Community Corner
Dr. Vivian R. Johnson on “Free, Black and Female: The Zipporah Potter Atkins Story of Homeownership in Colonial Boston”
In early Colonial Boston, Zipporah Potter
Atkins was free when most Africans were enslaved; propertied when most
women were not; and had six surnames when surnames were rarely used for people
of African descent. Who is this little-known woman whose 17th century house-site
recently was designated for a Historic Interpretive Marker on what is now the
Rose Kennedy Greenway? Dr. Vivian R. Johnson, retired BU education professor,
engaged in a challenging document search uncovering evidence of Atkins'
extraordinary life during Boston's first 70 years.
