FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Will McIntire / The Rhode Island Black Heritage Society
401-421-0606 / will@rickmangroup.com
Ray Rickman to Lead African American History College Hill Walking Tour
March 28, 2012 [Providence] Ray Rickman will lead a walking tour April 7 at 10:00 AM to celebrate and discuss Rhode Island African Americans who lived on College Hill from 1701 to the present.
A prominent community leader and management consultant, Ray Rickman is a former state representative from College Hill who served as deputy secretary of state from 2000 until 2002. Rickman was recently appointed by Governor Lincoln D. Chafee to the Rhode Island 1663 Colonial Charter 350th Anniversary Commission responsible for organizing official statewide festivities marking the Charter’s 350th anniversary, which occurs on July 8, 2013.
“On the subject of the African American history of College Hill, you simply cannot know more than Ray Rickman,” said Rhode Island Black Heritage Society (RIBHS) President Joyce Stevos, another 1663 Commission appointee. “I’m always impressed by the depth and breadth of his knowledge. Ray never gives the same tour twice.”
Something of a renaissance man—he’s also a rare book dealer—donning disparate occupational hats from time to time is something that comes quite naturally to Rickman.
Tirelessly sharing anecdotes and information with neighbors and visitors alike, pieces of his own knowledge of other African Americans who once called College Hill home, reinforces Rickman’s reputation as the neighborhood’s unofficial historian.
“You know, I live in this neighborhood,” Rickman said. “So no matter what else I’m involved in, I feel obligated to learn a little bit—no, a lot—about my surroundings.”
Originally from Michigan, during the 1970s Ray Rickman served as chief of staff to United States Congressman John Conyers, a position that gave Rickman a sense of national perspective on local history.
“We can’t expect to have a grasp on national issues, let alone global ones,” said Rickman, himself a former president of RIBHS, “if we have no idea of the history that unfolded or is unfolding right next door to us.”
He concluded, “The people who lived in these beautiful, old buildings—buildings we drive by without a second glance—lived remarkable lives. We owe it to them and to ourselves to slow down and learn something.”
Ray Rickman’s African American History College Hill Walking Tour costs $10 and lasts 90 minutes. Proceeds support The Rhode Island Black Heritage Society. The tour will commence at the entrance to the RISD auditorium on the Providence River at College Street. Rickman will lead a lively discussion and offer his perspective on the historic people, places and events of Providence’s oldest neighborhood. To purchase tickets, please email will@rickmangroup.com or call 401-421-0606.
For information on how to support The Rhode Island Black Heritage Society, please visit our new website at www.ribhs.org or call 401-421-0606.
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