Investigated the history of the Atkins family, whose principal sugar plantation, Soledad, used enslaved and indentured African individuals in the late 19th century, as well as looking into the extensive role that New England played in the sugar and slave trades.

Reached out to houses of worship, universities, and groups in the Boston area who are engaging in similar work to better understand their own connections to slavery.

Learned about a bell that the Atkins family gifted to the Belmont Hill School in 1927, which had originally been on the Soledad plantation and is now housed at The Robbins House Museum in Concord. Organized a presentation in the spring of 2024 by Dr. Maria Madison of The Robbins House to hear more about the bell’s history and her 2023 research trip to the Soledad plantation, and took part in a guided tour of the museum.

Gina Carloni, chair of the project group, gave a presentation in December 2024 to update the congregation on the findings and work of The Legacy of Slavery Project.

Dr. Ulbe Bosma, author of The World of Sugar and the 2023 Boston Globe article about Edwin Atkins, entitled The sugar baron of Boston, gave a talk at the church in April 2025 about Edwin Atkins, his role as a sugar magnate and prominent Bostonian, and his connection to Cuba and slavery.

Applied for and received a grant from the Unitarian Universalist Association in the spring of 2025 to continue the project’s exploration of the history of First Church’s legacy of slavery and shepherd a process of repair, deepening, and growth for the community and the descendants of the enslaved individuals from Atkins’ sugar plantations in Cuba.

$2,869 (half of the total donations collected at worship services during the month of December, 2025) were donated to Friends of Caritas Cubana, a Cambridge-based NGO that supports humanitarian and social services in Cuba, including projects in Pepito Tey, the current name of the town where the Soledad plantation was located. Funding will provide mosquito nets for people in Pepito Tey to help combat the epidemic of mosquito-borne illnesses currently plaguing the island.

Helped to develop annual worship services in 2023, 2024, and 2025 that included Afro-Cuban music and reflections by project members about the work of the group.

Began learning more about reparations and connecting with organizations that are currently working on this.

Started looking into ways that FCB can forge ties and collaborate with Afro-Cuban communities and organizations in Cuba and the U.S. This included hosting a meeting with leadership of the Christian Center for Reflection and Dialogue (Cuba/Dominican Republic) in fall 2024 and agreeing to donate half of the December 2024 worship service collections to that organization as part of the congregation’s “Share the Plate” efforts.

Sponsored two book group meetings in January 2025, one online and the other in-person, to discuss The Cubans: Ordinary Lives in Extraordinary Times, a non-fiction book by New York Times correspondent Anthony DePalma.

Offered a documentary film series, Cuba and Race, in April, May, and June of 2025, which included the following documentaries: A Tuba to Cuba (2018), The Harvard Cubans (2017), and Black in Latin America: Cuba (2011)

At the Cuban music worship service in November 2025, described by some congregants as one of their most moving experiences at First Church, four Cuban members of the community read aloud the names of the 177 enslaved individuals.

Researched about indentured Chinese laborers brought to Cuba to work in the sugar fields, including those who later worked on the Atkins family’s plantation.

Participated in a presentation with First Parish in Cambridge in early 2024 about both congregations’ historical ties to slavery.

Organized a movie presentation and discussion of Traces of the Trade: A Story From the Deep North in December 2024, led by Dr. Sophia Boyer, an educational consultant and professional facilitator.

Project member and former history teacher, Karen Brennan, gave a presentation in March 2025 about slavery and Boston’s prominent role in the triangle trade.

Collaborated with historians Orlando Félix García Martínez and Anabel García García in Cienfuegos, Cuba, who were able to uncover an 1881 list of 177 enslaved individuals connected to the Atkins family who worked at the Soledad plantation in Cuba.

Immediately following that November service, Gina Carloni, project member Kathryn Bonfiglio, and FCB parish historian, John Howe, gave a project update to the congregation. The project group then unveiled a 6-panel, photographic and informational display focused on centering the lives of Soledad’s enslaved individuals and honoring them by name.