Honoring Black history, elevating Black voices, and connecting the past to the work of racial equity today.

Each year, the Community Coalition on Race commemorates Black History Month with programs that explore the richness and complexity of Black history and experiences—locally, throughout New Jersey, and across the nation.

Through history, storytelling, the arts, film, scholarship, and community conversation, our programs bring forward stories and perspectives that have too often been overlooked or excluded from traditional narratives. We also explore how the history of racism and Black resistance continues to shape contemporary issues of equity, opportunity, health, justice, and belonging.

History, Stories & Community

Over the years, the Coalition has partnered with historians, artists, filmmakers, community members, and local organizations to present a wide range of Black History Month experiences.

Programs have included:

• Coming to Jersey: Black Families Share Their Stories, featuring South Orange and Maplewood residents sharing their families' journeys to New Jersey through personal stories, photographs, and conversation.
• A presentation by historian Dr. Hettie V. Williams on the pivotal role Black women played in New Jersey's Civil Rights Movement and the state's early progress toward civil rights legislation, legal equality, and integration.
• A screening of Stronger Than Steel: The Senator Wynona Lipman Story, exploring the life and legacy of New Jersey's first Black woman state senator and her groundbreaking legislative career.
• Performances of The Scottsboro Boys in partnership with Progressive Theater, using the arts to examine one of the nation's most notorious cases of racial injustice and the lives of the nine young men at its center.
• A screening of Birthing Justice, which launched community programming examining racial disparities in Black maternal health and the role of racism, healthcare practices, public policy, and advocacy in addressing those inequities.

Many programs include facilitated conversation, giving participants an opportunity to reflect on what they have learned, share perspectives, and consider connections between history and the issues facing our communities today.

History Matters

Black history is American history, and understanding it is essential to understanding our present. By preserving stories, examining difficult histories, celebrating Black achievement and resilience, and creating opportunities for dialogue, the Coalition seeks to deepen community understanding and strengthen our collective commitment to racial equity.

Our Black History Month programming evolves each year, but its purpose remains consistent: to ensure that Black histories and voices are heard, valued, remembered, and understood as an essential part of our shared history and our work toward a more equitable future.

Black History Month programs are presented by the Community Coalition on Race, often in collaboration with local cultural, historical, educational, and community partners.