On the first day of Black History Month, a ŗ£½Ē»»ĘŽ town that was once a hub of the transatlantic slave trade renamed a street in honor of a man, who once lived and toiled in town. is now ā “”±¹±š²Ō³Ü±š.ā
Prince Mortimer āwas an enslaved man in Middletown, ŗ£½Ē»»ĘŽ, from the early 1700s,ā said historian . āHe was purchased by an enslaver named Philip Mortimer in Middletown sometime after 1754 and spent most of his life there enslaved ā making rope.ā
Mills is a software engineer and historian who has dedicated himself to uncovering and preserving stories of enslaved people in ŗ£½Ē»»ĘŽ through his nonprofit He said during the Revolutionary War, Prince Mortimer served as an assistant to officers, even running errands for George Washington. However, unlike some enslaved people who secured their freedom after the war, Mortimerās story took a different turn.
āLate in life, he was supposed to be freed,ā Mills said. āBut that got overturned, and he continued to be enslaved, later being sent to prison, accused of attempting to poison his new enslaver, and he spent from the age of 87 until the age of 110 in prison.ā
A different kind of legacy
While history often highlights figures like , who escaped bondage and became a celebrated author and statesman, Mills says Mortimerās experience reflects a different but equally significant reality.
āI discovered that most of the enslaved people in my family donāt have that Frederick Douglass story,ā Mills said. āMost of them spent most of their lives enduring, and they died. But because they persisted, I exist. I see greatness in their endurance.ā
Mortimerās story, he believes, is one that resonates with many African-Americans whose ancestors may not have been famous, but whose perseverance ensured the survival of future generations.
āHe survived for 110 years, and he persisted and endured with grace,ā Mills said. āI think that aligns more appropriately to many African Americansā lineage, and so we celebrate that. We celebrate his perseverance, his endurance, and his grace in doing all of that.ā
A 'street' Mortimer knew well
The choice of Rapallo Avenue for Mortimerās honorary renaming was deliberate ā even though the thoroughfare was not named as such in Mortimerās day.
āThat street used to be a walkway,ā Mills explained. āIt was a walkway that was built by his enslaver, Philip Mortimer, and it only led to the enslaverās mansion. And Prince would walk up that walkway every day to get to Main Street to get to the enslaverās rope-making facility.ā
Mills believes having Mortimerās name placed atop what was once a path of servitude represents a symbolic act of reclamation and acknowledgment.
Changing the narrative
In recent years, discussions about how the U.S. remembers its history have become contentious. Laws restricting how racial history is taught in schools have been passed in several states, often citing . Mills rejects that rationale.
āThat idea of making sure that we donāt impose this on young white children? That was imposed on me as a young Black kid,ā he said. āThat lack of an ability to feel a reverence for people that I am related to, and this is the intent to kind of change the narrative of how we see the enslaved, and give to young Black kids a reason to revere their genealogy, even if theyāre not related to a Frederick Douglass or a Martin Luther King.ā
Mills sees the honorary renaming of Prince Mortimer Avenue as a step towards that goal ā one that recognizes not just one manās endurance, but the endurance of so many whose names may never be widely known.
For Mills, this is just one of many efforts to reclaim and preserve Black history. Through the , he has traced the roots of 50 families to date, sharing their histories to ensure that the past is not forgotten.
