Newark Public Library Presents 'Black Power! 19th Century'

Newark NJ

16 July, 2021

1:17 PM

Description

NEWARK NJ —The Newark Public Library recently opened an exhibit called "Black Power! 19th Century: Newark's First African American Rebellion," which examines Black history on a global and local scale, the library said. The exhibit is on the second floor of the library's main branch, 5 Washington Street, through August 31. It also can be viewed virtually online. According to a release, the exhibit presents research about slavery, the Underground Railroad and local Black churches, and it shows the connection between Black activism in the 1800s and Newark's 1960s Black Power Movement. In the exhibit, different methods are used to tell the story of the 19th-Century Black experience. There are artifacts, including shackles that were found on a New Jersey plantation and are over 250 years old. There also are multimedia presentations about topics like the outlawing of public gatherings of Black residents in Newark and the importance of Black churches in creating a sense of freedom. Attendees also will learn how prominent Black leaders like Frederick Douglass, Mary B. Talbert, W.E.B. Dubois and Booker T. Washington were welcomed into Newark's Black community. Additionally, there is information about Samuel Cornish, co-editor of Freedom's Journal, the country's first African American newspaper, who lived in Newark for many years. The exhibit was researched and curated by Noelle Lorraine Williams, a Newark-based historian who has received the Giles Wright Award for her contributions to African American history in New Jersey. "I was inspired to create the exhibition after doing extensive research on Newark's early African American community," Williams said. "I want visitors to understand the long history of African American contributions and activism in New Jersey, as well as how Blacks worked against slavery here and in other states." Newark Public Library received a project grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State, for fabrication of the exhibit, the library said.