{"id":28276,"date":"2026-06-13T22:18:03","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T02:18:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/?p=28276"},"modified":"2026-06-13T23:38:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T03:38:45","slug":"mark-phillis-phoebe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/2026\/06\/13\/mark-phillis-phoebe\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Three Enslaved People Who Poisoned Their Captor: A Cambridge Symposium"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cOne of the things that makes us uncomfortable is the history of violence, but the 250th [anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence] is all about the celebration of violence,\u201d Wellesley College Africana Professor Kellie Carter Jackson said during her keynote speech at \u201cLand\/Mark: Enslavement, Resistance and Revolution,\u201d<\/a> a symposium held today at the Cambridge Public Library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The symposium explored\u00a0themes of the American Revolution and the\u00a0history of Mark, Phillis and Phoebe, three people enslaved in Charlestown in the 1700s by Captain John Codman\u2014an ancestor of the person for whom Boston\u2019s Codman Square is named. They are said to have fatally poisoned Codman. As punishment, Phillis was burned at the stake, Phebe was shipped to the Caribbean to work as a slave in sugar cane fields, and Mark was hung and his body displayed in an iron cage\u2014a gibbet\u2014in Charlestown for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Wellesley College Africana Professor Kellie Carter Jackson speaks at \u201cLand\/Mark: Enslavement, Resistance and Revolution” at the Cambridge Public Library, June 13, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince the 16th century, Black history has been a history of refusal,\u201d said Jackson, the author of the 2024 book \u201cWe Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jackson said, \u201cSometimes we win and sometimes we lose, but we never accepted that slavery is our final condition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhite supremacy and anti-Blackness are always violent,\u201d Jackson said. She argued that nonviolent resistance does not get those in power to change. Rather people have successfully pursued revolution, protection, force, flight or joy. \u201cThe opposite of violence in America is the fullness of Black humanity bound together with joy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t go to protests anymore,\u201d Jackson told the audience. \u201cDo protests work?” Do they affect policy? Do they create change? \u201cThe protest is like a pep rally. It\u2019s good for morale. \u2026 It doesn\u2019t necessarily make powerful people shake in their boots. But boycotts do. Strikes do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI write. I teach. I speak. This is me doing the work,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cFind whatever you\u2019re passionate about and use that to work against injustice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Brandeis University law Professor Dan Breen (from left), Historian Aabid Allibhai, University of Utah Professor Jamie Crumley, and Royall House and Slave Quarters Executive\u00a0Director Kyera Singleton speak at \u201cLand\/Mark: Enslavement, Resistance and Revolution” at the Cambridge Public Library, June 13, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Historian Aabid Allibhai, University of Utah Professor Jamie Crumley, and Brandeis University law Professor Dan Breen spoke on a panel about \u201cPolitical, Legal and Family History and Enslavement in Revolutionary Boston.\u201d After lunch, artists Ife Franklin and Dell Marie Hamilton spoke about their work and “Memorialization and Storytelling.” Royall House and Slave Quarters Executive\u00a0Director Kyera Singleton moderated the talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Royall
Royall House and Slave Quarters Executive\u00a0Director Kyera Singleton (from left) and artists Ife Franklin and Dell Marie Hamilton speak at \u201cLand\/Mark: Enslavement, Resistance and Revolution” at the Cambridge Public Library, June 13, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Franklin\u2019s 2024 public sculpture \u201cThe Resurrection of Mark, Phillis, & Phebe\u201d<\/a> reimagined the gibbet as a cocoon, covered in Nigerian adore, indigo-colored fabric with a quilt-like pattern. It was suspended from four metal posts at Charlestown Navy Yard as part of the Boston Public Art Triennial\u2019s Lot Lab. Franklin intended the cocoon as a symbol of transformation and rebirth\u2014a vessel for uplifting their souls.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMark, Phillis and Phebe needed something gentle because of the way they died,\u201d Franklin said. She accompanied the installation with a \u201cProcessional for Mark, Phillis, and Phebe\u201d and other healing rituals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dell
Dell Marie Hamilton speaks at \u201cLand\/Mark: Enslavement, Resistance and Revolution” at the Cambridge Public Library, June 13, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dell Marie Hamilton described a planned video installation that she\u2019s developing with Angela Counts to tell the story of Mark, Phillis and Phebe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Franklin said, \u201cMy mind is always blown by the resilience of our people\u2014what they did, how they did.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The symposium was sponsored by Mass Humanities through its “Expanding\u00a0Massachusetts Stories\/Promises of the Revolution” program. Co-sponsors included the Royall House & Slave Quarters,\u00a0The Somerville Museum, History Cambridge and the Cambridge Public Library.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Previously:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 2026: \u2018Black Futures: How to See in Total Darkness 2.0\u2019 at Salem State<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 2025 Ife Franklin\u2019s Healing Hoodoo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 2024: Honoring The Enslaved And Healing At If\u00e9 Franklin\u2019s \u2018Ancestor Processions\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022\u00a02023: \u201cArtistic Responses To Inequities In Cancer Care For People Of Color\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022\u00a02021: \u201cOn Juneteenth, If\u00e9 Franklin Debuts \u2018Slave Narrative\u2019 Film\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 2021:\u00a0\u201cPhotos: If\u00e9 Franklin\u2019s Juneteenth Celebration\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 2019: Performance Artist Dell M. Hamilton Exhibits Turbulent Abstractions<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 2019: Honoring Women Arts Leaders In Boston With A Set Of Trading Cards<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 2018: \u2018#SayHerName\u2019 Showcases Local Black Women Artists<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 2017: \u201cIfe Franklin\u2019s Ancestor Slave Cabin and Ring Shout\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

If this is the kind of coverage of arts, cultures, nature and activisms that you appreciate, please support Wonderland by\u00a0contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And\u00a0sign up for our free, occasional newsletter<\/a>\u00a0so that you don’t miss any of our reporting. Follow us on Instagram<\/a> and tell us what you really think on Facebook<\/a>. (All content \u00a9 Greg Cook 2026 or the respective creators.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ife
Ife Franklin speaks at \u201cLand\/Mark: Enslavement, Resistance and Revolution” at the Cambridge Public Library, June 13, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Ife
Ife Franklin’s \u201cThe Resurrection of Mark, Phillis, & Phebe\u201d at the Boston Public Art Triennial\u2019s Lot Lab, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, June 13, 2024. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cOne of the things that makes us uncomfortable is the history of violence, but the 250th [anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence] is all about the celebration of violence,\u201d Wellesley College Africana Professor Kellie Carter Jackson said during her keynote speech at \u201cLand\/Mark: Enslavement, Resistance and Revolution,\u201d a symposium held today at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28285,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100,120],"tags":[318,840,1349,1434,413],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28276"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28276"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28327,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28276\/revisions\/28327"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}