On Wednesday March 6, 2024, the Newport Historical Society, in partnership with the Battle of Rhode Island Association, will host the talk Discovering the Frank Brothers, Freeborn Men of Color, Soldiers of Independence with Dr. Shirley Green.
Dr. Green will speak about her new book, Revolutionary Blacks: Discovering the Frank Brothers, Freeborn Men of Color, Soldiers of Independence (Westholme Publishing, 2023). This talk follows the lives of William and Benjamin Frank, brothers who enlisted in the Second Rhode Island Regiment during the American Revolutionary War in the spring of 1777. Their military experiences quickly diverged, and Dr. Green explores their stories to provide context and substance to the Black experience during the war years, as well as underscore the significant distinction between free Blacks in military service and those who had been enslaved, and how they responded in different ways to the harsh realities of racism.
Dr. Green completed her Ph.D. at Bowling Green State University where her research, which examines the African American past through family history, won numerous awards. She currently teaches U.S. History at the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University, and she serves as the Director of the Toledo Police Museum.
Discovering the Frank Brothers, Freeborn Men of Color, Soldier of Independence takes place at the NHS Resource Center, 82 Touro Street, Newport, RI. Admission costs $20 per person, $15 Newport Historical Society members along with active-duty military. A combo admission ticket plus the book Revolutionary Blacks costs $55, $50 with a military ID, or $43 for NHS members. Doors open at 5:30pm for a cocktail reception and book signing; the talk starts promptly at 6:30pm.

Tickets can be purchased online at:

Lecture: Discovering the Frank Brothers, Freeborn Men of Color, Soldiers of Independence