Description

In 2023, Portsmouth, NH, will celebrate 400 years as an incorporated town by honoring the city’s diverse and dynamic social, political, intellectual, cultural, economic, and spiritual history, from the time of the first Native American settlements to the present. Prior to European contact and Portsmouth’s incorporation in 1623, the land was home to the Wabanaki tribal nations, African traders, and European fishermen.

Commemorating this milestone, the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire will present a retrospective on popular conversations from our Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talk series which, over the years, has explored our history as the basis for dialogue about where we need to be. These community dialogues are particularly appropriate to revisit at this time of reflection. They are conversations we still need to have.

For the 2023 Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talks Series, together we will create a safe space for meaningful interchanges, grounded in history and lived experience between different segments of the Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) community. We will also investigate the current issues that continue to create tension in the community. 

The Winter Tea Talks are a series of participatory panel presentations and discussions related to New Hampshire’s Black history and African American culture.