The Rhode Island Historical Society will host a talk on Wednesday, August 27th, at 12 p.m. by RIHS Hittner Research Fellow Arrannè Rispoli on his research project.
The colonies of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire were the only societies in British North America to subject all inhabitants to the same body of capital laws, regardless of race, creed, or freedom status. Despite the “black and white lettering of the law,” as one famed jurist wrote, New England’s criminal courts executed those of African descent at higher rates per capita than Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia combined, and at an even higher rate than Barbados, between 1675 and 1775. These disparities have, in turn, generated a substantial, albeit fragmented, paper trail of Afro-New Englanders, their alleged capital and non-capital crimes, and the developing judicial apparatus in which they were immersed. In this talk, Rispoli will highlight some of the key research findings that he's accumulated over the last year at the R.I.H.S., including his time as a Barry Hittner Research Fellow. The audience will not only learn about enslavement and law in early New England, but also the lives of alleged and convicted actors beyond their archival distinction as criminals.
Arrannè Rispoli is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History at UCLA, where he studies slavery, race, and law in the early modern Atlantic world. He is currently writing his dissertation titled “The Justice of Malicious Intent: Capital Punishment and The Origins of Black Criminality in Early New England,” which he will defend in the spring of 2027. His work has been generously supported by the Omohundro Institute, the Rhode Island Historical Society, the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Massachusetts Historical Society, and the New England Research Fellowship Consortium. Before beginning his doctoral work at UCLA, Arrannè received his BA in both History and English Literature from Canisius College, an MA in History from the University at Buffalo, and an M.S. in Urban Education from Johns Hopkins University. Between 2019 and 2021, he was a member of Teach for America where he taught middle-school Social Studies in Baltimore City Public Schools. During that time, he was selected by the State of Maryland to help write and implement a new social studies curriculum in Baltimore City.
Guests are welcome to bring food to this lunchtime talk.
The Rhode Island Historical Society, the state's oldest and only statewide historical organization, is dedicated to honoring, interpreting and sharing Rhode Island's past to enrich the present and inspire the future. Founded in 1822, the RIHS is an advocate for history as a means to develop empathy and 21st -century skills, using its historical materials and knowledge to explore topics of timeless relevance and public interest. As a Smithsonian Affiliate, it is dedicated to providing high-quality, accessible public programming and educational opportunities for all Rhode Islanders through its four sites: the John Brown House Museum, the Museum of Work & Culture, the Mary Elizabeth Robinson Research Center and the Aldrich House.
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