Honoring Black History Month in Ewing: Issue 3
February is Black History Month, a time to recognize and celebrate the many contributions of Black Americans to our nation’s history, culture, and progress. In a community as richly diverse as Ewing, and in a state that reflects that same diversity, there are countless ways to honor this important month.
If you have an event you’d like to share, we’d love to hear about it—just click the button below to submit your event.
Let’s come together to celebrate, learn, and uplift the stories that continue to shape our community and our country.
Mayor Bert H. Steinmann
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Exploring Black History in Ewing
Throughout February, Ewing Township Historic Preservation Society (ETHPS) is sharing weekly educational slides in our Ewing Insights newsletter, highlighting the history of African Americans in Ewing Township. These features are based on their 2024 exhibit, Blacks in Ewing: From Slavery to the Civil War, which traces the presence of Black residents in Ewing from the early 18th century through emancipation.
ETHPS’s mission includes developing a deeper understanding of history, and their extensive research has helped shed light on the lives of enslaved individuals and free Black residents who lived and worked in Ewing. Their exhibit, now permanently displayed at the Benjamin Temple House, provides important insight into this local history within the broader state and national context.
We invite you to discover this important part of Ewing’s past through these weekly features. To learn more, stop by the Benjamin Temple House or check out the ETHPS website at www.ethps.org.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Clifford Ward: I'LL MAKE ME A WORLD, prologue, Artworks Trenton
Through April 12
An exhibition that brings together selected works from multiple series of works by Ward, celebrating the intersection of Ward's artistic journey with the imaginative and forward-looking spirit of Afrofuturism. Curated by Addison Vincent, artistic director of Artworks, this exhibition represents a unique collaboration between Artworks Trenton and Grounds For Sculpture. The Artworks Trenton exhibition is a first look at select pieces to be featured in GFS' upcoming exhibition, "Clifford Ward: I'll Make Me a World," opening in May. On view through April 12. 19 Everett Alley, Trenton, 609-394-9436. www.artworkstrenton.org
Friday, Feb. 14, 3 to 4 p.m., Hopewell Community Room, Hopewell Branch.
Hopewell Branch Mercer County Library. Celebrate the birthday of Frederick Douglass, in partnership with Hope Rises Up! Teens are invited to participate in a variety of ways:
- Perform pieces they wrote or recite their favorite poems; or
- Submit either artwork or a written essay for display with a chance to win a prize. (Please note: Art work and essays are due by Monday, February 10 to the Hopewell Branch Library.)
All are welcome to join us for the exhibit as others share their thoughts and experiences. Light refreshments served.
Registration is requested.
Black History Month Program
Saturday, Feb. 15, 2 p.m., Trenton War Memorial (George Washington Ballroom). $10.
Event Description: The Trenton Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., in partnership with the Trenton Fortitude Corporation presents their annual Black History Month Program entitled: "Motown Magic: A Legacy of Rhythm and Revolution."
Ticket Purchase Link: https://tinyurl.com/TACBLACKHISTORY2025
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
February 14, 15, 21 & 22, 8 p.m. | February 16 & 23, 2 p.m.
MTM Players featuring Special Guest Director Diane L. Parker at Mercer County Community College's Kelsey Theatre - 1200 Old Trenton Rd, Trenton
(609) 570 3333 | boxoff@mccc.edu | kelsey.mccc.edu
It's 1967 and a progressive white couple's proud liberal sensibilities are tested when their daughter brings her Black fiancé home to meet them in this fresh and relevant stage adaptation of the iconic film. Blindsided by their daughter's whirlwind romance, Matt and Christina Drayton quickly come to realize the difference between supporting a mixed-race couple in your newspaper and welcoming one into your family. However, they aren't the only ones with concerns about the match, and soon a multi-family clash of racial and generational difference sweeps across the Draytons' idyllic San Francisco terrace. At the end of the day, will the love between young Joanna and John prevail? With humor and insight, this drama begins a conversation sure to continue at dinner tables long after the curtain comes down.. PG13
*Ticket Cost: $22/20
Alma's Rainbow - Free Film Screening
February 16, 11 a.m.
Underwritten by the YWCA of Princeton at Princeton Garden Theater, 160 Nassau St, Princeton
(609) 279-1999 | princetongardentheatre.org
One of the first feature films written, produced, and directed by an African American woman. Alma's Rainbow is a coming-of-age story about Rainbow Gold, a Brooklyn teenager who searches for meaning as she confronts her newfound feelings for boys, unrealistic beauty standards, and the fundamental question of women's autonomy over their own bodies. Throughout her exploration, she reflects on the lives of the two adult women closest to her: her uptight mother Alma and her flamboyant Aunt Ruby. This film is a significant contribution to ‘90s independent Black cinema and remains relevant in contemporary discussions. Presented in a new restoration.
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Saturday February 15, 2025
7:30 PM
GRAMMY Award-winning artist Meshell Ndegeocello brings her new album to life in an unforgettable live performance. Nearly a decade in the making, No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin is a profound musical journey that channels the timeless words of James Baldwin through Ndegeocello’s genre-defying artistry. A multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, and producer, Ndegeocello infuses Baldwin’s exploration of race, sexuality, religion, and identity with her own unique blend of soulful melodies, jazz, funk, and spoken word.
Click here for more information
Wednesday, Feb. 19, Virtual program. 7 p.m. The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots and airmen who fought in World War II. They were the first African American military aviators in the U.S. armed forces. Trained on five airfields surrounding Tuskegee University in Alabama, their training was the first desegregated training to take place within a segregated U.S. military. It became the first dramatic move forward to racial and social equality within America. This presentation will cover the history of the formation of the Tuskegee Airmen, the unit’s wartime accomplishments and the unit’s overall affect on American society. Presented by Paul E. Zigo, a history professor, author and military historian is the founder and director, of the World War II Era Studies Institute.
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Art Exhibit - When They Were Here: the African American Experience During Slavery
Local Artist Beverly Keese-Kelley: Thursday, Feb. 20, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 8 p.m.
Ms. Keese-Kelley is on the Trenton Museum Society's Board of Trustees and is also Chair of the Ewing Arts Commission. She is a volunteer at the 1719 William Trent House and the Princeton University Museum of Art, and has received a Proclamation of Honor for her art from the Mercer County Board of Commissioners.
NJ Slavery and the Underground Railroad, Lawrence Branch
Thursday, Feb. 20, 6:30 p.m. 2751 Brunswick Pike Lawrenceville. 609-883-8292
Celebrate Black History Month with Richard Moody, an enthusiastic amateur historian, as he deepens our understanding of slavery and the Underground Railroad (UGRR) in New Jersey. His presentation delves into the origins of the slave trade, the harrowing Middle Passage, and the gradual abolition of slavery in New Jersey and neighboring states. Moody highlights the crucial roles of "Conductors" and "Safe Houses" in aiding escaping slaves, featuring notable figures like Harriet Tubman and William Still. He also details the routes taken by escaping slaves through New Jersey, emphasizing the significance of various locations and individuals in the Underground Railroad network.
Heart & Soul: Slide into better health!
Thursday, February 20, 6 to 8 p.m., RWJ Fitness & Wellness Center (3100 Quakerbridge Rd, Hamilton)
Cost: $10 (Registration to be completed online; payment will be collected at the door)
Event Description: Join the Physical & Mental Health Committee of TAC, as they partner with Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health-Hamilton and NCBW- Central New Jersey Chapter, for our 3rd Annual "Heart & Soul" event! There will be health screenings, heart health resources, zumba, line dancing and light refreshments will be provided.
Registration Link: https://www.rwjbh.org/events/register/?Event=47209
“Four Centuries of African American Soldiers”
Lecture by history professor Timothy Walker. “Four Centuries of African American Soldiers” on February 22 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., William Trent House Museum at 15 Market Street in Trenton. In the museum, a drop-in living history program including military artifacts, reenactors, and military veterans sharing their own personal stories. williamtrenthouse.org
MLK Silhouette Craft
Sunday, February 23, 2 to 3 p.m., Ewing Branch, Mercer County Library
Join us to celebrate and learn about Martin Luther King Jr. Children ages 5 and up are invited to create their own MLK Jr. silhouette craft. Materials will provide by the Library. Sponsored by the Friends of the Ewing Library.
The Underground Railroad in New Jersey
Sunday, Feb. 23, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Rick Geffken presents the 2nd annual Ruth Barringer Lecture for the Lawrence Historical Society, Lawrence High School, 2525 Princeton Pike, Lawrenceville.
Enslaved people had run away from their owners for years before their methods and routes became known as the Underground Railroad. The most travelled route through New Jersey for runaways paralleled the Delaware River from Salem County to Trenton. From there, the escapees cut across the narrow part of New Jersey as they headed for New York. Black and white people supported runaways on their perilous journeys to freedom. This illustrated presentation will look at the history of enslavement in New Jersey, the Quakers who lobbied for manumission, and people involved in the Underground Railroad.
Cadwalader Lecture Series: Black Soldiers in America’s Wars with John Rees, Morven Museum & Garden
Thursday, Feb. 27, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
The Princeton Battlefield Society (PBS) and Morven Museum & Garden are pleased to host the 2nd Cadwalader Lecture featuring local author and historian John Rees. Rees will discuss the largely unknown and under-appreciated role Black soldiers played in the fight for Independence at Princeton and the American Revolution.
Rees is the author of the newly released Don Troiani’s Black Soldiers in America’s Wars, 1754-1865, written with prominent military artist Don Troiani. Copies of the book will be available for sale and signing by the author. The evening will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a reception and refreshments followed by the talk at 7:00 p.m.
Click here for more information
Vendors wanted for 2025 Black Biz Expo
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