‘Slatersville,’ Episode 4 features untold story of village link to abolitionist, noted philanthropist

0
171

NORTH SMITHFIELD – His philanthropy and contributions to the cause of equality were unique for his family – and his story was included in a documentary series, in part, to illustrate how things in Slatersville might have been handled differently.

The story of John Fox Slater is featured in Episode 4 of Slatersville, America’s First Mill Village, set to premiere on Rhode Island PBS on Friday, Oct. 7 starting at 8 p.m.

Fox Slater, who was sent to Connecticut to supervise one of the family mills at the age of 17, created a fund for the education of newly emancipated slaves in 1882, money that was used to help establish more than 40 historically black institutes, colleges and universities across the country. His work ultimately contributed to the education of the likes of Thurgood Marshall and Martin Luther King, but until now, his connection to the village of Slatersville has remained mostly unknown.

Born in Slatersville as one of John Slater Sr.’s 11 children, Fox Slater established the Fund for the Education of Freedmen, setting aside $1 million for education of newly emancipated slaves – the equivalent of about $25,600,000 today.

Christian de Rezendes, director of the series, said that the purpose of including his story – based far away from America’s first planned mill vIllage, was, “not just to honor what John Fox did, but also to acknowledge that the family that stayed in Slatersville handled things very badly.”

The documentary points to the inherent contradiction of the successful businessman, a self-proclaimed abolitionist who built his wealth in the mid-19th century by means dependent on the existence of slavery. And it notes that Slatersville was home to one of many mills in Rhode Island involved in the production of, “negro cloth,” subpar, stiff garments sold to clothe southern slaves.

“Not all of his family members were on the same page,” de Rezendes notes in a voiceover during the episode.

Fox Slater’s cousin – the son of Samuel Slater who also shared the John Slater name and lived in Slatersville – was an outspoken anti-abolitionist.

The list of colleges and universities – and prominent graduates that the institutes later produced – is long and impressive. There’s civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., a graduate from Morehouse University, which was funded by the John Fox Slater Fund. Thurgood Marshall, the first black justice on the Supreme Court, was educated at the Slater-funded Howard University.

More recently, filmmaker Spike Lee was also a graduate from Morehouse, and Vice President Kamala Harris, a graduate of Howard.

Audiences will hear the story, and its links to the North Smithfield village, as told by the town-based director this Friday in the fourth episode of Slatersville’s first season. Following the live broadcast, episodes are also available from any location on the globe, on demand, here.

NRI NOW will offer highlights from each weekly episode of Slatersville through the season conclusion on Friday, Oct. 14. Read features on Episode 1 here; Episode 2 here; and Episode 3 here.

Editor’s note: Portions of the above article were taken from a previous story on the pre-screening event for the series.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Oh hi there 👋
It’s nice to meet you.

Sign up to receive awesome content in your inbox, every week.

We don’t spam!

Leave a Reply