The Primus Project
The Primus Project is named in her honor. Her life exemplifies the resilience, insight, and commitment to justice that guides our work.
Rebecca Primus
Rebecca Primus was born in Hartford in 1836, just blocks from Trinity College—then called Washington College. Her great-grandfather had been kidnapped from Africa and enslaved, later gaining freedom through service in the Revolutionary War. Rebecca was never allowed to attend the college up the street, but she forged her own path as an educator. She taught Black children in Hartford and later founded a school for formerly enslaved people in Maryland after the Civil War.
The Primus Project, founded by five Trinity College professors, seeks to tell a fuller, truer story of Trinity College’s history—one that confronts how the institution and members of the college community have engaged with slavery and white supremacy.
This research-driven, community-based initiative uncovers overlooked histories through archival research, public scholarship, and active dialogue. By sharing primary sources, producing detailed research reports, and releasing podcast episodes, the project invites broad engagement with Trinity’s past. We also bring our findings into campus conversations—informing decisions about building names, public memory, and how the college might better serve its constituencies today.
As Trinity moves past its bicentennial, the Primus Project looks to the future. Our aim: a more equitable campus and a reimagined sense of institutional purpose rooted in historical truth.
