Historic Happenings Blog

Tuesday, June 16 NJPAC, Rise Up North, and the City of Newark are hosting a program,"Protest to Power: The Making of Newark's First Black Mayor," next Tuesday, June 16 at 7:00pm (via Zoom) commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the election of Ken Gibson as Newark’s first African American Mayor.  You can get more information and register at:  https://www.njpac.org/event/protest-to-power-the-making-of-newarks-first-black-mayor-ken-gibson/CdlySmzw This "Gibson Virtual Teach-In” will look at the issues, the confrontations, the players, and the coalitions that propelled Ken Gibson into city hall. The conversation will be among veterans of the 1960s-70s who helped make Mayor Gibson’s election possible (Fred Means, Miguel Rodriguez, and Vicky Donaldson) and younger advocates, not yet born in 1970 when he was elected the first time, but who have their own ideas about Power. PS -- If you want to dig deeper into that period, check out the videos of a couple Newark Hi...

Garden State Legacy  is pleased to announce it will be releasing a  special issue  dedicated to the role of New Jersey in the fight for the Nineteenth Amendment giving women the vote. It is scheduled for release by February 1, 2020, in time to mark the centennial of New Jersey’s ratification of the Amendment on February 9, 1920. Articles currently in progress include an overview of women’s suffrage in NJ and pieces focusing on Vineland’s place in the early fight and the role of state’s African-American, Jewish, and immigrant suffragists—even anti-suffragists will be discussed. GSL appreciates the contributions of its authors and has a policy of playing an honorarium of $100 for pieces over 2,500 words. We are planning for six articles and so need to raise a minimum of $600 to compensate the writers. Anything over that will go into the pot to fund GSL’s normal issues through 2020. This is a great opportunity to show your support for women’s suffrage history, GSL’s talented...

May 15, 2019 to September 27, 2019 9:00 am to 6:00 pm Haine's Building Atrium, 54 Halsey Street, Newark, NJ

Monday, September 16 – Essex County The Essex County Park System: A Solution to Newark’s Struggle for Parkland Monday, September 16, 2019 at 6pm Presenter: Kathy Kauhl, Archivist, Essex County Parks The Chase Room, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center Street, Newark, NJ. Sponsored by the  Newark History Society. Please RSVP by September 12 to NewarkHistorySoc@gmail.com Open to the public at no charge.

NJCAR Regional Kick Off Meetings New Jersey arts, history and cultural organizations are invited to learn more about the NJ Cultural Alliance for Response, to build regional networks and find resources to better prepare your organization for emergencies both large and small. Goals: ·        Strengthen preparedness efforts ·        Bring the cultural heritage and performing arts communities together to facilitate more effective emergency planning locally and across the state ·        Provide a forum to network with the emergency planning community Locations and Dates : North Jersey - 6/12/19 10:00 am - 12:00 pm  NJPAC New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center Street, Newark, NJ 07102 North Jersey - Bergen, Essex, Morris, Passaic, Sussex and Warren Central Jersey - Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Somerset and Union South Jersey - Atla...

Telling Untold Histories   New Jersey's Annual Unconference!  Telling Untold Histories Unconference 2019  We all tell stories. But how we tell those stories changes depending on who and where we are and on the conditions of our lives and institutions. People of color, women, LGBTQ and gender nonconforming people and people with differing abilities have used various strategies-from whisper networks and kitchen conversations to protests and public demonstrations-to speak truth when society prefers they remain silent. Either way can make change, but as Maya Angelou wrote, "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."  Telling Untold Histories - New Jersey's annual unconference that looks for human stories yet to be told - will explore these histories on April 26, 2019 in the Paul Robeson's Campus Center at Rutgers-University Newark. Artist Marisa Williamson will give a  keynote , "Ghosts and Other Unseen Subjects." Six skills-based ...

Wednesday, April 17 – Essex County     At 2:30 pm:  "Agitate! The Legacy of Frederick Douglass and Abolition in Newark,"  for the renaming of the Rutgers Alumni Field to the Frederick Douglass Field located at Warren Street and University Avenue. This event is open to the public, but we are asked to RSVP using this link:  http://bit.ly/FDAgitate     170 years ago, famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass visited the African American community in Newark to fundraise for The North Star newspaper and to rally action around the abolition of slavery. He gave a speech at the Plane Street Colored Church, located at the site which is now Rutgers-Newark’s Frederick Douglass Field. Join the Rutgers-Newark community and descendants of Douglass and other prominent 19th century African Americans in commemorating Newark's historic abolitionist community in words and...