Charlotte Forten ‘Moving Spirit of Love’ Dedication Ceremony Slated for Saturday, Nov. 16

From the City of Salem

On behalf of the City of Salem’s Public Art Commission and the Charlotte Forten Memorial Project Advisory Group, Mayor Dominick Pangallo is thrilled to celebrate the long-awaited arrival of The Moving Spirit of Love, a life-sized bronze memorial in honor of Charlotte Forten Grimké, Salem High School Class of 1854, created for our community by artist Ai Qiu Hopen of Humanity Memorial Inc. 

A dedication ceremony will be held in Charlotte Forten Park, 289 Derby Street, Salem, Saturday, November 16, 2024 at 1 p.m., with a rain date of Sunday, Nov. 17th.  Charlotte herself will be present to share poems and stories of her time in Salem, courtesy of renowned local theater company History Alive Inc. and actress Samantha Searles. Full schedule of events to be released closer to the event.

Accompanying the sculpture, some of Charlotte’s writings will also be on display in the park in November via a hand-printed ‘banner’ created by artist Mitchel Ahern.  Ahern is a Lynn-based letterpress printmaker and performing artist, whose work has appeared at the DeCordova Museum, Salem National Park Service Visitor Center, Endicott College, as well as many other venues, galleries and festivals. His piece “Charlotte Forten, Journals 1855 and 1864” is a 128-foot-long horizontal fabric scroll, printed on unbleached twill, using antique wood type on an 1830 Acorn Iron Hand Press at the Museum of Printing in Haverhill, MA. The quotes he chose to highlight are from Charlotte Forten’s Journals and showcase her work both as an abolitionist and as a teacher.

To learn more, visit the City of Salem’s Public Art Commission page dedicated to Ms. Forten.