Belleville To Hold Black History Month Event For 2024

BELLEVILLE, NJ — Belleville will get a visit from a trailblazing New Jersey politician this week in tribute to Black History Month.

Jamel Holley, the first Black man to represent the 20th Legislative District in New Jersey, is slated to be the guest speaker at the town’s celebration on Thursday, Feb. 22.

The event will take place at 6 p.m. at the Belleville Public Library, 221 Washington Avenue. It is free and open to the public.

According to a township news release, the program will trace the many contributions that Belleville’s Black men and women have made through history, from the “heroic sacrifice of Leonard Willette and his fellow Tuskegee Airmen,” to the “groundbreaking work of Lonnie G. Bunch III,” the first African American to serve as the secretary of the Smithsonian.

Holley has also carved out a place in New Jersey history, representing the 20th Legislative District from 2015-2022. At the age of 21, he became the youngest chief of staff for any of the state’s 120 legislators when he was appointed to the late Assemblyman Neil Cohen’s team. At 32, Holley was elected the youngest mayor of Roselle. He now serves as an advisor for independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The Feb. 22 event is being sponsored by the Belleville Township Council in partnership with the Belleville Public Library.

“Belleville history and Black history are inextricably entwined,” Mayor Michael Melham said. “I’m excited to invite former Assemblyman Jamel Holley to Belleville for this event. He reminds us that Black history is being made every day.”

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