Editing Plainfield, New Jersey (section)

==The West End==
While the more affluent eastern part of the city has been relatively integrated over the decades, with both Black and white upper-middle-class-to-wealthy families, the West End of Plainfield is the historically middle-class and working-class Black district in the city and features a close-knit African-American community.<ref>Lisick, Michael J. ''Bamberger's: New Jersey's Greatest Store'' (2016).</ref>

Part of the West End is known to locals as Soulville.<ref>Plainfield Ponders the Legacy of Its Own Bloody '67 Riots https://nyti.ms/2pH3qeP</ref><ref>Deak, Mike. [https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/history/new-jersey/2017/07/16/50-years-plainfields-history-devastating-riots-long-awaited-rebirth/425401001/ '50 years in Plainfield's history: From devastating riots to long-awaited rebirth"], ''[[Courier News]]'', July 16, 2017. Accessed March 3, 2020. "Appliances stolen from a store became barricades to block outsiders from entering a part of the West End now called 'Soulville.'"</ref>

Mount Olive Baptist Church has been serving the West End as a community of faith since 1870. It is considered Plainfield's first Black church.<ref name="plainfieldlibrary">[http://www.plainfieldlibrary.info/OnlineExhibits/Worship/worship13.html Mount Olive Baptist Church], Plainfield Public Library. Accessed March 3, 2020. "Mount Olive Baptist Church was organized in 1870 and groundbreaking for what was to be Plainfield's first Black church occurred on March 1, 1871, at the intersection of Third and Liberty streets."</ref> As the Black community grew, other congregations branched off from Mount Olive.

Calvary Baptist Church began in 1897 among a group of Black congregants from Mount Olive, and celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2017 with a series of events.<ref name="tapinto">{{cite web|url=https://www.tapinto.net/towns/plainfield/articles/calvary-baptist-church-celebrates-its-120th-anniv|title=Calvary Baptist Church Celebrates its 120th Anniversary - Plainfield NJ News|website=TAPinto|access-date=April 18, 2018}}</ref><ref name="wordpress">{{cite web|url=https://calvarybaptistplfd.wordpress.com/the-calvary-baptist-church-history/|title=The Calvary Baptist Church History {{pipe}} The Calvary Baptist Church of Plainfield|website=calvarybaptistplfd.wordpress.com|date=July 24, 2015|access-date=April 18, 2018}}</ref><ref name="plainfieldlibrary2">{{cite web|url=http://www.plainfieldlibrary.info/OnlineExhibits/Worship/worship02.html#calvary|website=plainfieldlibrary.info|title=Plainfield Public Library|access-date=April 18, 2018}}</ref>

Nearby, Shiloh Baptist Church was founded in 1908, also by Mount Olive congregants, and offers many faith-based events to the community, including its Jazz for Jesus program.<ref name="plainfieldlibrary3">{{cite web|url=http://www.plainfieldlibrary.info/OnlineExhibits/Worship/worship17.html#shiloh|website=plainfieldlibrary.info|title=Plainfield Public Library|access-date=April 18, 2018}}</ref>

The West End has been eyed recently for redevelopment.<ref name="tapinto2">{{cite web|url=https://www.tapinto.net/towns/plainfield/articles/plainfields-west-end-eyed-for-mixed-use-redevelo|title=Plainfield's West End Eyed For Mixed-Use Redevelopment - Plainfield NJ News|website=TAPinto|access-date=April 18, 2018}}</ref><ref name="blogspot2">{{cite web|url=http://rebecca4plainfieldcouncil.blogspot.com/2016/05/hannah-atkins-pool-opening-tomorrow.html|title=And My Point Is: A Radical Vision for Plainfield: Hannah Atkins Pool Opening - Tomorrow - Saturday, May 28!|website=rebecca4plainfieldcouncil.blogspot.com|access-date=April 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180329053925/http://rebecca4plainfieldcouncil.blogspot.com/2016/05/hannah-atkins-pool-opening-tomorrow.html|archive-date=March 29, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="goo">{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hannah+Atkins,+Plainfield,+NJ+07060/@40.6126082,-74.4280476,17z/data=!4m12!1m6!3m5!1s0x89c3b9f327936a41:0x49fa1eb409d96e30!2sHannah+Atkins+Community+Center!8m2!3d40.6115931!4d-74.4281289!3m4!1s0x89c3b9f33b5c5e39:0xda95dc0e4545729c!8m2!3d40.6126702!4d-74.4278307|website=goo.gl|title=Google Maps|access-date=April 18, 2018}}</ref>

The White Star, a diner in the West End on West Front Street near Green Brook Park, has been an area meeting spot and landmark for over half a century.<ref name="mycentraljersey2">{{cite web|url=https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/...plainfields...riots.../425401001/|website=mycentraljersey.com|title=MY CENTRAL JERSEY|access-date=April 18, 2018}}</ref><ref name="goo2">{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/White+Star+Restaurant+Inc/@40.6096654,-74.4352768,16.9z/data=!4m19!1m13!4m12!1m3!2m2!1d-74.301901!2d40.654169!1m6!1m2!1s0x89c3b98dff3f15e9:0x1c2d740393bc34ac!2sWhite+Star+Restaurant+Inc+715+West+Front+Street!2m2!1d-74.4346805!2d40.6104278!3e3!3m4!1s0x0:0x1c2d740393bc34ac!8m2!3d40.6104278!4d-74.4346805|website=goo.gl|title=You seem to be using an unsupported browser.|access-date=April 18, 2018}}</ref>

The West End has grown more [[Latino (demonym)|Latino]] in recent years. As of the 2020 census, 51% of all people living in Plainfield were of Hispanic origin.<ref name=Census2020/> This was up from 25% in 2000<ref name=Census2000/> and 40% in 2010.<ref name=Census2010/>

In his book ''Insurrection'', Isaiah Tremaine, a Black Plainfield native, credits the influx of Latinos for breathing new life and energy into a city hurting from racism and racial strife in the 1970s.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}

===Parliament-Funkadelic Way===
The West End was once home to the Silk Palace, a barbershop at 216 Plainfield Avenue owned in part by funk music legend [[George Clinton (funk musician)|George Clinton]], staffed by various members of [[Parliament-Funkadelic]], and known as the "hangout for all the local singers and musicians" in Plainfield's 1950s and 1960s [[doo-wop]], soul, rock and proto-funk music scene.<ref>George Clinton And Killer Mike: Talking (Barber) Shop https://n.pr/2pRRTH9</ref><ref>Sammy Campbell and the Del Larks - Classic Urban Harmony. classicurbanharmony.net/wp-content/uploads/.../Sammy-Campbell-The-Del-Larks.pdf by T Ashley. The story of the Del Larks revolves around the extensive music careers of two individuals; Sammy. Campbell and Ron Taylor.</ref><ref>Krehbiel, Jeff. [http://www.rocknrollspotlight.com/?p=467 "George Clinton and the Parliaments – (Part One of Two)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180525064254/http://www.rocknrollspotlight.com/?p=467 |date=May 25, 2018 }}, Rock 'N' Roll Spotlight, December 3, 2015. Accessed June 10, 2018.</ref>

In 2022, the city of Plainfield renamed a section of Plainfield Avenue, from its intersection with Front Street to its intersection with West Fifth Street, as "Parliament Funkadelic Way" in honor of its musical history.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tapinto.net/towns/plainfield/sections/arts-and-entertainment/articles/george-clinton-brings-the-funk-back-to-plainfield|title=George Clinton Brings the Funk Back to Plainfield|website=TAPinto}}</ref>