NEWBURYPORT — The Newburyport Black History Initiative has reason to celebrate this summer after being selected as the recipient of the 2024 Excellence in History Leadership Award from the American Association of State and Local History.
“They are monuments of public history across the United States,” said Senior Project Manager Jordy Vining, “and it’s truly an honor to have this spotlight shine on Newburyport and this project in particular.”
Now in its 79th year, the Excellence in History Leadership Awards program recognizes people, projects, exhibits and publications across the country who demonstrate leadership in the future of state and local history, according to a press release.
The association plans to present a total of 47 awards at its nonprofit conference in September in Mobile, Alabama.
Vining added that the History Leadership Excellence Awards program is one of the nation’s most prestigious recognitions for the preservation and interpretation of state and local history.
“I will be there (at the meeting) to accept the award on behalf of the city and the Newburyport Black History Initiative,” he said.
The Black History Initiative, funded by the city’s Community Preservation Board, is dedicated to highlighting the city’s black history through lectures, panel discussions, workshops and historical interpretive signage.
Along with Vining, Northeastern University professor Kabria Baumgartner and author and community activist Said Raschke make up the core of the Black History Initiative.
“We are the primary people involved in this project,” Vining said, “and there are many other people, including genealogists, who have generously donated their time and effort to help make this project possible.”
In February, the Black History Initiative installed an interpretive sign in the Inn Street pedestrian mall titled, “Photography with a Purpose: How 19th Century Studio Photography Empowered Black America.”
The sign tells the story of a photography studio that stood at State and Pleasant Streets in the 19th and early 20th centuries, taking photos of white, black and Asian Americans of all ages on glass panels.
Another sign, titled “Give Us Freedom,” dedicated to black urban activists of the 18th and 19th centuries, was unveiled in Brown Square last December.
Winning the Excellence in History Leadership Award will help promote the city’s Black History Initiative and its mission, Vining said.
“Five interpretive signs have been installed at the ground level, bringing the total to 11,” Vining said. “They’re in various stages of work at the moment, but will be installed throughout the remainder of the summer and into the fall.”
Vining said the Black History Initiative received letters of recommendation to the American Association of State and Local History from Kelly Greenidge, an associate professor of history at Tufts University, and Barbara Ward, senior grant writer and program developer for the New Hampshire Black Heritage Trail.
“[Greenage]wrote a strong recommendation for the project, which I think was crucial in winning this award,” he said. “Similarly,[Ward]wrote a recommendation about the Black History Initiative and the positive impact it has had on the community, so we have a lot of support for our work, not just from local people, but from the community at large.”
Neither Greenidge nor Ward could be reached by phone on Friday.
Mayor Sean Reardon said in a press release that the city is “ecstatic” about the national attention.
“I’m so proud of the work the Newburyport Black History Initiative has done to share stories that have been hidden for so long,” he said, “and to have the opportunity to amplify these voices to an even wider audience is a wonderful accomplishment.”
Vining said he has received congratulations from dozens of people in the community on the Black History Initiative recognition.
“It’s been great to hear,” he says. “Overall, I feel like people are appreciative of what this project is doing.”
