A recent letter to the editor asserts, “There is, however, no connection between William Brattle and slavery. Unlike many of the country’s founding fathers, as he was Massachusetts-born and raised, he would not have owned any.”
These claims are patently false and misrepresent the roles that both Vermont and Massachusetts, not to mention Brattle, played in slavery.
Both William Brattle (1706-1776), for whom Brattleboro was named, and his father, the Rev. William Brattle (1662-1717), were enslavers while living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Both father and son were Harvard graduates and had multiple Harvard affiliations. Harvard University’s 2022 report, “Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery,” solidly documents these facts, as well as the known names of enslaved persons. Philicia and Zillah were enslaved by the younger Brattle in the 1730s.
It is particularly important to correct this error as the recent letter to the editor was framed as a correction to a VTDigger article about Vermont school mascots. Both disrespectful mascots and the erasure of slavery perpetuate cultural and historical myths that harm us all, and disproportionately harm some of us.
Let us remember Philicia, Zillah, and all persons hidden in flawed histories and representations.
Charlene Galarneau
Newfane
