Bringing Our Ancestors Home

Voices on African American Remains in Charles County

Lend your voice to the Banneker-Douglas-Tubman Museum for a community listening session that will shape the museum's report regarding three individuals' repatriation to Port Tobacco.

In 1987, archaeologists excavating the original Chapel Point Cemetery discovered three individuals of possible African descent who had been left behind when the cemetery was moved in 1867. These ancestors have waited nearly 40 years for repatriation.

This community workshop invites Charles County residents (especially those with family ties to Chapel Point, Port Tobacco, and surrounding areas) to share their perspectives on:

• What dignity and respect for ancestors looks like.
• Who should have decision-making power about ancestral remains.
• Community values around death, burial, and sacred sites.
• Preferences for reburial locations and memorialization.
• How this history connects to present-day Charles County.

This is not a lecture-- it is a listening and learning session where community knowledge and values directly shape the final research report and repatriation recommendations. All voices are welcome. Light refreshments provided (if possible).

Registration is not required. If you have questions, please contact the La Plata Branch at 301-934-9001 or email laplataref@ccplonline.org.

About the Presenter: 

Hess Stinson, conversation lead, is the County Historian for Charles County under contract with the Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum's African Ancestral Human Remains Project. With two graduate degrees in creative writing and narrative craft, they are a certified master naturalist, cemetery advocate, citizen archaeologist, ethnographer of AfroChesapeake heritage, and generational Marylander. 

The Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum is the State of Maryland's official museum of African American heritage. It serves to document, interpret, and promote African American history and culture (particularly in Maryland) through exhibitions, programs, and projects in order to improve the understanding and appreciation of America’s rich cultural diversity for all. It is operated by the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture.

The Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory (MAC Lab) is a state-of-the-art archaeological research, conservation, and curation facility operated by Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum. The MAC Lab serves as a clearinghouse for archaeological collections recovered from land-based and underwater projects conducted by State and Federal agencies throughout Maryland.

Maryland Historical Trust African Ancestral Human Remains Project is a project of the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture (MCAAHC) and Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) whose goal is to identify the families or communities connected to the remains of at least 15 people of African descent. These ancestors are currently being cared for at the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory (MAC Lab) in Calvert County.

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