Keeping the Primus Legacy Alive: A Conversation with Jesse Harris

In this holiday episode of The Primus Project Podcast, we look back on “Marked in Memory,” a September gathering at Zion Hill Cemetery honoring Rebecca Primus and the Primus family with the installation of a long-overdue headstone. You’ll hear powerful reflections from Primus descendants—including a prayer from Rev. Dr. Gloria Harris Cater, a letter voiced in Rebecca’s spirit by Jacqueline Harris, and educator Chaya Harris on carrying the family’s legacy of teaching forward.

Then hosts Scott and Nicole sit down in the studio with Jesse Harris, the family descendant helping lead the work of remembrance. Jesse shares his decades-long journey through archives and cemeteries, the community partnerships that have accelerated the project, and his efforts to recover the story—and surviving artwork—of Rebecca’s brother, the portrait artist Nelson Primus. Together, they explore why place, memory, and public history matter, and what it takes to keep a family legacy alive.

Show notes

• Learn more: Barbara Beeching, Hopes and Expectations; Farah Jasmine Griffin, Beloved Sisters and Loving Friends

• Visit: Connecticut Freedom Trail listings for the Primus Family Resting Ground (Zion Hill Cemetery) and the Ham Primus House (Guilford)

• Photos from the event: Instagram @PrimusProjectTrinity