The First Rhode Island Regiment: Forgotten Valor in the Cause of Liberty

The Friends of the Desmond-Fish Public Library will welcome Dr. Aaron Mair as the featured speaker for the Martin Luther King, Jr. day of observance, Monday, January 19 at 1 p.m.  Dr. Mair is a renowned public health analyst and activist for environmental justice. A Peekskill native and SUNY Binghamton graduate, Dr. Mair became a fighter for the environment in Albany, founding the W. Haywood Burns Environmental Education Center and the Arbor Hill Environmental Justice Corporation.

In 2015, Dr. Mair  became the first Black president of the Sierra Club.  More recently, Dr. Mair has served as director of the “Forever Adirondacks” policy initiative of the Adirondacks Council.  In October 2025, he was honored with the Paul Schaefer Wilderness Award by the advocacy non-profit, Adirondack Wild. While Dr. Mair’s environmental work will continue, a passion for history is what brings him to the Desmond-Fish Public Library.

These days, his enthusiasm is focused on the people and events of the American Revolution 250 years ago, when Americans of all colors fought for freedom. Dr. Mair is deeply involved with the history of the Ist Rhode Island Regiment, in which Black, white, and Native American soldiers bravely served and fought side by side.  In 1781, they fought in the Battle of Pines Bridge, in nearby Yorktown Heights. Dr. Mair is advocating for further recognition of the men who served, hoping for a lasting freedom. He is shown with reenactors at the monument to the Pines Bridge struggle located in Yorktown Heights.

Don’t miss Dr. Mair on January 19 as he shares the inspiring stories of the brave Black soldiers who fought for the Patriot cause in the American Revolution.