Celebrating the Stories & Music of Springwood Avenue

The Asbury Park African-American Music Project (AP-AMP) will highlight stories from Springwood Avenue, the heart of Asbury Park's historic African American community, and share information about AP-AMP's mission to share the history and music of Springwood Avenue and restore the Turf Club, Springwood Avenue's last standing music venue.

The Asbury Park African-American Music Project (AP-AMP) Inc. is a volunteer-led, community-driven 501(c)(3) organization that celebrates the stories of Springwood Avenue, the heart of Asbury Park's African American community - a place that shares narratives with African American communities throughout NJ and around the country. The mission of AP-AMP is to:

• share the music, cultural heritage, and stories of Springwood Avenue through oral histories, research, writing, and programs
• develop accessible resources that reflect Asbury Park’s African American music heritage for the City of Asbury Park and others to use as a basis for interpretive heritage projects
• address a lack of representation in traditional historic resources and give voice to the stories of Asbury Park’s African American community
• engage all who live in and visit Asbury Park in the active exploration, interpretation, understanding, and preservation of Asbury Park African American cultural heritage

Jennifer Souder is co-founder of AP-AMP and serves as the AP-AMP Board President. Ms. Souder sits on the Asbury Park Public Library Board, the Asbury Park Planning Board and the Master Plan subcommittee and the Environmental Shade Tree Commission. Professionally, she has worked for over 25 years in the fields of landscape architecture, environmental justice, and green building planning/policy, design, construction, and operations. Jen believes in the power of sharing community-centered history and her focus is integrating cultural narratives, community equity and sustainability into the built environment. She is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accredited professional and has a Master of Landscape Architecture and a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources and Environment from the University of Michigan.

Yvonne Clayton is co-founder of AP-AMP and serves as the AP-AMP Board Treasurer. A graduate of Asbury Park High School, Ms. Clayton has served Asbury Park as a Council member since January 2015. Growing up in Asbury Park’s southwest neighborhood, Yvonne remembers how Springwood Avenue was the lifeblood of the community and has worked diligently to revive the Springwood Avenue corridor. Yvonne is a graduate of Central State University, a former social worker, and an AT&T retiree, holding several positions at AT&T from Account Executive supporting Fortune 500 companies to Eastern Regional Sales Support Manager. Councilwoman Clayton serves on the City of Asbury Park Quality of Life Committee (Past Chair) and the Planning Board and the Master Plan subcommittee.