Fox Point was a major port of entry for
Cape Verdeans arriving in the United States of America
Fox Point was a major port of entry for Cape Verdeans, voluntary immigrants
who arrived at the end of the 19th and early 20th century on Cape Verdean-owned packet boats.
Visit the Blue Collar Rhody Exhibition >
Jane’s Walk Providence: An annual festival of free, resident-led walking conversations
Friday 1st of May, 2026 through Sunday 3rd of May, 2026
Explore Providence neighborhoods on foot with Jane’s Walk, a global walking festival on May 1-3, inspired by urban activist Jane Jacobs. These interactive walks are led by local residents and community activists who get people thinking, talking and connecting with each other. Jane’s Walks are free and anyone can participate!
FRIDAY, MAY 1, start at 1pm
OUR RHODE: A mile of Tockwotton Fox Point Cape Verdean History with Claire Andrade-Watkins, PhD
I will lead this walk, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Some Kind of Funny Porto Rican?: A Cape Verdean American Story.” I only do the walk, personally, for events or collaborations that I feel are impactful and contribute to the legacy work of our Tockwotton Fox Point CV community. I am a big fan of “Jane’, and her epic standoff with Robert Moses! The ‘stops’ are part of OUR RHODE: A mile of Tockwotton Fox Point Cape Verdean History. Each stop is a moment for an iterative dialogue with walk participants of the ‘lived’ and erased history of our community.
Start/end: Corner of Planet and South Main St/India Point Park, at site of proposed commemorative park for the Tockwotton Cape Verdean community.
Honoring a Legacy: “Chief” Manuel Q. Ledo
Leah Hooks, the grand-daugher of Manuel Q. Ledo, talks about her grandfather, his journey from Brava, Cape Verde to Rhode Island, and his role as an important local, national and international labor organizer. He, along with John F. Lopez, organized Local 1329 of the I.L.A. (International Longshoremen’s Association) in 1933, the first predominantly Cape Verdean Union on the eastern seabord. Leah highlights the contributions of Local 1329 and the Cape Verdean community to the economy of Rhode Island and New England.
Avelino ‘Chappy’ Rose
Avelino J. Rose, affectionately known as “Chappy,” passed away peacefully at home on September 20, 2025, surrounded by his loving family. He was 101years old.
A first-generation Cape Verdean-American, Chappy’s life was defined by resilience, service, and devotion to family. He proudly served in World War II as a Corporal in the 1883rd Company A Aviation Engineers, and broke barriers by becoming the first Black/Cape Verdean Processing Sheriff in Rhode Island.
Chappy was a war hero, a trailblazer on the docks, and a visionary son of immigrant parents. He loved his family, was fiercely proud of his heritage, deeply rooted in his neighborhood, and committed to lifting others through humility, craftsmanship, and love.
St. Antonio Association, 1934
Boy’s Club, 1929
Local 1329 of the I.L.A. (International Longshoremen’s Association, 1933
Your tax-deductible contribution to CID support SPIA’s ongoing educational, documentary, archival projects, immersive experiences, forward-facing public initiatives, legacy projects, events, walking tours, and digital mapping of a chronological timeline that reconstitutes the history of Rhode Island’s first Cape Verdean neighborhood on existing and emerging digital platforms.
The mission of SPIA Media and the TFPCVHP (Tockwotton Fox Point Cape Verdean Heritage Project) team is to preserve and document the history and memory of the Tockwotton Cape Verdean community, designated a 2022 Providence Preservation Society, MEP (Most Endangered Property), as an endangered ‘intangible memory’ of the Tockwotton Fox Point Cape Verdean community displaced by historic preservation, urban renewal, I-195, and the expansion of Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design.