‘It was a thriving community’

At the turn of the century in 1900, one of the most alive and vibrant neighborhoods in Haddonfield was The Point, an African American enclave of more than 250 former slaves and their descendants who lived life to the fullest.

Children attended classes at the segregated Douglass Avenue Public School; women bought household goods at the Miss Ross convenience store and dressed in their Sunday best for services at the Mount Olivet, Batesville and Mount Pisagh churches; and men got their haircuts at the Barbershop at the Point and stopped into the Blazing Rag Tavern across the border in Cherry Hill after a hard day’s work.

“It was a thriving community with dozens of families, local churches and businesses,” said C. Adrienne Rhodes, founding president and acting administrator of the Preserving Black Haddonfield History Project.

The effort is an inter-community collaboration between local historians; religious leaders; students and teachers; the Haddonfield and Rotary Club foundations; the library; Haddonfield High; and current and former residents. Every year, the project hosts a popular walking tour of 12 historic sites at The Point.

Now, anyone who wants to take the celebrated tour of the neighborhood can do so from the comfort of their own home, classroom, religious dwelling or other chosen location.

“The (project’s) walking tour video presentation of the once predominantly African American neighborhood will be broadcast as a back-to-school special via PhillyCAM on Mondays and Tuesdays throughout September,” noted Rhodes, adding the weekly broadcast will move to Sundays at noon in October. It will still be available on demand via PhillyCAM and the Preserve Narratives YouTube Channel.

Access “Preserve: Narratives from Historic Haddonfield’s African American Community, the Walking Tour” @PhillyCAM TV: xfinity 66/966HD, Fios TV 29/30, Roku, Apple TV, https://phillycam.org/project/preserve-narratives and https://www.youtube.com/@PreservingBlackHaddonfield.

The first annual walking tour was in 2023. It highlights how by the late 1800s, there was a thriving borough community of free Black men and women who raised their families, built homes and owned businesses around the Point, just above Cooper’s Creek. The Point has been home to a majority of the borough’s African American residents since the 1700s.

In partnership with Haddonfield Memorial High School and Haddonfield Education Association, the history project also publishes an annual collection of essays called “Preserve: Narratives from Historic Haddonfield’s African American Community.”

The tour was made possible through the Independence Public Media Foundation Community Voices Fund, and its significance is underscored by the inclusion of The Point among the historic sites designated for the inaugural round of historical marker installations by the New Jersey Historical Commission for the New Jersey Black Heritage Trail.

Rhodes said a second tour video was produced in collaboration with Camden-based Supreme Cinema and follows the release of the docuseries’ second part, based on the project’s collection of oral histories as a Juneteenth special.

The docuseries was edited by EDclectic Entertainment of New York City, with recordings generously provided compliments of Camden County College Audio Production Program and Gradwell House Recording Studios of Collingswood.

“The theme of bringing people together and expanding horizons seems to have broad appeal,” Rhodes observed. “Not long ago, some Haddonfield High School students thought it was okay to call visiting Black athletes monkeys. Now, I see less disregard and more courtesy and mutual respect.”

She conjectured that bad things happen because not enough people take the time to get to know one another.

“People who take our tour, read the oral histories or attend one of the (project’s) community workshops learn we have more in common than not,” Rhodes explained. “They become ambassadors in the work of building a more harmonious community.

“Because the professionals who were engaged to help develop these resources understand and appreciate the impact of this – from the student reporters to the editors to those providing video arts expertise – they are drawn to this work,” she added. “Words cannot convey the extent of my appreciation for their contributions.

“This work often moves me to tears. When I’m alone watching or reading, I often cry tears of joy.”

Kevin Harewood is principal of EDclectic Entertainment.

“I am honored to be a part of telling the Preserving Black Haddonfield story,” he revealed. “I am a firm believer in the value of showcasing Black folk in places and endeavors that many say we are not present.

“These stories in the docuseries emphasize our strength, creativity and brilliance.”

“I chose to be a part of this project because there aren’t enough stories that focus on the impact that African American people have had on New Jersey,” observed Demitrius Hill, principal of Supreme Cinema and director, editor and producer of “The Walking Tour” program.

“This project was very important because it highlights a history that, for the most part, is kept in the shadows, and it sheds light on some of the brilliant African Americans who should be a part of New Jersey history.”

Christopher Collins II, principal at Collins Digital Services, shared that even though he was asked to work on the project because of his videography skills, he also thought the event and message behind it are “important, interesting and relevant.”

In addition to the oral-history recordings contributed compliments of Camden County College Audio Production Program and Gradwell Recording Studios, resources were made possible by the Independence Public Media Foundation (IPMF) on the recommendation of Haddonfield’s Sidney Hargro through its Community Voices Fund, Rhodes said.

“IPMF strives to present community storytelling to advance narratives that support social movements through various media formats, including film, multimedia, video and audio,” she continued, “while providing opportunities for under-represented content creators.”

A co-applicant for a New Jersey Black Heritage Trail Historical Marker that will be unveiled next month is Haddonfield library director Eric Zino.

“Finding out about multi-generational legacy, Black families and the Black experience in Haddonfield is challenging,” he acknowledged. “This history has been made invisible by persistent and restrictive societal norms.

“What information is readily available in the public library is limited to only a few paragraphs in a few books on Haddonfield history,” Zino added. “With effort, investigation in the digitized archives of local newspapers that were unsurprisingly focused on white life can yield some evidence of Black families, but scant insight into their lives.

“Still, more can be learned by delving into Black newspapers from the last century,” he advised. “It’s in this context that this collaborative effort is so tremendously valuable.”

Rhodes said she looks forward to the country’s 250th anniversary.

“In preparation for the celebration of America’s independence, the Preserving Black Haddonfield History Project is partnering with several organizations to deepen understanding about the role and impact of African Americans during the Revolutionary Period,” she said.

On Oct. 20 of this year, as part of the Coalition on Slavery, Abolition, and the American Revolution – which includes Haddonfield Friends Meeting, the borough historical society, Indian King Tavern and Museum and the Lawnside Historical Society – the Black history project will present a discussion with Dr. Maurice Jackson of Georgetown University on discourse around slavery of the time.

According to Rhodes, a second annual celebration concert and sing-along will be staged at Library Point on Sunday, Oct. 19. In development are screenings for families, with discussions moderated by author/educator Jaime Grookett.

“We are also addressing what tour guide Craig Hutchings calls ‘the dark corners of history,’” Rhodes concluded, “with the understanding that you cannot fix a problem until you acknowledge it exists.”