John Mills, Katiana Jarbath-Smith and Matt Conway discuss the Fortune Mural Project on the Areva Martin Show.
John Mills talks about his work to celebrate Prince Mortimer on ABC affiliate WTNH News 8.
On September 13th, 2024 at 3:00pm, Old New-Gate was ceremoniously inducted onto the Connecticut Freedom Trail to commemorate Prince Mortimer. The event included the unveiling of an interpretive sign, a plaque presentation, and remarks on the significance of Prince Mortimer's story.
John Mills recaps the Mary & Thaddeus Newton gravesite celebration and the work the Alex Breanne Corporation performed in pulling it together.
A celebration of the Newton family of New Haven. At this event we unveiled the repaired headstone of Mary & Thaddeus Newton, a new Memorial headstone for their son Stephen who died in the Civil War, and we unveiled the Connecticut Freedom Trail marker embedded in a granite pillar signifying the recent addition of this site to the Connecticut Freedom Trail.
On Wednesday, June 19th, 2024, John Mills appeared on the Kelly Clarkson Show!
The show focuses on the work of the Alex Breanne Corporation to research, interrogate and present lesser known stories representing the life experiences of the American enslaved. They were also interested in the work to find current-day descendants, as well as the work to inject these individuals into the communities where they lived, worked or died.
To honor Isaac, a service was held on June 8th, 2024 at the Presbyterian Burial Ground in Woodbury, NJ, the spot of Isaac’s new gravestone.
This is an in-person lecture by John Mills that occurred on May 29th, 2024 at Sterling Memorial Library Lecture Hall located on the campus of Yale University.
On Thursday, May 16, 2024, at 4:00 pm, John Mills gave a lecture at the Stanley-Whitman House in Farmington.
Hidden History May 2024 Workshop focusing aimed at historical societies and the stories they tell. The subject matter focuses on Blacks in the American Revolutionary time period, and the paradox of freedom as tied to America250.
The Connecticut Freedom Trail is highlighted on ABC affiliate WTNH News 8.
John Mills, President and founder of the Alex Breanne Corporation, speaks on the fourth day of the Declaring Freedom series at Central Connecticut State University. The event was sponsored by the Association for the Study of Connecticut History.
The ongoing efforts of the Witness Stones Project have placed at least 200 memorials honoring enslaved people at sites around Connecticut and the Northeast. As Connecticut learns more about its ties to slavery, efforts are underway to ensure the stories live on – through students. Hear from John Mills, former teacher Dennis Culliton, and Connecticut high school students.
𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿, I started a push towards the creation of a mural in honor of Fortune. My non-profit Alex Breanne Corporation raised $18,000 of the total cost of $30,000. We aligned with The RiseUP Group to manage the effort.
Installation of a new headstone for Isaac J. Hill at the Presbyterian Cemetery in Woodbury, NJ... 800 N. Broad Street.
Three phenomenal Scholars will share this fascinating history and their remarkable work to reclaim and highlight Black Narratives from Black Descendants. The event will be moderated by Tammy Denease, Outreach Director for the Connecticut Freedom Trail.
John Mills on the Areva Martin show airing on KBLA talk radio in Los Angeles.
This is a lecture, film screenings & discussion regarding Connecticut's 29th & 30th Colored Regiments during the Civil War. It occurred on February 4th, 2024 at the Avon Senior Citizen Center and was hosted by the Avon Historical Society.
Guest speaker John Mills, a Genealogist and President/Founder of the Alex Breanne Corporation, will share his research to include unknown stories of enslaved individuals into the landscape of our communities and his own family’s history of slavery.
John Mills speaking in support of an ordinance to allow for Honorary Street Names in Middletown, CT. This will allow for the honoring of a formerly enslaved man named Prince Mortimer.
Individuals of Connecticut’s Colored Regiments - Nov. 9, 2023 - with John Mills.
On September 13th, 2023, The Mattatuck Museum in collaboration with Riverside Cemetery held a commemoration ceremony for the 10th Anniversary of the burial of “The Man Fortune”. The event was held in the chapel at Riverside Cemetery in Waterburt, CT.
Juneteenth: A Community Celebration of Freedom Day held in Portland, CT on Saturday, June 24th, 2023! The event was held at Portland Senior Center from 11am - 2pm.
𝗜𝗻 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 with a Middletown historian (𝗗𝗲𝗯𝗯𝗶𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗼), I was made aware of a 1901 book on the ancestry of the Hackstaff family. The value here is that a man named 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗛𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗳𝗳 was gifted the 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 in 1840, which is the mansion where 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗿 was enslaved.
I was honored to have been asked to deliver the keynote at the Wooster School for the Witness Stones Project installation for an enslaved man named Ned; enslaved in Connecticut, then beheaded by the British during the Revolutionary War.
When God shows you the purpose in your path and why he blessed you with the gifts you have...you must then walk. #Life
Summary of my research into Philip Mortimer, the 18th centuery Middletown, CT enslaver.
Video presentation by John Mills for submission to the PBS series "Finding Your Roots." The hope is to gain support from the show in digging deeper into the life of Prince Mortimer.
John Mills lecture held at Old New Gate Prison in East Granby, CT on September 18th, 2022.
John Mills, a community historian and equity advocate is hoping more people will learn the story of Prince Mortimer.
This was a lecture for Northwestern University in Evanston, IL on June 24th, 2022.
John Mills’ lecture brings to light the largely untold story of Prince Mortimer while also evaluating the ripple effects of a past time. Mills traces his personal path in discovering his ties to slavery, what it revealed about himself, and the challenges he would eventually face in attempting to find the burial locations of his ancestors – marrying his own experiences and revelations to that of Connecticut’s Prince Mortimer.
John Mills’ lecture brings to light the largely untold story of Prince Mortimer while also evaluating the ripple effects of a past time. Mills traces his personal path in discovering his ties to slavery, what it revealed about himself, and the challenges he would eventually face in attempting to find the burial locations of his ancestors – marrying his own experiences and revelations to that of Connecticut’s Prince Mortimer.
