Aquidneck Island Celebrates the 232nd Anniversary of the Battle of Rhode Island

Where Routes 114 and 24 cross, in the heart of Portsmouth, is the famous Patriots Park. Each year, the community gathers here to remember the remarkable feat of the First Rhode Island Regiment.

This year, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) held the annual commemorative service in honor of the Battle of Rhode Island's 232^nd anniversary.

To introduce the afternoon's events were Jo Eva Gaines, chairwoman of the Newport School Committee, and Joyce Williams, president of the Newport County branch of the NAACP. Accompanying them were members of the Salve Regina University's Community Band.

The Battle of Rhode Island occurred in 1778 during the American Revolution. Rhode Island had not enforced a draft, but instead was sending volunteers into battle.

In order to bring the draft numbers up, the state suggested enlisting African Americans, Native Americans and mixed races with the promise of not only freedom, but also wages. 

At the end of the American Revolution, the country didn't have the funds to pay the regiment and the men walked all the way from the battlegrounds in New York back to their homes in Rhode Island to find their families still enslaved.

Michael N. Browner Jr., the event's honorary speaker, is a social studies teacher at Frank E. Thompson Middle School in Newport.

In order to bring the revolutionary war to the present for the crowd, he related the events to today and how the community is trying to "create positive self esteem in a society that doesn't esteem."

Browner spoke of dealing with unequal rights day today when it comes to respect, pay and job opportunities and, in order to ensure that there will be future leaders and change makers, the community must give support.

"Not only does it take a village, but it takes a village of people who actually care," he said.

Though Browner spoke of obstacles and struggles in the path towards equality, he also said he had high hopes for the future of the younger generations.

"Be ready to suit up and be able to stand up," Browner said. "If you fight, you will be victorious."

The event's speakers also included Kendra Goodrum, third vice president of the Newport County NAACP branch, and Audrain M. Triplett, commander for the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps and chairperson of the Black Patriots Committee.