover women’s history, this book explores the significance of the Emerson daughters in their father’s success as a poet, philosopher, and Transcendentalist leader. As Culkin writes, “[Ralph Waldo Emerson’s] ability to express such ideas in print and tour the country to deliver them in person was dependent on his daughter’s labor as housekeepers, secretaries, accountants, and hostesses to the stream of visitors who came to speak to the ‘great man.’” Emerson first called on his daughters for support in their adolescence, handing them the responsibility of running the house. As the girls grew older, they took on the duties of preserving family transcripts, contributing to their father’s writing, and, in Emerson’s later years, editing his work. Although the two women made notable contributions to their father’s accomplishments, Culkin notes that “the significance of Ellen’s and Edith’s lives goes beyond the support they gave their famous father.” Emerson’s Daughters also examines the letters written by the women to one another, and the stories captured in their correspondence. Journal letters, detailed logs of their days, and business letters—evidence of a partnership—were sent by Ellen and Edith, capturing social and cultural history. Culkin calls her work “a biography of correspondence,” outlining Ellen and Edith’s importance in Transcendentalism, literature, and nineteenth-century history through their words to one another, a glimpse into the storied lives of the women behind Ralph Waldo Emerson.   Book now!

Richard I. Burnham Resource Center, 82 Touro Street, Newport, Rhode Island, 02840

Tavern Talk - "How Liberty Is Sweet: Black Loyalists in Newport During the Revolutionary War" with Dr. Jane Lancaster

Thursday, June 11, 2026 Richard I. Burnham Resource Center | 82 Touro Street, Newport Admission $15 – $20 per person | *Student Discounts now available $10 with valid student ID 6:30pm to 7:30pm doors open at 5:30pm for a complimentary reception   As historian Benjamin ......More

Thursday, June 11, 2026 Richard I. Burnham Resource Center | 82 Touro Street, Newport Admission $15 – $20 per person | *Student Discounts now available $10 with valid student ID 6:30pm to 7:30pm doors open at 5:30pm for a complimentary reception   As historian Benjamin Quarles observed, the loyalty of Black Americans in the Revolution “was not to a place nor to a people, but to a principle, freedom.” In Newport—where nearly twelve percent of the population was Black and almost a third of white households enslaved at least one person—that principle confronted the realities of war, uncertain futures, and the dangers of self-liberation. Drawing on the context of British proclamations offering freedom to enslaved people, including the Phillipsburg Proclamation of 1779, this Tavern Talk will discuss the options that were available to Newport’s Black residents as the British army prepared to depart – remain in enslaved conditions in Rhode Island, or leave with the retreating British forces in pursuit of freedom. Dr. Jane Lancaster’s research explores this pivotal and often overlooked chapter in Newport’s Revolutionary-era history, highlighting the courage, agency, and complex decision-making of Black Loyalists seeking liberty in a time of profound upheaval – those who stayed, those who left, and the broader movement of an estimated 20,000 Black individuals who liberated themselves during or after the war.   Book now!

Richard I. Burnham Resource Center, 82 Touro Street, Newport, Rhode Island, 02840

History Happy Hour

Every third Tuesday of the Month | 4pm – 7pmRichard I. Burnham Resource Center | 82 Touro Street, Newport, RIFree with any Donation Join us for an evening at the NHS’ current exhibition, “OCCUPIED! Newport and the Fight for Independence” History Happy Hour is Social Hou......More

Every third Tuesday of the Month | 4pm – 7pmRichard I. Burnham Resource Center | 82 Touro Street, Newport, RIFree with any Donation Join us for an evening at the NHS’ current exhibition, “OCCUPIED! Newport and the Fight for Independence” History Happy Hour is Social Hour at the NHS, bring your friends, family and all of your questions! Visit our new exhibit during evening hours, enjoy a drink, and chat with other guests and staff about Newport’s role in the Revolutionary War. Extended evening hours occur every third Tuesday of the month from 4pm to 7pm for guests to explore the exhibition after normal business hours. ✨All guests who make a $10.00 donation or more to the Newport Historical Society will receive a free drink✨ Sign up to attend at NewportHistoryTours.org/Calendar History Happy Hour Schedule: June 16th, 2026July 21st, 2026August 18th, 2026September 15th, 2026October 20th, 2026November 17th, 2026December 15th, 2026*All dates are subject to change or cancellation.

Richard I. Burnham Resource Center, 82 Touro Street, Newport, Rhode Island, 02840

"ECHOES FROM THE ATTIC" Book signing event with Charter Books

Wednesday, June 17th, 2026 Charter Books | 8 Broadway, Newport 6:00pm – 7:00pm | Free Book Signing Event   We are excited to collaborate with Charter Book in support of the release of our latest book ECHOES FROM THE ATTIC presented by Dr. Akeia de Barros Gomes, Director......More

Wednesday, June 17th, 2026 Charter Books | 8 Broadway, Newport 6:00pm – 7:00pm | Free Book Signing Event   We are excited to collaborate with Charter Book in support of the release of our latest book ECHOES FROM THE ATTIC presented by Dr. Akeia de Barros Gomes, Director of the Edward W. Kane and Martha J. Wallace Center for Black History at the Newport Historical Society. ECHOES FROM THE ATTIC is an accessible, softcover volume which takes up the unfinished conversation about what it is to be a descendant member of the Black community in Newport, RI, and beyond, today. This event is free and open to all! We kindly ask you to RSVP and share the event with your friends. RSVP Here: https://charterbookstore.com/form/rsvp   “There is a world of something in the nkisi bundle, and that world was brought to Newport, Rhode Island, where Black descendant communities—since the beginning of Newport’s relationship with the transatlantic slave trade—were dispersed by the wind at sea, allowing the cycles of African and African identities to begin again and flower into the vibrant community of today and its continued work toward freedom-making.”—Dr. Akeia de Barros Gomes The Edward W. Kane and Martha J. Wallace Center for Black History is housed in the city of Newport’s oldest documented home at the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House (ca. 1697). The title, Echoes from the Attic, comes from the discovery of a nkisi, a spirit bundle found under the floorboards of the house during its restoration the bundle is the springboard for this new publication which features contributions from scholars, and from members of the descendant community in Newport. Moving beyond the Gilded Age and stories of Black wealth and enterprise, there are also stories of slavery, of resistance, of regeneration, and persistence. Edited by Dr. Akeia de Barros Gomes. Contributions by Rebecca Bertrand, Kaela Bleho and Zoe Hume, Akeia de Barros Gomes, Kimberly Conway Dumpson and John M. Rice, and Anthony Bogues. With stories from members of the descendant community in Newport. Akeia de Barros Gomes, PhD is the Director of the Edward W. Kane and Martha J. Wallace Center for Black History and a Visiting Scholar and Adjunct Lecturer at the Ruth J. Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice at Brown University.

The Opening Celebration of the Edward W. Kane & Martha J. Wallace Center for Black History

Saturday, June 20th, 2026 6pm to 8pm Great Friends Meeting House | 21 Farewell Street, Newport Cocktail Party & Conversation Event Join us for the opening celebration of the Edward W. Kane & Martha J. Wallace Center for Black History at the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House, a ......More

Saturday, June 20th, 2026 6pm to 8pm Great Friends Meeting House | 21 Farewell Street, Newport Cocktail Party & Conversation Event Join us for the opening celebration of the Edward W. Kane & Martha J. Wallace Center for Black History at the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House, a landmark addition to Newport’s cultural landscape. We invite you to an evening of cocktails and conversation, highlighted by a keynote address from internationally renowned author and advocate Heather McGhee. Heather designs and promotes solutions to inequality in America. Over her career in public policy, Heather has crafted legislation, testified before Congress and helped shape presidential campaign platforms. Her book The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together spent 10 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was longlisted for the National Book Award and Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. Set against the historic backdrop of the Great Friends Meeting House, this evening honors the stories that shape us and the visionaries who preserve them. VIP tickets at $500 + include a tour of the Center meeting at 17 Broadway at 5 PM. Ticket levels and pricing are as follows: Friend Ticket $175 – General Admission for the Cocktail Party and Keynote.Advocate Ticket $500 – General Admission for the Cocktail Party and Keynote, One 5pm ticket for an exclusive tour of the Center for Black History, and a signed copy of Heather McGhee’s book Sum of Us, and VIP parking.Champion Ticket $1,000 – General Admission for the Cocktail Party and Keynote, Two 5pm tickets for an exclusive tour of the Center for Black History, a signed copy of Heather McGhee’s book Sum of Us, and VIP parking.Patron Ticket $2,500 – Reserved seating for the Cocktail Party and Keynote, Four 5pm tickets for an exclusive tour of the Center for Black History, a signed copy of Heather McGhee’s book Sum of Us, and VIP parking. Supporter Ticket $5,000 – Reserved seating for the Cocktail Party and Keynote, Six 5pm tickets for an exclusive tour of the Center for Black History, a signed copy of Heather McGhee’s book Sum of Us, and VIP parking.Tickets are required for entry to this event. Purchase tickets below: Book now!

Great Friends Meeting House, 21 Farewell St, Newport, RI, 02840, United States

"The Wreck of the Mentor: A True Story of Death, Despair, and Deliverance in the Age of Sail" with author Eric Jay Dolin

Tuesday, June 30th, 2026 The Colony House | Washington Square, Newport Admission $15 – $20 per person | *Student Discounts now available $10 with valid student ID 6pm to 7pm doors open at 5pm for a complimentary reception From the best–selling author of Black Flags, Blu......More

Tuesday, June 30th, 2026 The Colony House | Washington Square, Newport Admission $15 – $20 per person | *Student Discounts now available $10 with valid student ID 6pm to 7pm doors open at 5pm for a complimentary reception From the best–selling author of Black Flags, Blue Waters comes the story of the American whaleship Mentor, wrecked in 1832 on a remote reef in the western Pacific. With supplies dwindling, the eleven surviving crewmen face not only the miseries of shipwreck in unfamiliar territory but also the profound uncertainty of contact with the Indigenous people of the Micronesian archipelago of Palau, who within days approach the deserted men brandishing axes, clubs, and spears.In this gripping saga of cultural collision, tribal wars, and dashed hopes, award–winning historian Eric Jay Dolin vividly reconstructs the Mentor’s doomed voyage, the years of perilous captivity, and the delicate negotiations and fraught naval rescue mission that followed. Illustrated by more than 100 images and maps, The Wreck of the Mentor is at once a powerful story of survival and a revealing window into the great Age of Sail a time when maritime ambition collided with local sovereignty, and when the outcome of one voyage rippled across oceans and empires. Book now!

The Colony House, Washington Sqaure, Newport