Black Coral - Forgotten Souls of Tory Row: Remembering the Enslaved People of Brattle Street

The installation by Black Coral is a collection of bottle trees. Originating in the Congo in West Africa and dating back to at least the ninth century, the bottle tree tradition was brought to the United States by enslaved people, most notably those who lived in Georgia and South Carolina. This tradition was passed down through generations of enslaved and, later, free Black communities, marking the survival of a cultural practice despite the bonds of slavery. The distinctive blue bottles were placed on tree limbs to capture the energy, spirit and memories of ancestors.

The installation by Black Coral is composed of two circles of “trees” made of iron – an exterior circle and a smaller interior circle. Blue glass bottles are placed on the end of the branches to form bottle trees. The trees are strung with with solar lights that illuminate at dusk. These trees represent the adults and children enslaved on what we now call Brattle Street by prominent Cantabrigians such as William Brattle, Lt. Gov. Thomas Oliver, the Lees and the Vassalls. Although we do not know all of the names or life experiences of the enslaved people, we aim to honor their humanity through this installation and restore their physical presence to the land where they once lived and worked.