Honoring Black History Month in Ewing: Issue 4
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.
FEATURED
2025 Trailblazer Awards Feb. 22
Lawrence High School is proud to recognize this year’s Trailblazer Award Recipients. Each year they honor local and statewide individuals who have had a lasting impact on the school and surrounding communities. With backgrounds ranging from non-profits, music, government, and law enforcement, this year’s honorees have blazed the trail for generations and undoubtedly for generations to come.
Please join them in congratulating these amazing trailblazers and join them for a special and unforgettable ceremony celebrating their achievements. The celebration program will feature inspiring stories, special guests, and a stirring keynote by Newark Mayor, Ras J. Baraka. Event is free and open to all.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
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
 Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
February 21 & 22, 8 p.m. | February 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
“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
Black History Month Expo
Lawrence High School’s Arts & Humanities Academy is hosting “Overcoming by Faith, Fortitude & Resistant,” Saturday, February 22, 2025 from 3 – 7 p.m.. This event is sponsored by Lawrence Township Education Association and features an array of moving performances and tributes by LHS students, faculty, and special guests. Upon arrival, attendees can expect to shop until they drop, as the celebration will begin at 3 p.m. with over 20 black business vendors. At 3:30 p.m. guests will be treated to a taste of cultural dishes, including African, Caribbean, and Soul Food cuisine. "Trailblazers" program begins at 5 p.m. in the auditorium.
'Live Black Museum'
Experience history like never before at the Live Black Museum, where youth step into the shoes of legendary Black figures and bring their stories to life!
As you walk through the museum, you’ll encounter historical figures dressed in character, delivering powerful monologues to share the impact and legacy of the individuals they represent.
The Live Black Museum is not just an event it’s an inspiring journey through Black history, led by the next generation. Join us as we honor the past, uplift the present, and empower the future through storytelling, education, and community engagement
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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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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