CT slave whose bones were displayed by owner for decades after his 1798 death given dignified burial
Conn. slave whose bones were displayed by owner for decades after his 1798 death is given dignified burial
WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) — A slave who died more than 200 years ago in Connecticut but was never buried was given an extraordinary funeral Thursday that included lying in state at the Capitol and calls for learning from his painful life.
The enslaved man known as Mr. Fortune was buried in a cemetery filled with prominent citizens after a service at the Waterbury church where he had been baptized. Earlier in the day, his remains lay in state in the Capitol rotunda in Hartford.
"Our brother Mr. Fortune has been remembered, and it is with restored dignity his bones shall be buried," the Rev. Amy D. Welin of St. John's Episcopal Church in Waterbury told hundreds gathered for the service. "We bury Mr. Fortune not as a slave, but as a child of God who is blessed."
Fortune "teaches us today about the long and convoluted path to justice and reconciliation," Welin said, adding later that "this story from Waterbury's past calls us to remember and to continue our commitment to justice."
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/funeral-planned-conn-slave-who-died-1798
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