When I accepted my professor’s offer to put me in contact with a representative from the Brooksville Historical Society, my own readiness shocked me. I knew I would be living and working among strangers and tackling a formidable project, yet I was eager to pack up my car and drive 26 hours from Miami, Florida to a land far, far away (in every sense). After in May with my Bachelor’s Degree in History I had not imagined I could be working in the field I was so passionate about, so quickly. I am thrilled to share some of the progress I have made. 

The change begun here at the Historical Society before my arrival in late August has only accelerated over the past few months. The office space on the display floor was demolished on September 22^nd. After the room was thoroughly cleaned (a project that involved the removal of numerous bird nests previously nestled amid the pink insulation), it became clear the freed-up space would be a huge asset to future exhibit plans. Indeed the existing exhibits are getting a much-needed facelift and a temporary exhibit space will soon be available for rotating “themes.” These changes should allow the historical society to showcase more it its collection and engage with a wide range of historical subjects and time periods.    

Throughout my time here I have also maintained a focus on collections management. After a long, frustrating battle with Microsoft Access, the database was transferred to an Excel spreadsheet. This switch has allowed us to manipulate the layout and get a handle on our collections; I have been able to remove duplicate entries and mark objects for potential deaccession, while organizing each object into an exhibit category. The spreadsheet has been uploaded to a new laptop computer and I have spearheaded a tutorial, held during the monthly meeting in November, to familiarize the board members with the updated system. 

I have also been involved in a number of smaller projects. Two weeks ago, Connie Henkel donated a collection of birth, death, and marriage certificates from the early 20^thcentury. I wrote worksheets for each certificate – in an attempt to transcribe the valuable genealogical information contained – and organized them into three separate binders. I then made alphabetical indices for each collection. The binders are now ready to go up onto shelves in our new archive room, a project making great strides as winter approaches – our last step is simply to paint the walls! Looking forward, my next project will involve labelling each object in the collection. I have conducted a significant amount of research on the proper labelling techniques for different materials like wood, fabric, and paper, and I have experimented with the use of Acryloid B-72 lacquer, a clear and reversible coating that can allow us to number objects without damaging them. This November, I began labeling boxes of material with their proper accession number and I certainly have a long road ahead of me. 

Brooksville’s collection is full of wonderful surprises, from finely preserved letters featuring beautiful (and nearly impossible to read) handwriting, to unique early 19^thc. refrigerators posing as unassuming blanket chests, and I am certain current changes will allow the museum to become the community resource and the “hidden gem” it should be. I sincerely thank everyone on the board for allowing me to fiddle around with the Society’s artifacts and welcoming a youngster from Florida with open arms.  

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Black New Jersey, 1664 to the present day uncovers 350 years of slavery and its legacies among the fifth largest black population in the United States. Slavery existed in New Jersey from the origins of the colony, through gradual emancipation starting in 1804, and was not extinguished in the state until national passage of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865. During the American Revolution and after, hundreds of black Jerseyans fled to the British lines or to port cities seeking freedom. Their actions, more than the Gradual Emancipation of 1804, hastened the end of slavery in the state. New Jersey slave masters were notorious for illegal sales of free black people to the slave South; in Bergen County, across the Hudson River from New York City, masters held tight to enslaved people for decades. After the Civil War, Jim Crow segregation curtailed black freedoms into the 1960s. 

            The alternative history of Black New Jerseyresides in the courage and resilience of its people. A few examples: during the American Revolution Colonel Tye, a self-emancipated slave from Shrewsbury, left his master in 1775 and later returned to command bands of blacks and whites against Patriots. The famous Underground Railroad operator Harriet Tubman started her Underground Railroad career in Cape May, New Jersey. Cape May was one of numerous “black towns” along the southern Jersey shore that acted as places of succor and transport for self-emancipated slaves from the South. Paul Robeson – actor, singer, athlete, activist – was perhaps the greatest person born and raised in New Jersey. He came from a distinguished family in Princeton. Marion Thompson Wright from Newark rose from poverty to become in 1940 the first black woman to earn a doctorate in the field of history. She then had a distinguished career in the Education Department at Howard University. Amiri Baraka, a playwright and poet from Newark, epitomized recent black activist/artists. After gaining fame in New York City as a beat poet, Baraka returned to Newark and embraced a fierce black nationalism. Today, Corey Booker, a Rhodes Scholar and former Mayor of Newark, is now New Jersey’s U.S. Senator. He may run for president in 2020. Theirs are but a few of the great human accounts in Black New Jersey. 

In addition to his new book, Professor Hodges has received a National Endowment for the Humanities research grant to support his next major book project, “Black Flight from Slavery in the Americas, 1500-1856.”

Written by Graham Hodges, Professor of History

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