Pepperell Square, located downtown in the great city of Saco, Maine, is named for William Pepperrell, an American merchant and soldier and one of the founders of the city of Saco. Pepperrell was also one of the most prominent slave owners in Maine and participated in the slave trade throughout his life, even leaving enslaved people to his family in his will. One of his descendants, Deborah Lee Stewart, published an informative blog post about his participation in the trade of enslaved people, and found a resource containing information stating that “slave dealing was an insignificant feature of their business” only because of the “perishable nature of the cargo” - essentially that he would’ve played a more significant role in this horrendous chapter of history if only more of them made it to America alive.

In light of the recent events surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement and the momentum behind educating ourselves about - and confronting - our country’s racist and oppressive history, I believe that now is as opportune a time as any to re-evaluate this local reminder of an era when the rights and lives of Black Americans and other American citizens of Color were treated so disgracefully.