The Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum (SSAAM), Central New Jersey’s only museum sharing the history of African Americans since the trans-Atlantic Slave trade, will hold its third annual Juneteenth celebration from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 15, rain or shine.
This family-friendly event will take place at the National Historic Register-listed Mt. Zion AME Church and historic True Farmstead in Skillman, N.J. Join in for live gospel music, original performances, games for kids, and “mouthwatering” cuisine, including vegan options.
The True Farmstead was originally owned by William Reasoner, a Black Civil War veteran. His widow, Corinda, later married Spencer True, a descendant of an enslaved man named Friday Truehart. In 1780, at age 13, Friday Truehart was taken from his mother, Dinah, in Charleston, S.C., and brought to New Jersey by his enslaver, the pastor of the Hopewell Old School Baptist Church. He gained his freedom in 1802, at the age of 35.
In the early 1800s, more than 12,000 enslaved people like Friday Truehart lived and labored in New Jersey. SSAAM co-founder Beverly Mills and Board member Patricia True Payne are two of his direct descendants.
“I can’t help but appreciate the importance of recognizing and honoring the suffering, sacrifice and triumph of those enslaved African men, women and children whose skills, expertise and labor built the wealth of this region and indeed this country,” SSAAM Executive Director Donnetta Johnson said. “It is outstanding that we get to celebrate Jubilee or Juneteenth, a day commemorating freedom, on the very grounds where the Reasoner and True families most certainly appreciated what it meant to be free from bondage as African American landowners in the Sourland region.”
On Saturday, June 15, free shuttle buses will run from the Montgomery High School parking lot to and from the event at SSAAM every 15 minutes, from 11:45 a.m. through 3:15 p.m. Limited parking will be available at the True Farmstead for the handicapped, those with limited mobility, event vendors and performers. All others should take the shuttle buses.
For information on how to sponsor SSAAM’s Juneteenth “Freedom Forward,” secure a vendor table, and purchase tickets visit https://www.ssaamuseum.org/juneteenth-2024.
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