HERE LIES DARBY VASSALL: The obscured & concealed history of slavery at Christ Church Cambridge

Nicole Piepenbrink with Dennis and Egypt Lloyd

Presented in partnership with Christ Church Cambridge

Nicole Piepenbrink, recipient of the Harvard Graduate School of Design’s 2022 Design Studies Thesis Prize, will discuss her award-winning HERE LIES DARBY VASSALL project on October 27. Piepenbrink’s work examines the perceived invisibility of slavery in New England through the lens of Christ Church, the final resting place of Darby Vassall. The inaccessible, largely unknown Vassall Tomb in the basement of Christ Church is shared with the public via a looped video projection telling the story of this church’s collusion with, dependency on, and profit from the slave trade that provided economic foundations for the establishment and growth not only of this church, but also of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and New England.

The discussion will be introduced by Darby Vassal Descendants Dennis and Egypt Lloyd. Vassall, with his family, was enslaved at 105 Brattle Street as an infant and became a prominent local abolitionist as a free adult. This program will conclude with a 10-minute walk to Christ Church to view the installation.

[tundakyat]

I'm a descendant of one John Vassell's enslaved Africans from Jamaica. My last name is Vassell. Very interesting tale. As Jamaicans we had no clue that we are some connected to American history. - Does anyone know what happened to the American Vassalls