Empowering young and old to reach beneath the surface of Plymouth History
Celebration of Racial Healing, Learning and Good Trouble
Welcome! We’re so glad you’ve chosen to look Under the Rock. Plymouth, MA is town steeped in history with a powerful origin story that is known across the United States and across the world. As our town simultaneously engages in commemorating the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Mayflower, surviving a pandemic, the national conversation and racial reckoning of the Black Lives Matter Movement, and the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, we have an incredible opportunity for racial healing and learning at the intersection of history, truth and reconciliation. Plymouth is proud to be part of this national conversation. We challenge ourselves and the larger to community to discover the history that the centering of Plymouth Rock might have obscured as we look beyond and Under the Rock to discover the stories of Indigenous people, enslaved Africans, suffragettes, allies in the struggle, and others whose powerful stories can create new inspiration.
This celebration is part of the ongoing work community work of the Plymouth League of Women Voters, Indivisible Plymouth, Plymouth No Place for Hate, and the Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe to support ongoing community reflection and conversation to develop racial literacy and deepen historical perspective to guide our current actions to promote the American promise of liberty and justice for all.
The 1619 Project
We are informed by the NYTimes 1619 educational project that explores the impact of the 20 enslaved Africans who first came to the shores of this country, in what is now Virginia on August 20, 1619.
Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe
We are also committed to pondering anew the indigenous peoples who called the land of Plymouth home centuries before 1620.
image from https://www.herringpondtribe.org/ —>
Plymouth League of Women Voters
We invite the Plymouth Community to join us in a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the women’s right to vote and the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution on August 18, 1920.
<— This primary source comes from the Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs.
Finally, we encourage residents of Plymouth to find inspiration in the life of National hero John Lewis and consider his call to action for “Good Trouble,” and the moral courage to speak when we see something that is not right. Under the Rock will support town pride as we find new heroes, learn new stories, and uncover untold history.
“Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.
— John Lewis for New York Times Magazine
[Bettmann Archive/Getty Images]