Exhibit detailing the history of slavery in Boston opens in Faneuil Hall

An exhibit detailing the history of slavery in Boston opens in Faneuil Hall on Friday.

The two-floor "Slavery in Boston" exhibit highlights the lives of individual enslaved African and Native American people in Boston and how the city upheld the institution of slavery, said Joe Bagley, Boston's director of archeology.

The exhibit features artifacts from slavery in the city, some of which were discovered during archeological surveys at Faneuil Hall. They include pieces used in the production of sugar, which was shipped into Boston from Caribbean slave plantations, and pottery from Parker Pottery in Charlestown that were likely made by two enslaved Black men, who are identified in the historical record as Jack and Acton.

"The goal really of this is to lay the foundations of what slavery in Boston was and try to tell as complete a story as possible, to include the presence of Native enslaved people in addition to enslaved Africans," said Bagley.

Most enslaved people in Boston were Native American before 1700, according to the exhibit's website.

Faneuil Hall itself is, in part, a product of the slave trade. Peter Faneuil, the eponymous wealthy merchant who paid for the building, profited from the sale of enslaved people. Activists have previously called for the building to be renamed due to its ties to slavery.

The "Slavery in Boston" exhibit is part of a larger project to digitize over 60,000 artifacts found by the archeological surveys at Faneuil Hall and make them accessible in a catalog online.

Bagley said the project is intended to be a starting point for Boston to talk about its history of slavery.

The exhibit is free, open to the public, and will be on display indefinitely.