Christle Rawlins-Jackson will be presenting her research on the seven Clements brothers who were black jockeys from Lynn, Massachusetts. This presentation will highlight seven brothers who became local celebrities during the early twentieth-century racing horses at fairgrounds throughout New England. Black jockeys and equestrian professionals dominated the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing, from the first Kentucky Derby in 1875 through the early 1900s when Jim Crow laws forced them out of the sport. 

Christle is a fiber artist, photographer, poet, and graphic designer. She is the Communications and Publications Manager at the Community Church of Boston. Rawlins-Jackson exhibits her story quilts throughout New England and is a co-founder as well as the vise president of the quilt guild, Sisters In Stitches Joined By The Cloth whose mission is to uphold the tradition of African American quilting and educate the general public of the rich history of people of color and cloth. She is the current president of The Beacon Hill Scholars; an organization dedicated to the preservation of the history of nineteenth century African American abolitionists who lived and owned businesses on Beacon Hill. Her work is greatly influenced by time spent living and working in Ghana, West Africa and researching her family genealogy.