>> RHODE ISLAND PBS WEEKLY IS GENUINELY -- GENEROUSLY BROUGHT TO YOU IN PART BY -- >> YOU AND I -- >> YOU AND I -- >> YOU AND I WILL PROBABLY NEVER MEET.

>> BECAUSE WHAT I TREAT -- >> IS SO RARE -- >> THAT IF YOU NEE ME, I'M HERE.

>> I'M HERE.

>> I AM HERE.

♪ [CLOSED CAPTIONING HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY CARDI'S FURNITURE AND MATTRESSES] TONIGHT ON RHODE ISLAND PBS WEEKLY, RAISED ON CHICAGO'S SOUTH SIDE AND ATTENDING INNER-CITY SCHOOLS, BILL PINCKNEY'S SAILING ACCOMPLISHMENTS ARE MORE EXTRAORDINARY.

CAPT.

PINKNEY: IT MEANT STATISTICALLY THAT BEFORE I WAS 201I WOULD BE KILLED IN A CRIME OF VIOLENCE, ON DRUGS, OR INCARCERATED.

>> VOTING RIGHTS, INTEGRATED SCHOOLS, THE MOVE TO WEST AFRICA, BLACK NATIONALISM, ABOLITIONIST ACTIVITY, I THINK THE IDEA OF BETTERING YOUR COMMUNITY, SEEING PEOPLE WHO ARE OPPRESSED AND STRUGGLING, AND CONTINUING TO FIGHT ON THEIR BEHALF IS REALLY A STRONG PART OF THE LEGACY OF PAUL CUFFEE, AND IT'S A SHAME HE'S NOT MORE OF A NATIONAL HERO.

♪ >> GOOD EVENING.

WELCOME TO RHODE ISLAND PBS WEEKLY.

I MICHELLE SAN MIGUEL.

PAMELA: I'M PAMELA WATTS.

EVERY YEAR, THE NATIONAL SAILING WORLD HALL OF FAME IN DUCKS 10 WHO HAVE MADE MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS -- IN DUCKS'S 10 WHO HAVE MADE -- THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN TO SAIL SOLO AROUND THE WORLD, THE HARD WAY, NAVIGATING THE DANGEROUS AND TREACHEROUS WATERS OF THE GREAT SOUTHERN CAPES.

CAPTAIN BILL PINCKNEY NEVER SAILED AS A YOUNG MAN IN SOUTHSIDE CHICAGO.

SAILING HAS BECOME HIS METAPHOR FOR LIVING AND A WAY TO SHOW INNER-CITY KIDS HOW FAR THEY CAN GO WITH THE BASIC EDUCATION.

MIKE CERRE CAUGHT UP WITH CAPTAIN BILL IN NEWPORT FOR HIS HISTORIC INDUCTION INTO THE NATIONAL SAILING HALL OF FAME.

♪ MIKE: THE WORLD-CLASS SAILING TRADITIONS, STATELY SEASIDE MENCIUS, PRESAGES YACHT CLUBS, AND NEWPORT RHODE ISLAND,'S NATIONAL SAILING HALL OF FAME, ARE A LONG WAYS FROM CHICAGO'S SOUTHSIDE WHERE SAILING ON LAKE MICHIGAN WAS ONCE CONSIDERED A WORLD AWAY FOR BILL PINCKNEY.

CAPT.

PINKNEY: MY PRESENCE HERE CONFIRMS THAT THOSE SAILORS, PAST AND PRESENT, RECREATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL, WHO LOOK LIKE ME, ARE NOT REGARDED AS AN ANOMALY BUT RATHER A PART OF THE GREATER SAILING COMMUNITY.

MIKE: CAPTAIN BILL PINCKNEY'S HISTORIC INDUCTION AS THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN INTO THE NATIONAL SAILING HALL OF FAME WAS AS MUCH ABOUT NAVIGATING LIFE AS IT WAS ABOUT SAILING.

>> THE SEA DOESN'T CARE WHAT YOUR ECONOMIC STATUS IS, YOUR RELIGION, NATIONALITY, YOUR SEX, DOESN'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK.

IT CARES ONE THING, I AM THE SEA.

MIKE: BILL PINCKNEY CHRONICLED HIS HISTORIC SOLO SAIL AROUND THE WORLD, THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN TO DO IT THE HARD WAY, AROUND THE GREAT SOUTHERN CAPES.

IN HIS 1992 VIDEO DIARY AND DOCUMENTARY -- CAPT.

PINKNEY: IT IS VERY ROUGH.

FOR SEVEN DAYS, I HAVE HAD NOTHING BUT BAD WEATHER.

THEN KNOCKED ON MY SIDE A COUPLE TIMES.

MIKE: BRAISED ON CHICAGO'S SOUTH SIDE IN A FATHERLESS HOME ON PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, ATTENDING INNER-CITY SCHOOLS, HIS SAILING ACCOMPLISHMENTS ARE ALL THE MORE EXTRAORDINARY.

CAPT.

PINKNEY: THE FACT THAT I WAS BLACK MEANT THAT STATISTICALLY BEFORE THAT I WAS DONE BEFORE I WAS 21 THAT I WOULD EITHER BE KILLED IN A CRIME OF VIOLENCE, ON DRUGS, OR INCARCERATED.

I NEVER BELIEVED THE STATISTICS.

MIKE: AT 86, HE'S NOW RETIRED IN PUERTO RICO WHERE HE LEARNED HOW TO SAIL SMALL CARGO SKIFFS WHILE STATIONED WITH THE NAVY IN THE 1950'S.

CAPT.

PINKNEY: I READ THIS BOOK CALLED "THE COURAGE," ABOUT A MAN WHO WAS AN OUTCAST WITH PEOPLE ON HIS ISLAND OF POLYNESIA.

I HELD THAT IS MY DREAM FOR A GREAT ADVENTURE IN MY LIFE.

MIKE: AFTER A SUCCESSFUL CAREER AS A COSMETICS EXECUTIVE, BILL PINCKNEY DECIDED TO SAIL AROUND THE WORLD IN 1990.

WHILE IN HIS MID-50'S, AS A LEGACY FOR HIS GRANDCHILDREN, AND TO TEACH INNER-CITY STUDENTS AT HIS FORMER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HOW FAR THEY COULD GO WITH THE BASIC EDUCATION, AND BY MAKING A COMMITMENT LIKE HE MADE ON HIS BOAT, DONATED TO -- BY OTHER SAILORS AND BUSINESSMEN.

THE PLANS HE CREATED WITH CHICAGO EDUCATORS EVENTUALLY CONNECTED HIS VOYAGE WITH NEARLY 30,000 STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.

CAPT.

PINKNEY: I HAD ONE DAY WHEN I MADE ALMOST 140 MILES IN A DAY.

MY AVERAGE SPEED FOR THAT DAY IS A NUMBER THAT YOU MIGHT WANT TO FIGURE OUT.

THE THING I TRIED TO SHOW IN MY TRIP WAS THAT THE THINGS YOU USE AND LEARN EVERY DAY, THE THINGS THAT YOU LEARN IN THE FIRST 12 YEARS OF SCHOOL, INTO PLAY EVERY SINGLE DAY.

ROGER THAT.

MIKE: BILL PINCKNEY ADDED TO HIS SAILING LEGACY IS THE FIRST CAPTAIN OF THE AMISTAD SCHOONER REPLICA AND THE HISTORY OF THE SLAVE TRADE AND TAKING TEACHERS TO AFRICA FROM SENEGAL TO THE AMERICAS, STARTING FROM THE DOOR OF NO RETURN SLAVES PASSED THROUGH.

CAPT.

PINKNEY: MY WHOLE IDEA WAS TO GIVE THAT JUXTAPOSITION, A VISCERAL APPRECIATION OF THAT DISTANCE, THAT TIME, THAT QUANTUM LEAP FROM AFRICA TO AMERICA, AND AS THE CARGO, CAN TEMPORARILY AS THE MASTER.

MIKE: HE THINKS SAILING GETS A BAD RAP FOR BEING CONFUSED WITH YACHT AS ELITIST -- ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE WITH BACKGROUNDS MARK LEVERETT #PRIVILEGED THAN HIS -- MORE PRIVILEGE THAN HIS.

CAPT.

PINKNEY: TO SEE IT ALL ALONG THE COAST AND THE COAST OF THE UNITED STATES, BECAUSE THE FIRST PEOPLE AND THE WATER MEN IN THIS COUNTRY WERE SLAVES.

MIKE: WHEN YOU THINK OF THAT JOURNEY YOU MADE FROM SOUTHSIDE CHICAGO TO NEWPORT AND THE NEW YORK YACHT CLUB, THE NATIONAL SAILING HALL OF FAME, IT SEEMS ALMOST LIKE GOING TO THE MOON FROM WHERE AND HOW YOU GREW UP.

CAPT.

PINKNEY: I HAD A DREAM AS A KID OF WANTING TO BE AN ADVENTURER.

I SAT ON THE CHICAGO SIDE OF LAKE MICHIGAN AND WONDERED WHAT WAS ON THE OTHERS.

THAT REALLY STARTED MY CURIOSITY.

MIKE: YOU SAW WHAT WAS ON THE OTHERS OF LAKE MICHIGAN, SAW WHAT WAS ON THE OTHERS OF THE HORIZON ALL AROUND THE WORLD, 32,000 MILES.

CAPT.

PINKNEY: THERE'S ALWAYS A HORIZON, NO MATTER HOW FAR YOU GO.

YOU ARE ALWAYS GOING TO HAVE A HORIZON TO GO AROUND.

JUST ME, NO CAT, DOG, BIRD, NOTHING.

MIKE: IT MIGHT BE HIS CLAIM TO FAME, BUT SHARING HIS ADVENTURES AND CLAIM -- AND PASSION HAS ALSO BEEN HIS LONG-STANDING OBSESSION.

PRIOR TO JOINING THE SAIL NEWPORT PROGRAM, MOST OF THESE STUDENTS HAD NEVER BEEN ON THE WATER BEFORE LIKE BILL PINCKNEY NEVER HAD WELL ATTENDED CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

CAPT.

PINKNEY: I PROBABLY LEARNED MORE AT SEA THAN I EVER LEARNED AT SCHOOL OR ANYPLACE ELSE BECAUSE AT SEA YOU LEARN ABOUT WEATHER, WATER, THE BOAT YOU ARE ON, BUT MOST OF ALL YOU LEARN ABOUT YOURSELF.

WHEN THEY ARE OUT THERE, THEY HAVE THAT IN THEIR HAND AND THEY LEARN ABOUT CONTROL, SELF-CONTROL, THEY LEARNED ABOUT TEAMWORK, THEY LEARN ABOUT ALL OF THE BASICS THAT ONE NEEDS IN LIFE TO BE SUCCESSFUL, AND TO BE ABLE TO START AND TELL THEM, FROM WHERE YOU START RIGHT NOW, YOU COULD GO AS FAR AS YOU WANT.

YOU CAN GO LIKE I DID, AROUND THE WORLD, JUST IN WHAT YOU ARE STARTING TO DO TODAY.

MIKE: I'M SURE NO DOUBT THROUGHOUT YOUR LIFE THERE WERE SOCIAL OBSTACLES TO CONFRONT, EITHER GO AROUND OR UNDER SOMEHOW.

DID YOU FIND THAT IN SAILING?

CAPT.

PINKNEY: THE ACTUAL SAILING, NO, I DIDN'T FIND THAT IT ALL.

LIKE I SAID, BEFORE, IT'S A GREAT EQUALIZER.

MIKE: THERE'S ONE OTHER THING THAT YOU WHERE -- WEAR THAT PROBABLY NO ONE ELSE DOES, THE JEWELRY.

CAPT.

PINKNEY: THE JEWELRY.

THIS LITTLE PIECE OF GOLD HERE WAS TOUGH TO GET.

I HAD TO SAIL AROUND THE WORLD TO GET IT.

MIKE: WHAT'S THE SYMBOLISM?

CAPT.

PINKNEY: IT'S AN OLD SAILING TRADITION, WHEN A SAILOR ROUNDED CAPE HORN, HE PUT A SAIL MAKER'S NEEDLE THROUGH HIS EAR AND PUT A PIECE OF GOLD IN IT TO SIGNIFY HE HAD ROUNDED CAPE HORN.

MIKE: A BIT OLDER THAN YOUR TYPICAL MALE MODEL SPORTING THE LATEST NAUTICAL AND CLUB ATTIRE, BILL PINCKNEY STILL WEARS -- OFF THE RACK AND IT WAS PERFECT FOR A HALL OF FAME ARTICLE ON HIS INDUCTION.

HOW DOES IT FEEL AS THE MODEL AT 86?

CAPT.

PINKNEY:[LAUGHTER] AS LONG AS I'M NOT THE MODEL FOR PAMPERS, I'M HAPPY AS CAN BE.

MIKE: DEW POINT -- JOINED BY FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND FELLOW SAILORS, CAPTAIN BILL PINCKNEY WAS INDUCTED INTO THE NATIONAL SAILING HALL OF FAME AND ALSO GIVEN ITS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR ADVANCING SAILING TO A MUCH BROADER COMMUNITY OF AMERICAN LIFE.

♪ WHEN YOU SEE THE MONTAGE OF FACES OF PREVIOUS INDUCTIVE DAYS -- INDUCTEES, THERE'S GOT TO BE A GOOD FEELING KNOWING YOU ARE ADDING A DIFFERENT DIMENSION.

CAPT.

PINKNEY: SEEING ME WILL GIVE PEOPLE A DIFFERENT LOOK AT SAILING AND SEEING THE CEILING -- SEEING THAT SAILING IS AND CAN BE VERY DIVERSE.

AMERICA IS A DIVERSE NATION BY ITS POPULATION.

WHAT WE NEED TO DO AND WE SHOULD START TO DO IS TO EMBRACE OUR DIVERSITY, WHICH IS ALWAYS -- HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PART OF THE COUNTRY.

>> THANKS TO MIKE FOR THAT REPORT.

IT TOOK DECADES FOR CAPTAIN BILL PINCKNEY TO BE RECOGNIZED FOR HIS SAILING ACHIEVEMENTS.

THE SUBJECT OF HISTORY AND WHO WAS LEFT OUT AND HE WAS INCLUDED IS EXPLORED IN OUR NEXT STORY.

CONSIDER THE LITTLE KNOWN FACT THAT BETWEEN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION IN THE CIVIL WAR, MORE AFRICAN-AMERICANS WERE IN THE MARITIME PROFESSION IN ANY OTHER INDUSTRY.

IT IS ESTIMATED THAT SOME 10,000 SEAMEN WORKED ON WHALERS AND MORE THAN 3000 WERE AFRICAN-AMERICAN.

MUCH OF THEIR STORY HAS BEEN LOST TO HISTORY.

CASE IN POINT, CAPTAIN PAUL CUFFEE, A QUICK STUDY WHO AT THE AGE OF 13 IN THE EARLY 1770'S LEARNED TO NAVIGATE IN JUST TWO WEEKS, ENABLING HIM TO ULTIMATELY COMMAND HIS OWN SHIPS .

HE ALSO TAUGHT NAVIGATION TO STUDENTS YOUNG AND OLD, AND AS CONTRIBUTING REPORTER ERIKA IDC FOUND, WHEN WE FIRST AIRED THIS STORY, THE PAUL CUFFEE SCHOOL AND PROVIDENCE CONTINUES BUILDING A LEGACY THAT INSPIRES KIDS TO DREAM AS BIG AS THE SEAS.

>> THE WATER IS VERY PEACEFUL TO ME.

I JUST, WHEN I WAS AT SEA I FELT LIKE IT WOULD JUST BE YOURSELF AND THE WORLD.

>> FOR BRIAN, PEACEFUL AND FREEDOM WERE NEVER WORDS HE CONNECTED WITH THE SEA FIRST.

>> AT FIRST I HATED IT.

I DIDN'T LIKE THE WATER.

I HATED THE TIPPING OR IT'S CALLED THE HEALING.

AFTER THAT, I JUST FELL IN LOVE WITH IT, SLOWLY GOT TO LIKE IT MORE AND MORE.

>> HAS LOVE AFFAIR PECAN -- HIS LOVE AFFAIR BEGAN AT THE PAUL CUFFEE SCHOOL.

>> IN SECOND OR THIRD GRADE, THEY HAVE A BUNCH OF AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS AND MY MOM WAS LIKE, I DON'T WNT YOU PLAYING IN THE STREETS AND WANTED ME TO STAY ACTIVE.

>> HE LEARNED HOW TO SAIL AND LEARNED ABOUT PAUL CUFFEE.

>> WE ALL KNEW HE WAS A BLACK SAILOR.

HE WAS A SAILOR THAT SAILED ACROSS THE WORLD AND THAT REALLY INTERESTED ME.

>> MORE THAN 250 YEARS AGO, OR SORIO'S NAMESAKE WAS BORN -- HIS MOM WAS A NATIVE AMERICAN AND HIS FATHER WAS A FREED SLAVE WHO MOVED TO DARTMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS AND WAS A SUCCESSFUL FARMER.

AT THE AGE OF 13, CUFFEE'S LIFE CHANGED DRAMATICALLY WHEN HIS FATHER DIED, LEAVING HIM AND ONE OF HIS BROTHERS THE 116 ACRE FARM.

RATHER THAN STAYING, PAUL CUFFEE STRUCK OUT, SEEKING A LIFE ON THE SEAS.

♪ WHALING VOYAGES COULD LAST UP TO FOUR YEARS.

THEY WERE POWERLESS BUT OFTEN LUCRATIVE.

SHIPS ROUTINELY RETURNED WITH THOUSANDS OF BARRELS OF SPUR AND WHALE OIL -- SPERM AND WHALE OIL.

>> BLUBBER AND OIL FROM THIS BERM WHALE -- THE SPERM WHALE COULD BE CONVERTED INTO AN OIL THAT WOULD CLEAN -- BURN CLEANLY AND RIGHTLY THAT COULD BE COMPACTED INTO CANDLES THAT COULD BURN CLEANLY AND BRIGHTLY.

>> THE PRESIDENT OF THE BEDFORD NEW HISTORICAL SOCIETY SAID OIL WAS NOT THE ONLY PRODUCT.

>> IT WAS LIKE LONG PIECES OF PLASTIC THAT BECAME CORSETS, BRAS, UNDERWEAR.

>> IN THE LATE 18TH AND EARLY 19TH CENTURY, MASSACHUSETTS PRESENTED A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR.

AT THE TIME, QUAKERS WERE RUNNING THE WHALING BUSINESS AND THEY WERE SENSITIVE TO DISCRIMINATION BECAUSE OF THEIR OWN HISTORY.

>> THEY WERE PERSECUTED AND PIERCED -- THEY WERE PERSECUTED BY THE PURITANS.

THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST, PERSECUTED, HOUNDED FOR THEIR BELIEFS.

THEY TEND TO BE MUCH MORE SYMPATHETIC TO DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES, SO THAT IS PART OF THEIR E PHOTOS, RELIGIOUS EAT THOSE.

-- PART OF THEIR ETHOS, RELIGIOUS ETHOS, HOWEVER THEY NEEDED WORKERS.

ALL OF THESE CREWS 50% TO 70% AFRICAN-AMERICAN, HE HAD TO BE TOLERANT OF OTHER CULTURES.

WHALING SHIPS HAD AFRICAN-AMERICAN CREWMEMBERS, PORTUGUESE CREWMEMBERS, NATIVE AMERICAN CREWMEMBERS, AND THOSE PEOPLE ALL HAD TO GET ALONG AS TEAM MEMBERS ON A SHIP.

>> BY THE AGE OF 14, PAUL CUFFEE WAS WORKING AS A CREW MEMBER ON A WHALER.

LITTLE MORE THAN TWO YEARS LATER, WHALING WAS HALTED AS WAR BROKE OUT BETWEEN THE COLONIES IN GREAT WRITTEN.

-- GREAT BRITAIN.

>> THE WHALING FLEET WAS AT THE MERCY OF WHOEVER WAS THE STRONGER PARTY SO THE WHALING FLEET WAS DESTROYED >>.

WHILE HE WAS NOT A SOLDIER, PAUL CUFFEE SPENT THREE MONTHS IN THE HANDS OF THE BRITISH.

>> HE WAS CAPTURED, IMPRISONED.

HE WAS RELEASED.

HE BUILT AN OPEN BOAT AND BEGAN FERRYING SUPPLIES TO NANTUCKET.

>> SURROUNDED AND HUNTING WHALES, -- NAVAL BLOCKADES.

>> HE MET ONE OF THE GREAT PATRIARCHS OF AMERICAN WHALING WHO WAS IMPRESSED.

>> WHAT SET -- WHAT SETCUFFE CUFFE APART WAS HIS INTELLIGENCE.

>> THAT IS YOUR CREDENTIALS IF YOU WANT TO BECOME ANNOUNCED -- A MASTER OR HIGHER OFFICER OR GOT TO KNOW HOW TO DO THAT.

>> IN THE WAKE OF THE REVOLUTION, HE STARTED BUILDING AN EMPIRE BASED ON MARITIME TRADE.

>> BETWEEN HIS ABILITY TO NAVIGATE AND HIS SHIP BUILDING AND BOATBUILDING ABILITY, CUFFEE BEGAN TO BUILD HIMSELF A LIFE, HIS OWN SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURES.

>> BY 1800, HE WAS ONE OF THE WEALTHIEST PEOPLE OF COLOR IN THE NATION BUT OVER THE YEARS, BUSINESS WASN'T THE ONLY THING ON HIS MIND.

>> PAUL CUFFEE DID A LOT OF STUFF.

HE WAS A MAJOR MIND.

BEFORE THE MASSACHUSETTS CONSTITUTION WAS THE MASSACHUSETTS CONSTITUTION, HE SAID, IF I'M PAYING TAXES THAN I GET THE VOTE.

THEY SAID, NO.

BUT HE SAID, YEAH, HE IS WRITING A LETTER, WE HAVE A COPY OF THE LETTER SAYING, YOU NEED TO TREAT BLACK MEN THE WAY YOU TREAT WHITEMAN IF YOU ARE GOING TO TAX THEM LIKE WHITE MEN.

THIS IS THE SAME ARGUMENT THAT CAUSED THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

>> THREE YEARS LATER, THE MASSACHUSETTS CONSTITUTION WAS AMENDED TO GIVE AFRICAN-AMERICANS THE RIGHT TO VOTE.

NADER IN LIFE, PAUL CUFFEE SET HIS SIGHTS -- LATER IN LIFE, PAUL CUFFEE SET HIS SIGHTS ON ANOTHER ISSUE.

>> IT IS REALLY PAUL CUFFEE WHO WORKS HARD TO BUILD THE SCHOOL, PUT MONEY ASIDE, AND BUILD ONE OF THE FIRST INTEGRATED SCHOOLS IN THE REGION.

ANY OF US BELIEVE IT IS THE FIRST INTEGRATED SCHOOL AT THE TIME IN THE STATE.

>> IN 1815, HIS AMBITION TO AID AFRICAN-AMERICANS GREW EVEN LARGER.

A CURATOR OF SOCIAL HISTORY AT THE NEW BEDFORD WHALING MUSEUM SAYS PAUL CUFFEE USED HIS MONEY TO HELP INTERESTED AFRICAN-AMERICANS RETURN TO THEIR NATIVE LAND IN HOPES OF CREATING A SUCCESSFUL SOCIETY OF THEIR OWN.

TELL ME ABOUT HIS TRIPS TO BRING BACK FREE SLAVES TO AFRICA, TO SIERRA LEONE.

>> PAUL CUFFEE WAS VERY INTERESTED IN THE IDEA OF REPATRIATION OR AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND AFRICANS GOING BACK TO AFRICA, EVEN IF THEY HAD NEVER BEEN THERE.

SO HE REALLY PUT HIS MONEY WHERE HIS MOUTH WAS.

HE ENCOURAGED A GROUP OF PEOPLE TO GO OVER AND HE FUNDED THEM, PROVIDING VOYAGE, PROVIDING THE VOYAGE AND PROVISIONS FOR A YEAR .

HIS GOAL WAS TO ESTABLISH A COLONY FOR FREED AFRICAN-AMERICANS.

>> RECORDS SHOW HE BROUGHT AT LEAST 38 AFRICAN-AMERICANS BACK TO AFRICA.

HE WOULD GO ON TO BE KNOWN AS JUST GO ON TO BE KNOWN AS A PIONEER OF THE BACK TO AFRICA MOVEMENT BUT HIS IDEA WAS CONTROVERSIAL.

>> WITH THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY REALLY HAVING SOMETIMES NOT SO ALL TRUEST TAKE IDEAS ABOUT REPATRIATION, ACTUALLY JUST WANTING FREE AFRICAN-AMERICANS TO GO SO THEY ARE OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND, AND MANY OF CALLED -- MANY OF PAUL CUFFEE'S FRIENDS SAW THAT AND WERE AGAINST THE IDEA OF COLONIZING WEST AFRICA.

>> ANOTHER BLACK ABOLITIONIST CONTINUED TO DEVELOP THE IDEA OF CREATING AN INDEPENDENT LACK SOCIETY FURTHER.

-- BLACK SOCIETY FURTHER.

BLACK NATIONALISM WOULD CAPTURE THE IMAGINATIONS OF CIVIL-RIGHTS LEADERS LIKE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD, MALCOLM X, AND STOGIE CARMICHAEL .

HIS LEGACY OPENED DOORS FOR OTHER BLACK WHALERS, SEA MERCHANTS, INVENTORS, AND CAPTAINS.

DO YOU HAVE AN ESTIMATE OF HOW MANY BLACK WHALERS DURING THE INDUSTRY'S PEAK?

>> THE NUMBER COMING AROUND WAS SOMEWHERE AROUND 3000 INDIVIDUALS.

>> TODAY, PAUL CUFFEE'S LEGACY IS PRESERVED IN BRICK-AND-MORTAR .

THE PAUL CUFFEE SCHOOL IN PROVIDENCE OPENED IN 2001.

95% OF THE STUDENTS ARE OF COLOR .

HEAD OF SCHOOLS CHRIS HASKINS SAYS HIS STUDENTS REFLECT THE VISION FOR RACIAL INCLUSION.

>> A HISTORCAL FIGURE WHO CONTRIBUTED GREATLY TO THE STORY OF FREE SLAVES IN AMERICA, A GREAT ROLE MODEL FOR OUR CHILDREN.

SOMEWHAT DIFFICULT TO RELATE TO BEING THE HISTORIC BILL -- HISTORICAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TODAY AND THEN, HOWEVER THE SENSE OF ADVENTURE THAT COMES WITH THE STORY OF PAUL CUFFEE, THE SOCIAL JUSTICE THAT COMES WITH HIS CONTRIBUTION, THAT IS A BIG PART OF OUR SCHOOL STORY TODAY.

>> WHILE PAUL CUFFEE'S MEMORY LOOMS LARGE OVER ONE PROVIDENCE SCHOOL, HE IS NOT AS WELL-KNOWN NATIONALLY.

THEY ARGUE HE DESERVES A MORE PROMINENT PLACE IN AMERICAN HISTORY.

>> THE IDEA OF BETTERING YOUR COMMUNITY, SEEING PEOPLE WHO ARE OPPRESSED AND STRUGGLING AND CONTINUING TO FIGHT ON THEIR BEHALF IS REALLY A STRONG PART OF THE LEGACY OF PAUL CUFFEE.

I THINK IT IS A SHAME HE IS NOT MORE OF A NATIONAL HERO BECAUSE OF THAT.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE QUOTES IS "I HOPE IF I DON'T COME TO SEE THIS PAST IT DOESN'T FAIL AND COUNT DO NOTHING."

HE WAS VERY PRAGMATIC AND DID NOT BELIEVE NECESSARILY THAT THESE THINGS WOULD HAPPEN WITHIN HIS LIFETIME, BUT HE THOUGHT IT WAS STILL IMPORTANT TO FIGHT FOR THEM SO WHEN I THINK OF HIS LEGACY, THAT'S WHAT I THINK OF MOST.

>> THANKS TO ERICA FOR THAT REPORT.

FINALLY, WE TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT THE HERRESHOFF MARINE MUSEUM IN BRISTOL WHERE BOATBUILDING IS LEGENDARY.

OUR GUIDES BILL AND EVELYN.

>> HERE WE ARE AT THE HERRESHOFF MARINE MUSEUM IN BRISTOL, RHODE ISLAND, STANDING ON THE ORIGINAL SITE OF THE MANUFACTURING COMPANY.

HM CO WAS.

IN OPERATION FROM 1878 TO 1945, OPERATED BY TWO BROTHERS.

WELCOME TO THE HM CO. MODEL ROOM.

THE ONLY COMPARISON I CAN MAKE IS IMAGINE IF YOU COULD GO SOMEWHERE AND STAND IN A ROOM WITH EVERY SINGLE PICASSO PAINTING EVER CREATED, IF THEY WERE ALL IN ONE PLACE TOGETHER, THAT'S KIND OF THE EQUIVALENT FOR THESE TWO MODEL ROOMS.

WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT THESE MODELS AS THEY REPRESENT THE SEED FOR THE DESIGN FOR EVERY SINGLE BOAT THAT HM CO.

EVER BUILT.

WHEN THE CAPTAIN GOT AN ORDER FOR A NEW DESIGN, HE WOULD TAKE A BLOCK OF WOOD AND START CARVING, NOT A TOTALLY UNUSUAL METHOD FOR DESIGNING BOATS.

AT THE TIME HE WAS A PRACTIC ARC -- PRACTICING ARCHITECT, IT WAS UNUSUAL.

MOST WERE PRIMARILY USING LINES DRAWINGS ON PAPER.

THIS IS A TACTILE APPROACH AND MATHEMATIC.

TODAY, WE REALLY KNOW THEM FOR THEIR BEAUTIFUL SAILING BOATS AND RACING YACHTS, ESPECIALLY FOR THEIR AMERICA'S CUP ENVIRONMENT -- INVOLVEMENT.

THE ORIGINS OF THE COMPANY GOES BACK TO THE HISTORY OF STEAM ENGINEERING AND STEAM ENGINES AND POWERBOATS.

>> THEY WENT FROM STEAM TO SALE BECAUSE THEY HAD JOSH SAIL -- THEY WENT FROM STEAM TO SAIL BECAUSE THEY HAD CUSTOMERS THAT WANTED SAILBOATS.

ONE OF THEIR BEST CUSTOMERS DECIDED HE WANTED TO BUILD A 46 FOOTER.

THE 46 VOTERS WERE THE HOT CLASS OF THE -- FOOTERS WHERE THE HOT CLASS OF THE DAY.

THEY CAME FOR THE NEXT CUP DEFENDERS SO IN THE FALL OF 1892, THEY GOT THE ORDER FOR A VIGILANT, THE CUP DEFENDER IN 1893, THE BEGINNING OF 40 YEARS OF AMERICA'S CUP DOMINANCE BY THE COMPANY.

THIS IS A MUSEUM ABOUT ENGINEERING AND INNOVATION AND ONE OF MY FAVORITE PIECES, FAVORITE BOATS IS AMARILLIS.

IT IS A REPLICA OF THE FIRST RACING CATAMARAN EVER BUILT.

1876, THEY WANTED TO RACE IN THE CENTENNIAL REGATTA SO THEY DECIDED TO BUILD A BOAT THAT COULD WIN.

HE CAME UP WITH THIS CONCEPT OF THE DOUBLE BOAT WHICH TURNED INTO A CATAMARAN AND HE WON THE REGATTA.

A GUY WHO CAME IN SECOND PROTESTED HIM FOR NOT HAVING A PROPER YACHT AND HE WAS DISQUALIFIED, WHICH IS WHAT WE SEE TODAY WITH CATAMARANS.

CAN'T RACE AGAINST MONO HALLS.

-- MONOHAULS.

THIS IS THE CLASSIC BUZZARDS BAY BOYS BOAT, DESIGNED IN 1914 AS A TRAINER FOR YOUNGER KIDS TO GO SAILING ON.

THERE ARE 250 OF THESE THINGS STILL IN EXISTENCE, STILL RACING TODAY.

>> WE THINK THEY BUILT MORE THAN 2000 BOATS.

WE DON'T KNOW THE EXACT NUMBER BECAUSE RECORD-KEEPING WAS NOT AS CLEAR BUT OF THE 2000 BOATS THEY BUILT, WE ESTIMATE THAT SOME 28% STILL SURVIVE TODAY, A REMARKABLE NUMBER CONSIDERING THEY WEREN'T INTENDED TO LAST MORE THAN 30 YEARS OR SO.

THAT'S PRETTY INCREDIBLE AND A TESTAMENT TO HOW BELOVED THESE DESIGNS ARE, HOW EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE THEY ARE, AND HOW MUCH PEOPLE REALLY STILL VENERATE THIS DESIGNER AND COMPANY.

>> OUR THANKS TO THE HAIR SHOT MUSEUM -- HERRESHOFF MARINE MUSEUM THANK YOU FOR WATCHING.

>> PLEASE JOIN US AGAIN NEXT WEEK FOR ANOTHER EDITION OF RHODE ISLAND PBS WEEKLY.

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