After Dr. Kabria Baumgartner’s talk at the 11th Annual Engaging Communities Luncheon, I was reminded of the saying: “History is written by the victors.” In telling the stories of African Americans who were forcibly brought to Newburyport as slaves, we are reminded that slavery was not isolated to the South. Newburyport had a part in those immoral actions. Our collective history has been re-written to focus on the work of white abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison. But this focus on Garrison and the Underground Railroad obscures the fact that Newburyport residents were engaged in the slave trade and that Africans were taken against their will and forced to become slaves in Newburyport. This too is a part of our collective history.

By sharing the stories of both the enslaved, freedman, and later those who became entrepreneurs, Dr. Baumgartner helped us to better understand our past. Hopefully, this more balanced view of history can enable us to see the world around us more clearly and encourage us to advocate for racial justice and equity.

Our Community Champions this year were Ms. Amanda Haggstrom, Mr. Richard Jones, and Ms. Melinda Morrison the City/Town clerks of Amesbury, Newburyport, and Salisbury respectively. Their responsibilities include managing all aspects of our election process. Our local clerks worked to orchestrate and manage one of the first elections done primarily through the mail. They worked tirelessly to manage an unprecedented influx of absentee ballot applications as they administered an equally unprecedented election in a safe and effective manner.

Counting every ballot received via mail or in-person proved to be one of the most scrutinized and challenging processes in voting history.  These challenges coupled with safety issues around staffing and mounting a safe live election process truly tested and worked the Clerks to the brink.   With the 2020 election finally behind us, our immense gratitude and appreciation to our local election officials resonated far deeper than words can convey as we
honored them at the luncheon.

Newburyport Bank once again served as our Presenting Sponsor, and we appreciate their generous donation in support of this event. Below you will find those who sponsored this event along with links to their businesses. We encourage you to support our donors.

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