Press Release: Old South Church Installs Middle Passage Slave Trade Educational Exhibit and Holds Annual Sunday of Remembrance
BOSTON, MA — As America marks its 250th anniversary year, Old South Church in Boston is inviting the community to confront the nation’s history with honesty—including the painful history of slavery and the lives and labor of the people who shaped this country.
Gathered in 1669, Old South Church has a long and complex history. Its story includes radical abolitionists and the publication in 1700 of what is believed to be the first anti-slavery tract on this soil. It also includes early ministers and members who enslaved people and benefited from the forced labor of countless people of African descent.
Since 2015, the church has held an annual Middle Passage Sunday of Remembrance, reading aloud the names of enslaved African members of the congregation from the 1600s, 1700s, and early 1800s. Many have no marked graves. Their names have been uncovered through years of research and are preserved on brass leaves on the church’s Memorial Tree.
This year’s reading of names ritual will take place during 11 a.m. Festival Worship on Sunday, August 30, 2026. All are welcome to attend the service at Old South Church in Copley Square, or online at youtube.com/oldsouthchurch.
In observance of the United Nations’ International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition on August 23, Old South Church will also present a Middle Passage Installation of Remembrance. The installation features a 17-by-10-foot banner depicting people packed as cargo aboard a slave ship, juxtaposed with images of faces and families that evoke the humanity, dignity and lives of those who were enslaved, as well as their descendants.
A map of the Triangular Trade Route and words from former UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova are also included: “The slave trade is not merely a thing of the past—it has shaped the world we live in”.
The installation offers a space for education and contemplation. Both the installation and worship service are free and open to the public.
Old South Church believes that reckoning with the past is essential to building a more truthful and just future, asserting that we cannot tell the story of America without telling the truth about slavery.
As the “Church of the Open Door”, Old South seeks to create a community where everyone truly belongs. Belonging at Old South is the church’s ongoing commitment to creating a culture where every person—regardless of race, ethnicity, culture, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, or life experience—can fully participate, contribute, lead, and experience genuine belonging. The church has assembled the BELONG Task Force to help guide and embed this work throughout the life of the church. Grounded in Christian faith and Old South's longstanding commitment to justice, hospitality, and community, this belonging work is collective, and they invite the entire congregation to contribute and grow together. To learn more, visit https://oldsouth.org/belong.
Middle Passage Installation of Remembrance: Viewable outside the church at all hours, August 15-31st
Middle Passage Sunday: Sunday, August 30, 2026, 11 a.m. Festival Worship
Location: Old South Church in Boston - 645 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02116
Media Contact:
John Edgerton, Senior Minister - jme@oldsouth.org