Is Moorestown Racially Inclusive, Reader Asks

MOORESTOWN, NJ — One Moorestown resident is pointing to the forgotten racist history of Moorestown, and questions if the township continues to unintentionally exclude minorities when it comes to certain things. Janet Adair's letter to the editor can be found below.

To the Editor:

The Moorestown Community House’s Calendar arrived in our mail box today, and it was obvious that the pictures chosen for the calendar do not represent our town’s diversity. In fact, finding a black person in the calendar is like hunting for Waldo in the search books.

If you no longer have your Moorestown Community House Calendar, then instead you can turn to the Moorestown Community House Website (thecommunityhouse.com), or their wedding E-Brochure (pubs.hawthorncreative.com/moorestowncommunityhouse), or their other website (ourcommunityhouse.com). In the more than 50 pictures that appear on these three websites, try to find one single picture where a black person is featured (other than in large crowds).

In addition, the picture of the Moorestown Community House’s Board of Trustees does not represent the community’s diversity. I appreciate all the hard work from the Moorestown Community House’s Board, and I do not believe the lack of diversity on the Board (nor in their calendar) is intentional.

However, the lack of representative diversity around us, not just in this calendar or on this board, is something that we as citizens need to fix. This is just one example of many within Moorestown.

As a white mother with children in the Moorestown school district, I am very troubled by the racism happening around the country. As a community, I believe it’s our responsibility to make sure those things don’t happen here. That includes pointing out when minorities are held back unintentionally.

Moorestown has a long forgotten history of racism. “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” philosopher George Santayana said.

Moorestown residents owned slaves. Moorestown Township did not allow black children to go to the white schools. Instead, they created “School Number 7 for Colored Grade Pupils.” In 1943, the Moorestown colored school was still listed by Burlington County as operating.

For decades, black children were not allowed to swim in the Moorestown Community House pool. And if black residents wanted to go to the movie theater on Main Street, they had to sit in the back row. These are all facts that should not be forgotten.

On June 12, 1950, Martin Luther King Jr. and a friend took their dates to the Mary Café (the site of the old Moorestown Pub — now torn down) located just past today’s Rita’s. The owner took issue with the foursome being in the café, refused to serve them, and took out his gun and fired it into the air just outside the door in order to intimidate them. It must have been very frightening. Many King biographers state this event was the turning point of Martin Luther King Jr.’s focus from ministry to advancing civil rights.

Moorestown’s racism was not limited to people with darker skin. When my parents were looking at homes with a realtor in Moorestown in the early 1970’s, the realtor told them that she wouldn’t sell houses to Jewish people (as if the realtor thought that was a selling point). My parents were appalled at what she said and didn’t move to Moorestown.

While outright segregation no longer exists in Moorestown’s schools, pools, and movie theaters, I do question whether all citizens are equally represented in the Moorestown government, on the boards of Moorestown’s charities, etc….? Is diversity thought about when asking people to join boards?

According to the 2010 census, 6.4% of Moorestown citizens are black or African American, 6% are Asian, 3.5% are Hispanic or Latino; in fact, 1 out of every 7 people living in Moorestown is a minority. But does our government, charitable boards, etc. represent that diversity?

Being in government and on charitable boards adds to one’s resume, provides networking opportunities, and is seen as a positive tool in career advancement. Therefore, if Moorestown minorities are not provided these same opportunities as white residents, then our community is holding back our minority residents.

Moorestown has come a long way from owning slaves and not allowing black children to swim in the pool, but we are not done. Our children are taught to be inclusive in our great Moorestown schools. Isn’t it time that as adults, we follow suit?

Janet Adair

Moorestown resident

The attached image was provided