The following are people who appear in the film and who are part of our core group that will be bringing the film to communities across the country for dialogue purposes.

DeWolf descendants

You are welcome to contact any of the DeWolf descendants who appear in the film, using the e-mail addresses provided below.

Katrina Browne
Prior to launching this film and family process, Katrina served as Outreach Planning Coordinator for the film adaptation of Anna Deavere Smith’s play Twilight: Los Angeles. Previously she was a senior staffperson at Public Allies, an AmeriCorps program operating in 15 cities that she co-founded in 1991. She has an M.A. in Theology from the Pacific School of Religion where she wrote a thesis on film and democratic dialogue. She now lives in Boston, Massachusetts. To contact Katrina or the staff with any requests, please click here.

Keila DePoorter
Keila and her sister Holly Fulton both grew up in Bristol, Rhode Island. Keila currently lives with her husband Jerry on a small ranch outside of Boulder, Colorado. In 1998, Keila and Jerry led a group of 20 students to South Africa for a month. They visited mining sites, traveled and studied South Africa’s current social, economic and political issues. E-mail Keila at

Tom DeWolf
Tom has written a book about his experiences during the family’s journey entitled Inheriting the Trade: A Northern Family Confronts Its Legacy as the Largest Slave-Trading Dynasty in U.S. History (Beacon Press, 2008). Tom previously served as city councilor, county commissioner, and on the Oregon Arts Commission. He and his wife, Lindi, live in Oregon and have four grown children and three grandchildren. E-mail Tom at

Holly Fulton
Holly has been a French & ESL teacher and a diversity trainer in France, California, Massachusetts and Colorado. She lives in Peabody, MA, with her husband, Bill, and gives talks and facilitates discussions as outreach for Traces of the Trade. She’s active in music, theatre, her United Church of Christ community, and doing pet partner work in health care settings with her Golden Retriever, Cali. E-mail Holly at

Elly DeWolfe Hale
Elly grew up in Reno, Nevada. After studying East Asian Studies and living in Tokyo, she now lives in Seattle, Washington where she works at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Superfund cleanup projects. Elly has a passion for music of all kinds. E-mail Elly at

Ledlie Laughlin
Ledlie has been an Episcopal priest for 50 years, with parishes in Jersey City, Newark, Greenwich Village and Florence, Italy. Ledlie and his wife, Roxana, have three grown children and seven grandchildren. While Ledlie was Dean of the Cathedral in Newark, he helped bring about the merger of a small, white cathedral congregation with a large black middle class congregation. E-mail Ledlie at

Dain Perry
Dain participated in the documentary along with his brother, Jim, and nephew, James (below). He grew up in Charleston, South Carolina. He now lives in Boston and is recently retired. During the 1970s, he worked for a non-profit agency that promoted reform in the criminal justice system, particularly prison reform. Dain has been a member of his church vestry and has been an active volunteer in his community for many years, including serving on the boards of several nonprofit organizations. E-mail Dain at

James DeWolf Perry, VI
James is currently earning a Ph.D. in political science at Harvard University. His work focuses on international institutions and the evolution of norms in international relations, and includes the history of the transatlantic slave trade. In addition to appearing in the film, James served as the film’s principal historical consultant, and he now speaks and writes on the legacy of slavery and race. James attended law school at Columbia University and has done extensive volunteer work in urban settings. E-mail James at

Jim DeWolf Perry, V
Jim was born in Providence, Rhode Island and is now retired with his wife, Shirley. In his career, Jim served as a Foreign Service Officer (in Vietnam, Belgium, and Laos), as a manager for several non-profit organizations, and then as a management consultant. Jim was the Executive Director of the Big Brother Association of Boston when the association shifted to recruiting large numbers of African American men as big brothers. E-mail Jim at

Elizabeth Sturges Llerena
Elizabeth is an artist and art teacher who teaches in New York City public high schools. She grew up in Bristol, and has studied and lived in China. E-mail Elizabeth at

Colleagues

Juanita Brown
As co-producer, Juanita co-designed the journey and served as a facilitator for some of the filmed dialogues. Juanita is the Assistant Director for Development at the Coalition of Essential Schools, and has previously worked in educational policy and in constructing dialogues in schools on race, gender, and class. Juanita holds a bachelor’s degree from Stanford and a master’s in public policy from the University of California at Berkeley. A Chicago native, Juanita lives in San Francisco, where she enjoys dancing, writing and tea-warmed conversation.

Harold Fields
Harold facilitates a monthly city-wide racial dialogue in Denver that has lasted for ten years. He participated in the documentary because of his connections with two family members, Holly and Keila. He is active in restorative justice and racial reconciliation projects across the nation. He has over 30 years of systems development experience with IBM and the airline industry.

Spouses of DeWolf descendants

There are several spouses who are doing public work with the film.

Shirley Dunn Perry
Shirley is a registered nurse, poet and workshop facilitator. In Tucson, AZ she volunteers with Sunstone Cancer Center, teaching writing workshops and leading a cancer support group. As a YWCA volunteer she works with the Women’s Leadership program. She and her husband, Jim Perry, promote the documentary to encourage dialog about race.

William M. Peebles (Bill)
Bill is recently retired from a 15-year career as a mental health therapist and before that as a Presbyterian pastor for 12 years. He currently provides volunteer clinical services at the Salem, Mass. Mission for transitional housing, and is a volunteer as Development Associate for Community Change, Inc., a Boston organization dedicated to ending racism. Bill and Holly are active in the United Church of Christ using the film as part of the denomination’s “Sacred Conversation on Race” as well as with other organizations and venues.

Constance R. Perry
Constance is a self-employed national consultant, working in economically disadvantaged communities specializing in workforce and community development, and is a skilled trainer and facilitator. She is an active member of the Episcopal Church and sits on a number of diocesan committees. Although born and raised in Boston, Constance is a descendant of slaves in North Carolina. She and her husband, Dain Perry, live in Boston, and work together as a team to bring the film to Episcopal congregations and dioceses, as well as to schools.

Scholars and experts who appear in the film

Robert Addo-Fening
Professor of History, University of Ghana

Kofi Anyidoho
Professor of Literature, University of Ghana; award-winning poet

Ron Bailey
Professor, African American Studies, Northeastern University

Kevin E. Jordan
Architectural historian; Professor of Historic Preservation (retired), Roger Williams University

Glenn Loury
Merton P. Stoltz Professor of the Social Sciences, Brown University

Charles Ogletree
Executive Director, Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice and Jesse Climenko Professor of Law, Harvard University; Co-Chair, Reparations Coordinating Committee

Joanne Pope Melish
Associate Professor of History, University of Kentucky

Elizabeth Warren
Principal Historic Preservation Specialist (retired), Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission