The 401 REPORTER
BY ELLEN LIBERMAN
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF THE RHODE ISLAND BLACK HERITAGE SOCIETY AND THE STOKES FAMILY COLLECTION .
Preserving the Past Two new museums memorializing Rhode Island ’ s African American history may signal shifting attitudes toward the state ’ s darker chapters .
A
T THIRTEEN , RANDALL ASHE WAS A SKINNY KID from South Providence on the precipice of his career as an entertainer . He wasn ’ t old enough to drive a car or order a cocktail — even if he had the means to get either — but a talent contest won him a gig at the Celebrity Club .
In the first half of the twentieth century , African Americans would step out at private neighborhood speakeasies . Opened in 1949 , the Celebrity Club in Providence was Paul Filippi ’ s bold social experiment — a public , interracial music venue . The authorities didn ’ t care much for it and the police raided it regularly over the club ’ s ten-year life , but it became a must-stop on the circuit . Filippi knew another jazz lover when he met one , so he let young Ashe sit in the kitchen and peek through the swinging doors to soak up inspiration from the best artists of their day — Billie Holiday , Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong .
“ The city was bustling and the Navy was here and they just kept the nightlife going . Growing up in that era , there were some problems at the Celebrity Club , because they
Photos from the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society and the Stokes family collection show snippets of African American life in Newport in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries .
really didn ’ t want Blacks and whites to mix . But , Paul Filippi was able to pull it off and he had a very successful run ,” Ashe recalls . “ It was a great time .”
Sitting on the blond-wood stage of the Rhode Island School of Design Auditorium , looking dapper and younger than his eighty-five years , Ashe recounts the seminal experiences of his life as a jazz musician in response to questions posed by students of the YouthBuild Preparatory Academy . The exchange was among several events hosted by the nascent African American Museum of Rhode Island . Officially established last
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY I FEBRUARY 2025 41