Historic Sotterley Unveils Middle Passage Marker During Day of Unity and Healing
Hollywood, MD – Historic Sotterley, in collaboration with and Maryland Department of Transportation, proudly unveiled its official Middle Passage Marker during its Day of Unity and Healing event on Saturday, August 24th. Speaking at the unveiling were Gwen Bankins, Historic Sotterley Board of Trustees Vice President and Sotterley Descendant, Nancy Easterling, Executive Director of Historic Sotterley, Aaron Levinthal, Senior Archaeologist of the Maryland Department of Transportation, and Jeanne Pirtle, Historic Sotterley’s former Director of Programming and Partnerships. The marker commemorates the lives of all who were forced to come to the Americas through the transatlantic slave trade, and in particular the enslaved who came directly to Sotterley aboard the Generous Jenny.
The Middle Passage was the middle leg of the triangular trade route in the enslaved trade industry, connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Slave ships transported goods to the African coast in exchange for enslaved Africans, who were then delivered to American ports. Goods from America were transported back to Europe, completing the triangle.
In 1720, the ship Generous Jenny carried 260 enslaved Africans to Sotterley. Tragically, 29 individuals died during the voyage. Some of the survivors were enslaved at Sotterley by owner James Bowles, while others were sold to enslavers in Virginia. Historic Sotterley has been recognized as a Middle Passage Site by the Middle Passage Ceremony and Port Markers Project (MPCPMP) since 2012 when Historic Sotterley held a Remembrance Ceremony for the community, and then was the first site in Maryland to install its own Middle Passage Marker on site in 2014. This new marker by the Maryland Department of Transportation represents a new level of acknowledgement by the state of Maryland and helps to boost Historic Sotterley’s visibility in our greater community and show its dedication to telling a transparent and inclusive history.
“The Sotterley Historical Roadside Marker highlights one of Maryland’s untold stories and honors the lives impacted by the Middle Passage,” said Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld. “This historical marker stands in support of the community and descendants of enslaved people while also helping to inform generations to come. The Maryland Department of Transportation, in partnership with the Maryland Historical Trust, is working to increase the number of historical markers like this one to feature more stories from our shared history.”
The marker will be permanently placed on Sotterley Road, near the intersection of route 235, in the coming weeks.
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News Release Contact
Kristina Kuss, Marketing Manager
(301) 373-2280 ext. 1123
44300 Sotterley Ln, Hollywood, MD 20636
About Historic Sotterley
A National Historic Landmark and a UNESCO Site of Memory for the Routes of Enslaved Peoples, Sotterley is one of the oldest museums of its kind in the United States, with a history dating back to the turn of the 18th Century. Through the preservation of the site’s historic structures and natural environment and the use of powerful stories to educate and bring American history to life, the organization strives to foster a better understanding of our world today by providing a living link to America’s complex history and legacy of slavery.