New Hope Baptist Church in Newark
Newark Heritage Sites
Institute of Jazz Studies
DESCRIPTION: Founded in 1952 by Marshall Stearns, today it is one of the world’s best centers of jazz archives and research. Mr Stearn’s collection moved to this permanent home in 1966. The astounding collection consists of 100,000+ sound recordings, 5,000 books, 30,000 photos, 7,000 pieces of sheet music and research files on oral histories related to Jazz. The research facility on the 4th floor, John C. Dana Library, is state-of-the-art.
DAYS & HOURS: Mon-Fri 9a-4:30p
ADDRESS: 185 University Avenue at Rutgers University-Newark, Newark, NJ MAP
RAPID TRANSIT: Washington Park Station
PHONE: 973-353-5595
WEBSITE: http://newarkwww.rutgers.edu/IJS
Aljira
DESCRIPTION: Multicultural contemporary art center known for its rotating exhibits and events. If you catch them at the right time you can see wonderful works of art by emerging African-American artists from New Jersey.
DAYS & HOURS: Wed-Fri 12a-6p, Sat 12a-4p and by appt
ADDRESS: 2 Washington Place, Newark, NJ MAP
RAPID TRANSIT: Grove Street Station
PHONE: 973-643-6877
WEBSITE: http://www.aljira.org
James Brown African American Room
DESCRIPTION: This large room on the first floor of the library collects and interprets more than 10,000 artworks, magazines, books and programs about African American history and culture.
DAYS & HOURS: Mon-Fri
ADDRESS: 5 Washington Street in Newark Public Library, Newark, NJ MAP
RAPID TRANSIT: Grove Street Station
PHONE: 973-733-7735
WEBSITE: http://www.npl.org/pages/Collections/afroam.html
Krueger-Scott Mansion
DESCRIPTION: A restored mansion serves as home for a number of cultural groups in the region.
DAYS & HOURS: varies depending on events
ADDRESS: 601 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Newark, NJ MAP
RAPID TRANSIT: none
PHONE: 973-733-3748
WEBSITE: none
New Hope Baptist Church
DESCRIPTION: Constructed in 1874, the church is seen as a bedrock of the community. The congregation was established in 1903 by two women in their home. It is the home church of Whitney Houston and her mother Cissy Houston. Cissy was music director while young Whitney sang in the choir. The church hosted Whitney’s memorial service in February 2012. They are currently battling “fans versus fanatics” issue but winning through the higher purpose of bringing people to Christ. Every January, they take students to Juliard for the MLK program.
SUNDAY WORSHIP: 6:30a, 7:45a, 10:45a
ADDRESS: 106 Sussex Avenue, Newark, NJ MAP
RAPID TRANSIT: Norfolk & Central Station
PHONE: 973-622-4547
WEBSITE: http://www.newhopenewark.org
Clinton Memorial AME Zion Church
DESCRIPTION: Organized in 1903, the building was purchased by the oldest AME Zion congregation of New Jersey in 1930; National Registrar of Historic Places.
SUNDAY WORSHIP: 10:30a
ADDRESS: 151 Broadway, Newark, NJ MAP
RAPID TRANSIT: Newark-Broad Street Station
PHONE: 973-481-6142
WEBSITE: none
Greater Mount Moriah Baptist Church
DESCRIPTION: One of the older church buildings and congregations in Newark; located a block from John’s Place Restaurant.
SUNDAY WORSHIP: 11a
ADDRESS: 210 Clinton Avenue, Newark, NJ MAP
RAPID TRANSIT: none
PHONE: 973-824-1804
WEBSITE: none
Bethany Baptist Church
DESCRIPTION: Established in 1871, it is the oldest and one of the largest Black congregations in Newark. This church provided many of Newark’s African American leaders and the welcome center for many African-Americans migrating from the South after the Civil War. It was home to the local branch of the NAACP, Urban League, both the Colored YMCA and YWCA. The church was very active during the Civil Rights Movement.
SUNDAY WORSHIP: 8a and 11a
ADDRESS: 275 West Market Street, Newark, NJ MAP
RAPID TRANSIT: Norfolk Street Station
PHONE: 973-623-8161
WEBSITE: http://www.bethany-newark.org
Wallace Chapel AME Zion Church
DESCRIPTION: Florence Spearing Randolph, one of the first women licensed to preach in New Jersey, served as pastor here between 1925-1946.
SUNDAY WORSHIP: 11a
ADDRESS: 140 Broad Street, Summit, NJ MAP
RAPID TRANSIT: NJ Transit Summit Station
PHONE: 908-277-0574
WEBSITE: none
Afro-American Historical Society Museum
DESCRIPTION: Notable African American quilts collection on display, including some from historic churches in the mid 1800s. Another distinctive exhibit is that of the Pullman Porters of the early 20th century railroad. Located in the Greenville Branch of Jersey City Public city.
DAYS & HOURS: Mon-Sat 10a-5p
ADDRESS: 1841 Kennedy Blvd, Jersey City, NJ MAP
RAPID TRANSIT: Richard Light Rail Station
PHONE: 201-547-5262
WEBSITE: link
Jackie Robinson Statue
DESCRIPTION: A captivating large bronze statue commemorates the baseball and society achievement of Jackie Robinson. As a member of the Montreal Royals played against the Jersey City Giants minor league baseball team on 18 April 1946 at Roosevelt Stadium. That stadium has since torn down, but this statue was inaugurated in 1997. Of course, Jackie went on to break the Major League Baseball color-barrier as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers. His milestone is considered by many to be the unofficial start of the modern Civil Rights Movement since it caused white Americans to consider Africans-Americans as a societal peer in an high-profile team activity. For those too young to understand baseball’s importance at that time, imagine pro baseball, pro football, pro basketball, pro hockey and pro soccer rolled into one and dominating lifestyle news in the 1940s.
ADDRESS: Journal Square Transportation Center on JFK Blvd, Jersey City, NJ MAP
RAPID TRANSIT: PATH Transit Hub
African Art Museum of the Society of African Missions
DESCRIPTION: If you enjoy art mixed with history, this is a gold mine. See ornate African masks, crafts, beadwork; often a venue for lectures concerning Africa.
DAYS & HOURS: Mon-Fri 9a-5p
ADDRESS: 23 Bliss Avenue, Tenafly, NJ MAP
RAPID TRANSIT: none
PHONE: 201-894-8611
WEBSITE: http://www.smafathers.org
