The Precious Birthright: Black Leaders & the Fight to Vote in Antebellum Rhode Island with author CJ Martin

Thursday, September 18th, 2025

Richard I. Burnham Resource Center | 82 Touro Street, Newport

Admission $15 – $20 per person | *Student Discounts now available $10 with valid student ID

6:30pm to 7:30pm; doors open at 5:30pm for a complimentary reception



In 1842, Black Rhode Islanders secured a stunning victory rarely seen in antebel­lum America: they won the right to vote. Amid heightened public discourse around shifting ideas of race, citizenship, and political rights, they methodically deconstructed the arguments against their enfranchisement and chose the perfect moments in which to act forcefully. At the head of this movement was a cohort of prominent business and commu­nity members that formed an early example of a Black leadership class in the US. In The Precious Birthright, CJ Martin argues that Black leaders employed a unique combination of agitation and accommodation to ensure the success of this movement. Exploring a fight that was as important to the pioneers of interracial democracy as it was for the civil rights activists of the twentieth century, The Precious Birthright provides new insight into the larger story of Black freedom.