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American history resonates with the names of great African-American men and women. In celebration of Black History Month, Mercer County throughout the month remembers the local African-American pioneers no longer with us but who have left a mark on history.
John S. Watson (August 14, 1924 – June 15, 1996) was an African-American Democratic Party politician who served six terms in the New Jersey General Assembly, where he represented the 15th Legislative District.
Born in Camden, Watson served with the U.S. Merchant Marine fleet during World War II. In 1970, Watson became the first African-American elected to the Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders, and in 1977, he was appointed board chairperson. For 12 years, he was a member of the New Jersey State Assembly, where he served as Chairman of the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy at Thomas Edison State University in Trenton is named in his honor. John Watson’s daughter, Bonnie Watson Coleman, went on to serve in what was once his Assembly seat. Today, Watson Coleman is a member of the United States House of Representatives, the first African-American woman in New Jersey to claim that honor.
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S. Howard Woodson, Jr. (1916-1999) was the pastor of Trenton’s Shiloh Baptist Church, a leader in the Civil Rights movement, and the first African-American Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly. A native of Philadelphia, Woodson graduated from Cheney Training School for Teachers and Morehouse College’s School of Divinity. Ordained in 1941, he moved to Trenton five years later to become pastor of Shiloh. He became a leader of the local and state NAACP in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1962, Woodson was elected to Trenton City Council, and two years later he successfully ran for the New Jersey Assembly. When he became Speaker in 1974, he was the nation’s first African-American to serve in that capacity in any state. Woodson lived for many years on Edgewood Avenue in the city’s West Ward.
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
A Proud Heritage: The African American Presence and Contribution in the Sourland Mountain Region and Surrounding Areas
Monday, Feb. 10, 7 p.m., Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street, Princeton; 609-924-9529.
Talk by Elaine Buck and Beverly Mills, authors of "If These Stones Could Talk: African American Presence in the Hopewell Valley, Sourland Mountains, and Surrounding Regions of New Jersey."
Brothers on Broadway
Saturday, Feb. 22, 7:30 p.m., Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, 1 Memorial Drive, Trenton - 215-893-1999 - www.capitalphilharmonic.org
A tribute to Broadway's African American leading men, from Sammy Davis Jr. and Cab Calloway to Ben Vereen and Gregory Hines. Featuring Keith Spencer, baritone. $30-$65.
Black History Month Presentation: The Life and Legacy of Jack Sherrod
Thursday, Feb. 27, 7 p.m., Lawrence Headquarters Branch , 2751 Brunswick Pike, Lawrence; 609-883-8294
This presentation by historian Alvin Corbett will honor the Black History Month through the personal story of Jack Sherrod, showcasing his evolution from a slave to a United States Colored Troops soldier during the Civil War, and ultimately, to a free landowner. Registration is suggested. Call 609-883-8294 or email lawprogs@mcl.org.
Black History Month Program: Slavery to Now through Music
Saturday, February 29, 2 p.m., Lawrence Headquarters Branch, 2751 Brunswick Pike; Lawrence; 609-883-8294
This multi-segment program coordinated by The African American Cultural Collaborative of Mercer County will feature African drumming in the native lands form of communication; Spiritual Hymns while picking cotton (a skit) with Don Evans Players; church choir music; blues/jazz and rap. Registration is suggested. Call 609-883-8294 or email lawprogs@mcl.org.
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