Afro-American Historical and Cultural Society Museum
Encyclopedia
The Afro-American Historical and Cultural Society Museum is located is on the upper floor of the Miller Branch of the Jersey City, New Jersey
Public Library, its collection is dedicated to the African American
experience.
The museum has galleries for lectures, special exhibits, and a permanent collection of material culture of New Jersey's African Americans as well as African artifacts. The collection includes books, newspapers, documents, photographs and memorabilia regarding African American history and information about the slave trade in New Jersey
, the underground railroad, a replica of an urban 1930s kitchen, the Pullman Porters
(a black labor union), the Civil Rights Movement, the NAACP in New Jersey, New Jersey"s historic African American churches, and genealogical records.
The heritage of Jersey City"s African American community has been collected and preserved in a special collection, including the city's earliest black residents (in the 17th century Bergen, New Netherland
settlement), its role in the Underground Railroad
, and the civil rights movement, including Martin Luther King's appearances.
), Theodore Brunson, (lay historian in Afro-American history), Mrs. Nora Fant (long time and activist resident of Jersey City), and Mrs. Virginia Dunnaway (community worker and teacher). It later became a non-profit organization. In 1984, the Afro-American Historical Society Museum obtained its current home, granted by the trustees of the library. During his term, Glenn Dale Cunningham, the only African American
mayor of Jersey City
, brought attention to the work and collection of the small museum.
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
Public Library, its collection is dedicated to the African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
experience.
The museum has galleries for lectures, special exhibits, and a permanent collection of material culture of New Jersey's African Americans as well as African artifacts. The collection includes books, newspapers, documents, photographs and memorabilia regarding African American history and information about the slave trade in New Jersey
History of slavery in New Jersey
Slavery in New Jersey began in the early 17th century shortly after Dutch settlement. After England took the colony in 1664, it continued the importation of slaves from Africa, and for a time imported enslaved Native Americans from the Carolinas and the West Indies...
, the underground railroad, a replica of an urban 1930s kitchen, the Pullman Porters
Pullman porters
Pullman porters were men hired by George Pullman to work on the railroads as porters on sleeping cars. Starting shortly after the American Civil War, George Pullman sought out former slaves to work on his sleeper cars.-History:...
(a black labor union), the Civil Rights Movement, the NAACP in New Jersey, New Jersey"s historic African American churches, and genealogical records.
The heritage of Jersey City"s African American community has been collected and preserved in a special collection, including the city's earliest black residents (in the 17th century Bergen, New Netherland
Bergen, New Netherland
Bergen was a part of the 17th century province of New Netherland, in the area in northeastern New Jersey along the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers that would become contemporary Hudson and Bergen Counties...
settlement), its role in the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
, and the civil rights movement, including Martin Luther King's appearances.
History
Begun as a grass-roots committee in the 1970s, the Afro-American Historical Society was formed by Captain Thomas Taylor (president of the Jersey City branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored PeopleNational Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
), Theodore Brunson, (lay historian in Afro-American history), Mrs. Nora Fant (long time and activist resident of Jersey City), and Mrs. Virginia Dunnaway (community worker and teacher). It later became a non-profit organization. In 1984, the Afro-American Historical Society Museum obtained its current home, granted by the trustees of the library. During his term, Glenn Dale Cunningham, the only African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
mayor of Jersey City
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
, brought attention to the work and collection of the small museum.
See also
- Exhibitions in Hudson County
- List of museums focused on African Americans
- List of museums in New Jersey