I’m in Newport, Rhode Island for the Newport Summer School. The Victorian Society in America (an offshoot of the one in London) has been hosting this week-long program for 42 years. Directed by Dr. Richard Guy Wilson, a well-recognized expert in the field of architectural history, it is a mix of lectures and guided tours of significant houses, churches, and civic buildings that are both open to the public and private. In a week, you gain a deep understanding of the history of Newport through architecture—and a network of new colleagues.

Our first day was devoted to the 18th century, considered Newport’s first Golden Age because it brought new wealth to the town and a higher level of architectural design. That wealth came from trade, including enslaved people, a topic that is increasingly being addressed in the interpretation at historic sites and museums.

Indeed, the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society, Newport Historical Society, and the Preservation Society of Newport County are collaborating on exhibitions on the history and contributions of African Americans in the region. Before we officially began the course, Soni Stokes, curator of the exhibition, generously gave me and a small group of colleagues a tour of “Gilded Age Newport in Color” at Rosecliff, one of the mansions owned by the Preservation Society. It discusses the lives of dozens of people and families of African heritage through geography, biography, and topics such as business, entrepreneurship, religion, recreation, and politics. What most impressed me was the variety of documents and objects in the exhibition, most on loan from a private collection, giving me a much more holistic view into the lives of African Americans in New England.