Union County Black History Month Event

History will come alive in Union County during Black History Month with the presentation of “Quakers, African Americans and Racial Justice: In the Lead Up to the Civil War” at the Plainfield Quaker Meeting House.

Presenters will include:

Roger Dreisbach-Williams, a member of the Rahway and Plainfield Monthly Meeting for almost 30 years. He has a keen interest in history and has made numerous presentations on the history of the meeting and the witness of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).   

Richard T. Irwin, the editor of History of Randolph Township (1976) and historiographer of the Friends Meeting House and Cemetery Association of Randolph Township, New Jersey.

Vanessa Julye, a self-described Friend of Color in the Religious Society of Friends, is the co-author of Fit for Freedom, Not Friendship (Quaker Press, 2009) along with Donna McDaniel. The authors document three centuries of Quakers committed to ending racial injustices yet, with few exceptions, hesitant to invite African Americans into their Society

The program concludes with a guided tour of the Plainfield Meeting House and historic burial grounds. Light refreshments will be served.

This public history program is funded in part by a grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division in the Department of State.

Registration is $10.00. To register or request a brochure, contact the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs at 633 Pearl Street, Elizabeth, NJ 07202. Or call 908-558-2550 or e-mail culturalinfo@ucnj.org.