On March 16, the Mattapoisett Museum with support from the Mattapoisett Cultural Council hosted Dr. Daphne Geanacopoulos, historian and author of “The Pirate’s Wife: The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd.”

            Geanacopoulos brought to light a woman who has not been forgotten but more likely overshadowed by her husband William Kidd. She was dubbed a female pirate, but her truth is much more complex. Now Geanacopoulos takes her readers on Sarah’s journey through high-seas booty hunting with her privateer turned pirate husband, to struggling widow four times over and a member of New York’s early high-society circles.

            Sarah’s life is the stuff legends are made of. Yet documentation or even casual mention of this high-status woman was hard to uncover, Geanacopoulos explained. “There aren’t any images of Sarah.” What is known is drawn from her marriages for the most part. There would be four husbands with William Kidd clearly the most notorious.

            Sarah’s family name was Bradley. She came from England at a young age and as was the custom at that time, married by the age of 15 to the wealthy New York merchant William Cox. Upon his passing, she married her second husband, John Oort, a Dutch merchant who suffered an untimely and somewhat suspicious death, clearing the way for our fine lady to marry Kidd, presumably this time for love a mere two days after Oort had died. “They were the power couple of their day,” explained Geanacopoulos.

            They married in 1691 when Kidd returned from plundering trips throughout the Caribbean. To give us a stunning idea of what constituted normal in the 1600s, the Kidds’ wedding day included watching a public hanging.

            As for Sarah, she had already reestablished herself and her children into a position of financial comfort so marrying for money this time wasn’t a necessary evil. But we don’t know for sure. What Geanacopoulos deduces for us in her extensively researched pages is that Sarah was primarily a survivor, a woman whose options for financial security lay in the hands of a patriarchal society. Men had the money, thus the power.

            At this point in their story, Captain Kidd was a privateer not to be confused with a pirate. A privateer’s job description could be simply put as a legal pirate. Privateers were business owners with investors who raided enemy ships for their cargo, splitting the booty with the sovereigns, investors and shipmates. The Oxford Dictionary defines a privateer as, “an armed ship owned, offered by private individuals holding a government commission and authorized for use in war, especially in the capture of enemy merchant shipping.”

            Geanacopoulos explained the privateers, unlike pirates, served as an auxiliary unit of the English Navy. In contrast, pirates operated under “articles,” structured as a democratic society with the right to vote on such matters related to postemployment benefits and sharing in the wealth of goods secured from marine raids.

            Kidd, while receiving a commission from the King of England to hunt French enemy ships for their cargo, was not successful. Yet there is the legend of Kidd’s buried treasure. Legend it remains, as he told no one of its whereabouts with the possible exception of Sarah.

            To secure finances, Kidd turned to pirating with Sarah on board his ship. They would be captured and arrested. It is unclear what punishment, if any, Sarah suffered, but Kidd would eventually be executed (1701) and his body put on public display for several years as a warning to others. Sarah would live another 40 years.

            Sarah’s fourth marriage after Kidd’s hanging produced more children and a comfortable existence. As a woman living at a time when being female generally meant someone owned your body and your soul, Sarah found a way to thrive.

            Geanacopoulos imagines her death bed as once filled with soft pillows, a feather mattress and expensive linens, material goods she sought throughout her life. Sarah died in 1744 from what is believed to be diphtheria. If she knew the treasure’s location, she was unable to articulate the secret as disease robbed her ability to speak clearly. She took that bit of history with her to the grave. The Kidds’ treasure has never been found.

            To learn more, visit masshist.org/events/pirates-wife-remarkable-true-story-sarah-kidd.

By Marilou Newell

            Some people are more concerned with “being called a racist” rather than acknowledging that they might have biases, according to Dr. Tyrone Black, the Associate Head of School at Tabor Academy.

            This was one of many eye-opening messages delivered Tuesday night by a panel hosted by Tri-Town Against Racism. The conversation at Tabor Academy was the fourth in a series giving strategies to adults and educators on how to teach young people of all ages how to deal with biases against marginalized groups.

            The guest panel featured Black, Kate Excellent, a licensed independent clinical social worker and Dr. Elizabeth O’Shaughnessey, a pediatric neuropsychologist.

            TTAR has worked for three years toward creating a more inclusive environment within Rochester, Marion and Mattapoisett.

            The panel answered a series of questions ranging from how to talk to youngsters about police brutality against people of color to talking to prekindergarten students about a transgender person they might know.

            The panel even touched upon the growing use of the “n” word and how young people hear it within popular music and use it as a term of endearment.

            Black, who is African American and has southern roots, said more youngsters and educators should delve into the history of the word. He said it was meant to marginalize a group of people, especially in the American south and keep them ignorant.

            Black said some people use the word with an “a” instead of “er” at the end as a way of taking back the word and using it to praise African Americans.

            “There is a significant disconnect with our young people and history, as if they could rewrite history,” Black said.

            Black said his children know the origins of the word and do not use it within his household. He and other panelists said that the use of these words and uncomfortable conversations should begin with just that – a necessary but uncomfortable conversation.

            Excellent urged the group gathered on Tuesday to acknowledge four words that begin with the letter A – awareness, acknowledge, action and accountability.

            Excellent said parents and educators should teach children to be aware of their own race and background; acknowledge that there is a history of systematic racism against nonwhite races, an action plan for how to handle it and accountability for owning up to mistakes and past biases.

            Black said he once asked white students to reflect on where they would like to eat on a certain day and what barber they would like to visit. This simple but eye-opening experience helped him teach his students that certain ethnic groups do not have the privilege to choose.

            Black, who attended an ethnically white college, said he learned that many of his college peers were privileged and could choose where to eat or where to get their hair groomed. Black did not have that same experience growing up.

            Panelists said some adults claim to be color blind and such a move is not helpful toward inclusion and battling systematic racism.

            “The idea that ‘I don’t see color’ is very invalidating,” said Excellent, also the mother of a black child.

            Panelists agreed that such a mentality is a way of dismissing the issue. O’Shaughnessey talked about implicit biases among adults – or a bias that happens unintentionally. Excellent said kids start forming preferences as young as six months old, and Black added that adults need to be cognizant of their actions.

            “They don’t do what we say, they do what we do,” Black said.

            Black said he gives his children white and black dolls at an early age to show them that there are different races. Black also said that when parents give dolls to young girls and trucks to young boys, they should explain that tradition.

            That conversation alone could help raise awareness early on about inclusion of transgender and LGBTQ issues.

            In general, education and conversations are the best allies toward battling systematic discrimination against marginalized groups.

            As far as police brutality toward black people, Black mentioned that parents and educators should acknowledge that police take an oath to serve and protect. Black said youngsters should learn that it’s not the police uniform but the person in it who decides to be corrupt or racist.

            O’Shaughnessey said such corruption can be found in all professions and all walks of life, and children should learn that lesson early.

            After the formal question-and-answer period, many educators and concerned community members asked the panel how schools should handle these issues.

            Black said one of the first steps should be a closed-door session with educators who agree not to judge each other, acknowledge their own biases and set out to correct them for their students.

            “Have a genuine conversation (and say) this is a judge-free zone. This is about the kids,” Black said.

Tri-Town Against Racism

Jeffrey D. Wagner