We at First Church in JP are beginning the process of working to build right relationship with indigenous communities. One action is ongoing development of a land acknowledgment:
We acknowledge that this land has been stewarded for generations by the Massachusett people. This church’s Puritan ancestors are responsible for the theft of these lands and for cultural violence against indigenous people and people of African ancestry.
This church was also financially supported by merchants profiting from enslavement and slavery-produced commodities.
This congregation is beginning the work of repair, of reparation, for this history. We are not yet sure what this will entail, but we can begin by learning and telling our real history. We invite you to bring your open heart, your ideas, and your commitment into this work.
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Benjamin Bussey was a member and major benefactor of this congregation; his wealth was tied to slavery, as a 2022 Harvard University report detailed: “Bussey was a sugar, coffee, and cotton merchant, crops dependent upon slave labor.”
James Drummond Dole was the son of our long-time minister Rev. Charles Fletcher Dole. James “Jim” Dole, who became known as the “Pineapple King,” developed the pineapple industry in Hawaii. This industry perpetuated colonization, violence, and exploitation, “in the tradition of western industries extracting profit from Hawaiian soil and people.” A fruit that is not native to Hawaii, the pineapple remains an emblematic part of the “tropical paradise vacation” image sold to white tourists, but for many indigenous Hawaiian communities represents exploitation, invasion, and white supremacy.
