Plus, The Atlantic City Free Public Library's "Magic of Kentucky Avenue" exhibit.
It was a great turnout and Ralph Hunter was in rare form last Saturday when the African-American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey (AAHMSNJ) was honored with the U.S. Postal Service’s unveiling of the Rosa Parks commemorative stamp on the 100th anniversary of her birth.
Hunter hosted an excellent program, which included remarks from public officials, local clergy and representatives from the U.S. Postal Service.
Shirley McCauley, niece of Rosa Parks, came from Louisville, KY, to deliver brief and heartwarming stories of her aunt, sharing with us that she had no idea how powerful her aunt’s actions had been at the time.
“She simply said she was too tired to get up and there were plenty of seats for the White man in the front of the bus.”
At least 20 African-American and national newspapers are also being displayed at the museum, including the New Times, New York Herald, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Black Dispatch, Detroit News and the Philadelphia Inquirer, reminding us of the many rebellions, insurrections and riots which took place not only in the 1960s but also the 1700s and 1800s.
Colorful chromogenic prints by artist Glennis Reed add a nice touch after the disturbing scenes from the newspapers. Her "Visions from the New California" inform us of the corner stores, storefront and community businesses which make up many California neighborhoods in the 21st century.
It’s worth the trip to get out to the AAHMSNJ in Newtonville for these exhibits.
You’ll also see more than 160 representations of U.S. postage stamps dedicated to African-American human rights activists, artists, legislators and others.
The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10am-4pm and is free (donations gratefully accepted), but it is worth so much more.
A smaller crowd gathered to reminisce about "KY and the Curb" last Wednesday night to kick off Black History Month.
This year, the Atlantic City Free Public Library is sharing part of its Heston collection entitled "The Magic of Kentucky Avenue," featuring about 25 photos of the Club Harlem and the many entertainers who performed there, as well as other businesses that once thrived on the historic block.
In his usual comic yet scholarly manner, Ralph Hunter gave a brief history of Newtonville, the historic black community in New Jersey where the African-American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey makes its home. He talked about the charcoal fields there, the workers, Dr. James Still, an herbalist and doctor who lived there.
Lawrence was born in Atlantic City on Sept. 7, 1917, and though he mostly grew up in Harlem, New York, he always had an affinity for the place of his birth.
It feels like this is truly the beginning of a real arts district in Atlantic City.
A banner with the name Slappy White on it hung across Kentucky Avenue all summer. The late comedian and actor (who died in Brigantine in 1995) was booked for the entire season at Atlantic City’s famed Club Harlem. On this particular summer night, however — July 24, 1964, to be precise — hanging above the banner was yet another banner. It read: “Sam Cooke.”
Aretha Franklin stops at the Taj Mahal Oct. 6. She chats with Atlantic City Weekly on her biopic, the upcoming presidential election, her favorite singers and a getaway long ago with Bob Dylan.
Right around the corner from my house and just a few blocks away, 10-20 women have been meeting and working on their quilts for more than 10 years.
With the current focus on non-gaming, family-friendly and cultural attractions in Atlantic City's future, here are some of the reasons why Ralph Hunter and the AAHMSNJ should have a home in Atlantic City:
Each Friday acweekly.com presents a new episode in the "Atlantic City History: Conversations & Storytelling" web video series, inspired by HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" series, and featuring the conversations on six selected topics between Atlantic City historians Vicki Gold Levi, All "Boo" Pergament, Pinky Kravitz, Ralph Hunter, Jim Waltzer and Israel Posner.
From Pop Lloyd to Pattie Harris to Nucky Johnson and the Northside, not to mention Nina Simone and Sam Cooke and other entertainers' connections to Atlantic City and region.
From Nelson Johnson and the original book to the Grammy-winning soundtrack, interviews with the cast and executives of the HBO show set in Atlantic City and the real stories behind the drama series.
There was a reason why I dedicated my book, Growing Up in the Other Atlantic City: Wash’s and the Northside, to all the families in Atlantic City, in addition to my own grandparents and children — I knew they had similar stories to tell.
Today, most funding comes from city grants, local businesses and casino donations.
Judge Nelson Johnson's latest book 'The Northside,' on Atlantic City's history of African-Americans, is missing key components says community leader. Johnson's previous book Boardwalk Empire was turned into the 2010 HBO series, the second season of which is filming now.
His white hair tufted beyond tolerance, the minister stepped into the barbershop and its buzz of bonhomie. Combs raked scalps, scissors snipped furiously, and the scent of lilac water suffused the air. Twenty minutes later, the clergyman stood from the pedestal-chair and surveyed his reshaped dome. The dark skin of his forehead glistened below the white fringe. He paid the barber and paused on the black rubber mat. “Am I good for another dime?” The barber grinned. “You bet.” And so he did — 10 cents on number 357, a wager to be rewarded only if the digits corresponded, respectively, to the last number on each of the day’s win-place-show handles at Aqueduct Racetrack, some 90 miles to the north. The “numbers,” or “policy,” game was a lottery before lotteries were legal. Nearly everyone in town played it even...
Pop Lloyd played professional baseball in the Negro Leagues from 1906 to 1932, as a shortstop, second baseman and first baseman, including two stints with the Bacharach Giants of Atlantic City. In 1910 he out-hit Ty Cobb in a Cuban winter league series — .500 to .385.
FIVE YEARS AGO THIS WEEK Atlantic City lost a treasure. I still carry around the late Sid Trusty’s faded yellow business card in my wallet. I got the opportunity to meet the man on a few occasions before he passed away on Aug. 16, 2004.
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