5 items

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  African Association of New Brunswick

  The African Association of New Brunswick was established in 1817 by free and enslaved people of color to gather and discuss education, religion, and racial uplift. The organization raised funds to establish a school for black children, the African School in New Brunswick. The organization was active for 7 years until 1824. This was the first organization established by people of African descent in New Brunswick, NJ. Archival materials from the organization have been preserved by Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries, in the collection: African Association of New Brunswick (N.J.). Minute Book, 1817-1824 (MC 50). Digitized materials from the collection can be found in the Scarlet and Black Digital Archive.
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  American Colonization Society

  The American Colonization Society was established in 1816 for the purpose of encouraging and supporting the emigration of free African Americans to Africa. It was originally called the American Society for Colonizing the Free People of Colour of the United States, but came to be known as simply the American Colonization Society or ACS. The organization's founders believed that free Black people would never successfully integrate into American society as independent economic and political agents. One of the chief projects of ACS was the establishment of the colony of Liberia in West Africa as a destination for Black American emigrants. This national organization was founded and sustained by prominent men from New Jersey and had particularly strong ties with the Princeton Theological Seminary and Princeton University (then called the College of New Jersey). Princeton-born Presbyterian minister named Robert Finley was the organization's chief founder. In the twentieth century, ACS evolved to focus more on missionary and educational work in Liberia rather than emigration. The organization officially disbanded in 1964.
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  First Presbyterian Church of New Brunswick

  The First Presbyterian Church, New Brunswick, New Jersey, was organized in 1726. Archival records from the church from the early 19th century contain records of marriages of enslaved and free people of African descent recorded by the Rev. Joseph Clark D.D. These archival records have been preserved by the Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia as part of the collection called Records of the First and Second Presbyterian Churches, New Brunswick, New Jersey (Call number: 07 0525). For Rev. Clark's records, see Volume 14: Church register, 1790–1867, including baptisms and marriages, 1797–1869; Subsection: Record of Marriages and Baptisms kept by Rev. Joseph Clark D.D. Pastor from January 1, 1797 to October 18, 1813 (pp. 218–226).
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  Princeton University

  Princeton University is a private Ivy League university. It was founded as the College of New Jersey in 1746 by a group of Presbyterian ministers. The college was originally founded in Elizabeth, New Jersey, but moved to Newark a year later. The college moved to its present home in Princeton in 1756. The institution was renamed Princeton University in 1896. The Princeton & Slavery Project investigates the University’s involvement with the institution of slavery and ongoing legacies of institutional racism. Many stories and primary sources related to this history can be found on the project's website at https://slavery.princeton.edu/.
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  Rutgers University

  Queen's College was founded by a group of Dutch Reformed ministers and their supporters in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1766. It was originally a school for white men who primarily came from elite Dutch families in the New York and New Jersey area. In 1825, the school was renamed Rutgers College in honor of benefactor Henry Rutgers. Many of the school's founders, trustees, and benefactors, including Henry Rutgers, were slaveholders. The historic campus of Queen's College is part of Rutgers University–New Brunswick. Campuses in Newark and Camden were established and integrated into the Rutgers University system in the 20th century.