Funding for a Middletown, CT Memorial Honoring Prince Mortimer!

Marker
Written By John Mills

Former location of Philip Mortimer’s Ropewalk.

As you all know, I've been working with the State of Connecticut to honor a former enslaved individual (Prince Mortimer) as part of their Connecticut Freedom Trail. As part of my submission, I listed the former location of the Ropewalk where Prince worked. The State then informed me that a local developer was leading a $6 million effort to build a new facility on that property, providing affordable housing, business space and office space.

The state informed the developer of our desire to somehow honor Prince Mortimer at that location and the developer agreed!!! I have a meeting with him on February 3rd!

I've now been informed that the State of Connecticut will be providing the developer $25,000 for the purpose of honoring Prince Mortimer as part of the property redevelopment effort!!! They are waiting for the outcome of my meeting with the developer as input into how that money is used in honoring Prince!     What amazing news, especially as we head into Black History Month!  

I'm still in shock, incredibly humbled and stunned at what we've all accomplish here, that includes all of you who have continued to supported this effort. THANK YOU!!!

So now, I need ideas...and any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated! Here's my first thought. I'm thinking of researching the gear worn by a spinner at a Ropewalk and the aesthetics of the inside of a Ropewalk in the 1780's. I would like to take that, along with all we know about Prince Mortimer's height, age and appearance and provide that to an artist to create a rendering of what Prince may have looked like in a stoic, strong, iconic pose while at work within the RopeWalk. We would then use that rendering to create a larger than life mural on the side of the building, facing north, clearly seen as you drive south down Main street...the same direction Prince would have walked each morning on his trip to work.

Let me know your thoughts and/or any ideas you may have!

John Mills

Originally from San Diego, John Mills is a technologist by trade, but an equity advocate and independent scholar by passion. The descendant of both southern and northern enslaved, John focuses on unearthing little known people and stories of this country’s history in slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. John presents research through the lens and perspective of a descendant, with intent to inspire understanding and empathy, a means to inspire good, God fearing people, now armed with information, to look into whether they may be unwittingly aligning to biases resulting from the reverberating effects of a past time. John is a member of the Connecticut Freedom Trail and a member of the Webb Deane Stevens Museum Council. John is also working with an international team funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) in an effort to deliver transformational impact on digital methods in cultural institutions...a means to decolonize museums. Finally, John is working with the state of Connecticut, business leaders and scholars in Middletown, CT to honor and memorialize a former enslaved individual by the name of Prince Mortimer.

https://alexbreanne.org
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We Met With The Middletown Developer of the Ropewalk Property!
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We Received A Grant!!!