Public History Projects
Conversations Of Freedom
I assisted in the development and curation of the exhibit in the House Museum at Middleton Place in recognition of the 250th Anniversary of the United States. The exhibit considers Arthur Middleton who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence but also considers the points of view of the women and the enslaved people who also lived and worked in the Middleton home.
An 1818 copy of the Declaration of Independence printed on silk.
Rediscover Mapledale: African Americans and Golf, A History February 8, 2024
Historical Consultant, Rediscover Mapledale, Stow, MA (2022-present)
Providing consultation for the development of Mapledale Acres, in Stow, MA, the first Black owned, designed, and operated 9-hole golf course in the northeastern United States.
Historian/Researcher for Lexington Historical Society Black History Project, 2021-2022
I researched the history of black people in slavery and freedom in Lexington, Massachusetts from the 1690s to the 1820s. The information is being used in the interpretation of the town’s historical sites, developing a black history tour in the town, and to add to the understanding of the town’s history.
Historian, Consultant. Middleton Place, Charleston, South Carolina (2021-present)
As a historian and a descendant, I work with the staff at Middleton Place to examine ways to update and expand the interpretation of the specific sites on the grounds. I also serve on the Middleton Place DEI advisory council.
View of Middleton Place
Emancipation Day, Middleton Place February 23, 2024
Past Public History Project
What’s in A Name? The Voyage of Discovery!
African American Historical and Genealogical Society 29th National Conference hosted by the New England Chapter. Organized and carried out pre-conference tours of African American history sites and repositories in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. (October 2007)
Centennial Celebration of the Saint-Gaudens Monument to Robert Gould Shaw and the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment, member of the symposium planning committee, Boston, MA (February 1996 - June 1997)
Cambridge African American History Trail, member of the planning committee, Cambridge, MA (1991-1994)
The Black Patriots of the American Revolution Episode 9: Pompey Blackman
I am featured in this documentary about Lexington resident and Revolutionary War veteran Pompey Blackman, co-produced by ABCL, Tricons 2 Red Tails and LexMedia.
Roxbury Heritage State Park, member of the Advisory Planning Committee, Roxbury, MA (May 1988 - January 1989)
CONSULTANCIES
Dr. Bellinger has been engaged as a researcher, advisor, or consultant on several public history projects including:
National Park Service project “The Experience of Africans During the American Revolution”
“Conversations of Freedom” the 250th anniversary exhibit at Middleton Place, Charleston, South Carolina
Concord Black History Trail Advisory Committee in Concord, MA
Advisory Committee member for “Harvesting Heritage” an upcoming exhibit (2027)at South Carolina State Museum
News & Updates
Rediscover Mapledale celebrated the 100th Anniversary of the founding of Mapledale Golf and Country Club by Robert H. Hawkins in 1926. The celebration included the Fourth Annual Robert H. Hawkins Memorial Golf Tournament, the unveiling of the traveling exhibit about MApledale and the history of African Americans and Golf, and a Gala Dinner, all held at the historic site.
Students with architect inside the Dillaway-Thomas House
My writing that is incorporated into the exhibit.
Newspaper articles about the exhibit
Me with Kelly Lawlor at Gala
Also, I released the first imprint of my consultancy, Righting Histories, in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Mapledale Golf & Country Club. Titled: People of African Descent and Golf in the United States, 1739-1939, A Brief History, it is available for purchase.
On Saturday, October 24, 2026 there will be a Black History Walking Tour of the sites connected to the Mapledale Golf & Country Club, led by Dr. Bellinger.
Talks and Presentations
April 9, 2026 - Black Patriots and the Revolution, Sherborn History Center and Friends of the Sherborn Library, Sherborn, Massachusetts
April 18, 2026 - Expanding Perspectives on the American Revolution at Norwood Historical Society, Norwood, Massachusetts
Thursday, July 9, 2026 - The Sweets of Freedom: Black Participants in the American Revolution, 250th Fireside Chat with Dr. Robert Bellinger, Museum of African American History, Boston, Massachusetts
September 10, 2026 - Emancipation and Freedom: People of African Descent and the American Revolution, Wilton Historical Society Virtual Presentation, Wilton, Connecticut
October 18, 2026 - The Significance of Parting Ways Today, Keynote Speaker for the Parting Ways Commemorative Ceremony Honoring Plymouth’s Black Revolutionary War Veterans, Plymouth, Massachusetts
Reconstruction and the Moral Sense of the Nation, Follen Church, October 17, 2024
