Here are some places in located in New Jersey that are important to African-American history, state history and national history. Some sites are closed to the public and can only be viewed from outside.
Dr. James Still “The Black Doctor of the Pines”
"Dr. James Still (1812-1885), a renowned herbalist and homeopathic healer, was born at Indian Mills and resided in Burlington County most of his life." (https://www.medfordhistory.org/drstillcenter/index.php)
Early Recollections and Life of Dr. James Still (freely available on Internet Archive)
Still, J. (1877). Early recollections and life of Dr. James Still. J.B. Lippincott & Co. https://archive.org/details/earlyrecollectio00stil/page/n6/mode/2up
William Still was a famous abolitionist born in Burlington County, New Jersey. His book on the Underground Railroad is freely available on Project Gutenberg (linked below)
image from https://www.kpbs.org/news/2012/feb/13/underground-railroad-william-still-story/
Still, W. (1872). The Underground Railroad A Record Of Facts, Authentic Narrative, Letters, &C., Narrating the Hardships, Hair-breadth Escapes and Death Struggles Of The Slaves in their efforts of Freedom, As Related By Themselves And Others, Or Witnessed By The Author; Together With Sketches Of Some Of The Largest Stockholders, And Most Liberal Aiders And Advisers, Of The Road. Philadelphia, PA: Porter & Coates. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/15263/15263-h/15263-h.htm
William Still and the Underground Railroad by Thomas Mundy Peterson of Perth Amboy, NJ, was the first African American to vote in the nation under the newly ratified Fifteenth Amendment (https://discovernjhistory.org/thomas-mundy-petersons-historic-vote-2/)
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
"Black is Beautiful"
John S. Rock was born in Salem, NJ. John S. Rock was a man of many talents: teacher, doctor, centist, lawyer, abolitionist, and helped assemble the first officially-recognized African American Unit in the Union Army during the American Civil War. (https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/rock-john-s-1825-1866/)
"He was the first African-American elected to the Boston School Board and served as surgeon in the 2nd Battalion of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia from 1871 to 1874." (https://perspectivesofchange.hms.harvard.edu/node/42)
Dr. James Thomas Still wrote articles, journals and books. One of his pamphlets, "Don't Tell White Folk" is freely available on Internet Archive:
Still, J. T. (1889). Don't Tell White Folks or Light Out of Darkness. Boston, MA. https://archive.org/details/donttellwhitefol00stil/page/n3/mode/2up
Florence Spearing Randolph was pastor of Wallace Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church in Summit, New Jersey, a leader of the women's suffrage movement, organized the New Jersey State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs (NJFCWC) in 1915, a member of the Executive Committee of New Jersey's Suffrage Association, and was President of the Missionary Society of New Jersey. (http://www.summithistoricalsociety.org/historian/2016/3/26/the-rev-florence-randolph-pastor-of-wallace-chapel-helped-spearhead-womens-suffrage)
The manuscripts of Florence Spearing Randolph are housed at the New Jersey Historical Society https://jerseyhistory.org/manuscript-group-321-florence-spearing-randolph-1866-1951-african-methodist-episcopal-minister-papers-1895-1960/
Dr. George E. Cannon of Jersey City founded a savings & loan bank to serve the local black-own businesses and established the Frederick Douglass Film Company and produced films that portrayed black people in a positive light.
Gomez, J. (2014). Legendary locals of Jersey City, New Jersey. Charleston, SC: Legendary Locals. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/
James Dickson Carr was Rutgers' first African-American graduate. Carr went on to become a lawyer and one of New York City's first black judges. In 2017, Rutgers renamed the library on the Livingston campus after James Dickson Carr (https://alumni.rutgers.edu/awards-recognition/hall-of-distinguished-alumni/james-dickson-carr/)
Walter G. Alexander was a physician, president of the National Medical Association, appointed to the State Board of Health, and the first African-American to the New Jersey State Assembly
(The United States Commission on Civil Rights. (1963). Hearings Before the United States Commission on Civil Rights: Newark, New Jersey, September 11-12, 1962. Pg.507. Available from Google Books)
Poet, novelist, editor, Literary Editor of The Crisis, and teacher https://poets.org/poet/jessie-redmon-fauset
(https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jessie-Redmon-Fauset)
The Sleeper Wakes by
In recent years there has been an explosion of interest in the art and culture of the Harlem Renaissance. Yet this significant collection is the first definitive edition of Harlem Renaissance stories by women. The writers include Gwendolyn Bennett, Jessie Redmon Fauset, Angelina Weld Grimké, Zora Neale Hurston, Nella Larsen, Alice Dunbar-Nelson, and Dorothy West. Published originally in periodicals such as The Crisis, Fire!!, and Opportunity, these twenty-seven stories have until now been virtually unavailable to readers. These stories are as compelling today as they were in the 1920s and 1930s. In them, we find the themes of black and white racial tension and misunderstanding, economic deprivation, passing, love across and within racial lines, and the attempt to maintain community and uplift the race. Marcy Knopf's introduction surveys the history of the Harlem Renaissance, the periodicals and books it generated, and describes the rise to prominence of these women writers and their later fall from fame. She also includes a brief biography of each of the writers. Nellie Y. McKay's foreword analyzes the themes and concerns of the stories.
(https://newjerseyglobe.com/trailblazer/trailblazer-assemblywoman-madaline-williams/)
Teacher, New Jersey's first black assembly-woman, youth advisior advisor of the local NAACP, vice president of East Orange League of Women Voters, appointed to the NJ Migrant Labor Board, and selected to represent NJ at the Assembly at the National Civil War Centennial Commission.
Not only Rutgers' first African-American football player, a singer, and actor, but a top scholar admitted to both Phi Beta Kappa and Cap and Skull, Paul Robeson was a global activist. https://news.rutgers.edu/celebrating-life-paul-robeson/20190122#.XkxEKFRKjcs
Rutgers' Camden campus' library is named after Paul Robeson.
Paul Robeson by
This work presents a kaleidoscopic portrait of Paul Robeson (1898-1976), the All-American football player, Phi Beta Kappa Rutgers College graduate, who became a world-renowned actor, singer and motion picture star, and America's first African American politically-engaged performing artist. Coming to maturity during the Harlem Renaissance, Robeson starred in Eugene O'Neill's plays, sang spirituals in concert houses throughout Europe, headlined three productions of Othello, and created enduring roles in such movies as "The Emperor Jones" (1933), "Song of Freedom" (1936) and "The Proud Valley" (1940). But Robeson was also an African American who reacted against negative representations of blacks in his films "Sanders of the River" (1935) and "Tales of Manhattan" (1942) by criticizing racism in the media and ultimately refusing to make more films. A robust political intellectual, Robeson shaped the Leftist critique of fascism, championed the rights of workers and oppressed minorities on his travels around the world, and became one of America's most outspoken critics of racism after World War II. During the Cold War his steadfast defense of the Soviet Union was seized upon by the media, the United States government and McCarthyites, unfortunately tarnishing his name and achievements. This collection of essays by some of America's most respected scholars and intellectuals - published on the centenary of his birth - is designed to remind contemporary Americans of Robeson's accomplishments and provide a fresh assessment of his contributions.
Black New Jersey by
Winner of the 2019 Richard P. McCormick Prize from the New Jersey Historical Commission​ Black New Jersey tells the rich and complex story of the African American community's remarkable accomplishments and the colossal obstacles they faced along the way. Drawing from rare archives, historian Graham Russell Gao Hodges brings to life the courageous black men and women who fought for their freedom and eventually built a sturdy and substantial middle class. He explores how the state's unique mix of religious, artistic, and cultural traditions have helped to produce such world-renowned figures as Paul Robeson, Cory Booker, and Queen Latifah, as well as a host of lesser-known but equally influential New Jersey natives.