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The First Church of Christ (Congregational) in Old Saybrook is pleased to work with the Witness Stones Project to remember and honor Phillis Jackson, who was enslaved in Saybrook by members of the Hart family. Students from Old Saybrook Middle School installed a Witness Stones marker to honor Phillis's sister, Rose Jackson, in 2024. This fall, students will be commemorating Tamar, Phillis and Rose's mother.
Any interested participants are invited to join a collaborative effort to remember Phillis Jackson. Sessions will take place in the church sanctuary on Sundays September 14 and 21 and October 5 and 12, all at 11:30 am. following 10am worship service. The first session on September 14 will feature a presentation by Pat Wilson Pheanious, a former State Representative and Connecticut Commissioner of Social Services who learned about her enslaved ancestors from Witness Stones researchers. Since then, she has helped remember and install commemorative markers across Connecticut and in New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania. Subsequent sessions will invite participants to examine archival documents as they seek to unpack and then share the story of Phillis Jackson and her family. Once the research is complete, a commemorative marker will be installed near the church in Phillis's honor. (Installation date TBD.)
A nonprofit educational initiative founded in 2017, the Witness Stones Project seeks to restore the history and honor the humanity of the enslaved individuals who helped build our communities. Since its founding, the project has engaged some 13,000 participants, both youth and adult, and installed 300 markers in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and California. To learn more about Witness Stones, visit witnessstonesproject.org.