Newark Groups To Remember Nat Turner Slave Rebellion With Park Ceremony

NEWARK, NJ — It was 185 years ago that Virginia’s Nat Turner led one of the bloodiest slave rebellions in American history, prompting a wave of retaliation against African-Americans in the South that is still remembered today.

On Sunday, Aug. 21, leaders with the People’s Organization for Progress and the Friends of Nat Turner Park will host a commemoration of the Nat Turner Rebellion at 3 p.m. in Nat Turner Park on Muhammad Ali Avenue and Bergen Street in Newark.

For more information, contact the POP at (973) 801-0001, or the FNTP at (201) 341-5099.

According to the Trust For Public Land, the creation of Newark’s Nat Turner Park was first proposed in the 1970s when activists from Newark's Central Ward demanded green space for their community.

In 2002 — almost 30 years after the park was conceived —The Trust for Public Land, the city of Newark, Newark Public Schools, and the Central Ward community launched an effort to bring that vision to reality by developing Nat Turner Park.

“Dedicated in July 2009, Newark's largest city-owned park provides recreational space for a neighborhood of 19,000 people, including 7,000 children,” TPL.org states.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com