“The Price of Silence” – The Forgotten Story of New Jersey’s Enslaved People

NJSL PRESENTS: A Black History Month Special Event

The Forgotten Story of New Jersey’s Enslaved People

Please join us in celebrating Black History Month as we screen the 3-part, New York Emmy Award-nominated PBS documentary “The Price of Silence”.  Part one begins the series with the stunning fact that by the time New Jersey started the slow process of abolishing slavery in 1804, the state had 12,000 men, women, and children in bondage. The film reveals that New Jersey depended profoundly on enslaved people to drive agricultural and economic growth, was sympathetic to the South, and was the last of the Northeastern states to eliminate this heinous practice.  Part two continues with New Jersey’s history of bondage and expounds on the fact that the African American community is still feeling the effects of slavery today due to disparities with the White community in median income, criminal justice, and healthcare.  Part three examines the Black community’s Great Migration from the Jim Crow South to Newark, New Jersey, during the early years of the 20th Century and tells the story through the eyes of descendants of individuals who made the Great Migration North and found life here to be a far cry from what they had hoped for.

By telling these fascinating stories through the eyes of descendants of slavery and individuals who have lived through the Great Migration and the heartbreaking events depicted in the films, our audience will most certainly be captivated and inspired to learn more.  Upon conclusion of the screening, we will hold a panel discussion with producer Ridgeley Hutchinson and documentary contributors Dr. Linda J. Caldwell Epps, Beverly Mills, Toni Hendrix, Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter, and Dr. Damali Campbell-Oparaji.

This in-person event will be held at the NJ State Museum Auditorium at:

205 West State Street
Trenton, NJ 08608

The event is FREE and will take place in-person at the New Jersey State Museum Auditorium. Registration is encouraged as space is limited.

For questions, please contact:

Andrew Dauphinee
NJ State Library
adauphinee@njstatelib.org