Traces of the Trade is a personal documentary that tells the story of first-time filmmaker Katrina Brown, who discovers that her Rhode Island ancestors, the DeWolfs, were the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history.  Browne and nine fellow descendants journey to retrace the steps of the Triangle Trade, from Bristol, RI, to Ghana and then to Cuba, and gain a powerful new perspective on the contemporary legacy of slavery, for both black and white Americans, and the black/white divide.

The film will be shown Friday, April 18, at 6:30 pm in the School Auditorium.  Admissions is free and open to all Portsmouth Abbey students, parents, families and faculty/staff.

DeWolf family members will be present at the film screening and will answer questions from the audience following the screening.  Nine years in the making, the film is being released in 2008 for the bicentennial of the U.S. abolition of the slave trade. Produced in association with WGBH-Boston, Traces of the Trade has been selected for the 2008 Sundance Film Festival Competition.

For more information and to view a clip of the film, click here.