Committee asks East Greenwich to accept statue honoring First Rhode Island Black Regiment

A committee seeking to honor the First Rhode Island Black Regiment presented a plan to the East Greenwich Town Council on March 25 and asked the town to accept a donated life‑size bronze monument and the parcel where it would sit.

The request came from Matt Car, director of the Greenwich Historic Preservation Society, who led a multi‑organization committee including public historian John Dower and Patrick Donovan of the Varnum Continentals. Car said the group envisions a multi‑figure treatment showing an enslaved person rising and breaking chains that transitions into a Continental soldier, and that the committee plans to raise the roughly $200,000 estimated cost from private donors and foundations. “Our idea for the statue is we’ll do the work, we’ll raise the money,” Matt Car said; he asked that the finished sculpture be gifted to the town and become town property.

Why it matters: Committee members told the council the town’s role in authorizing the regiment in 1778 and the subsequent mustering of enlisted men happened in East Greenwich; speakers argued the memorial and related exhibits would link a nationally significant story to local historic sites and draw visitors. John Dower, introduced as a public historian and former president of Smith’s Castle, showed manuscripts and muster‑roll evidence he said locate the regiment’s recruitment and training in East Greenwich.

Committee proposals and logistics presented to the council included: placing the monument at Main and Division streets adjacent to the Varnum House museum; working with an artist at the Rhode Island School of Design; funding work through private donations; handling conservation and display of two regimental flags at local museums; and transferring ownership of the statue and the immediate site to the town. The committee said it had already engaged an artist (identified as Spencer Evan) and that the target unveiling is Feb. 14, 2027 (a Black History Month date the committee prefers), with a fallback of 2028 if fundraising takes longer.

Council response and next steps: The council expressed general support for the concept but did not vote. Council President Mark Schwager told the presenter the council could not act at this meeting because the item was not noticed as a voting agenda item. Town Manager Andy Tites and the town solicitor were asked to work with the committee to draft the formal documents the council would need to consider — for example, the legal mechanism to accept a gift of the statue, a possible easement for the site, and insurance and maintenance responsibilities — and return those options to the council for a noticed vote. Andy Tites said staff can coordinate with legal counsel and the historic‑preservation association to “formulate what that’ll look like.”

The presenters emphasized the committee’s intent that the town hold title and shoulder routine maintenance and insurance if the council agrees to accept the gift. The committee repeatedly said it was not asking the town to pay for fabrication but asked the council to accept ownership and maintenance responsibility once the statue is finished.

The council directed staff to return with proposed ordinance or easement language and other implementation details for a future, noticed meeting so donors can be reassured the town endorses the project.

Ending: Committee members said they will press ahead with design and fundraising while staff prepares options for formal council action; the council did not set a date for a vote but directed staff to bring back recommended next steps promptly so the committee can proceed with donor outreach.