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===African-American community=== ==== Slavery in New Brunswick ==== The existence of an African-American community in New Brunswick dates back to the 18th century, when racial slavery was a part of life in the city and the surrounding area. Local slaveholders routinely bought and sold African American children, women, and men in New Brunswick in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth century. In this period, the Market-House was the center of commercial life in the city. It was located at the corner of Hiram Street and Queen Street (now Neilson Street) adjacent to the Raritan Wharf. The site was a place where residents of New Brunswick sold and traded their goods which made it an integral part of the city's economy. The Market-House also served as a site for regular slave auctions and sales.<ref name=SlaveryAndDispossession>{{Cite book|jstor=j.ctt1k3s9r0.9|title=Scarlet and Black: Slavery and Dispossession in Rutgers History|last1=Armstead|first1=Shaun|last2=Sutter|first2=Brenann|last3=Walker|first3=Pamela|last4=Wiesner|first4=Caitlin|publisher=Rutgers University Press|year=2016|editor-last=Fuentes|editor-first=Marisa|location=New Brunswick, NJ|chapter="And I Poor Slave Yet": The Precarity of Black Life in New Brunswick, 1766–1835|pages=91–122|isbn=9780813591520|editor-last2=White|editor-first2=Deborah Gray}}</ref>{{Rp|101}} By the late-eighteenth century, New Brunswick became a hub for newspaper production and distribution. ''The Fredonian'', a popular newspaper, was located less than a block away from the aforementioned Market-House and helped facilitate commercial transactions. A prominent part of the local newspapers were sections dedicated to private owners who would advertise their slaves for sale. The trend of advertising slave sales in newspapers shows that the New Brunswick residents typically preferred selling and buying slaves privately and individually rather than in large groups.<ref name=SlaveryAndDispossession />{{Rp|103}} The majority of individual advertisements were for female slaves, and their average age at the time of the sale was 20 years old, which was considered the prime age for childbearing. Slave owners would get the most profit from the women who fit into this category because these women had the potential to reproduce another generation of enslaved workers. Additionally, in the urban environment of New Brunswick, there was a high demand for domestic labor, and female workers were preferred for cooking and housework tasks.<ref name=SlaveryAndDispossession />{{Rp|107}} The [[New Jersey Legislature]] passed An Act for the [[History of slavery in New Jersey#Abolition of slavery|Gradual Abolition of Slavery]] in 1804.<ref>[http://njlegallib.rutgers.edu/slavery/acts/A78.html An act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180430132826/http://njlegallib.rutgers.edu/slavery/acts/A78.html |date=April 30, 2018 }}, [[Rutgers University Libraries]]. Accessed December 12, 2019.</ref> Under the provisions of this law, children born to enslaved women after July 4, 1804, would serve their master for a term of 21 years (for girls) or a term of 25 years (for boys), and after this term, they would gain their freedom. However, all individuals who were enslaved before July 4, 1804, would continue to be slaves for life and would never attain freedom under this law. New Brunswick continued to be home to enslaved African Americans alongside a growing community of free people of color. The [[1810 United States census]] listed 53 free Blacks and 164 slaves in New Brunswick.<ref name=":0">[http://www.africanafrican.com/folder11/world%20history1/african%20and%20african%20american/african_american_guide.pdf ''New Jersey's African American Tour Guide''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200328043449/http://www.africanafrican.com/folder11/world%20history1/african%20and%20african%20american/african_american_guide.pdf |date=March 28, 2020 }}, New Jersey Commerce and Economic Growth Commission. Accessed December 17, 2014. "At the southern edge of the Gateway Region is New Brunswick, a town with much culture to offer and African American history to explore. African Americans were living here as far back as 1790, and by 1810, the Census listed 53 free Blacks—and 164 slaves—out of the 469 families then living in town. One of the state's oldest Black churches, Mt. Zion A.M.E., at 25 Division Street, was founded in 1825."</ref> ==== African American spaces and institutions in the early 19th century ==== By the 1810s, some free African Americans lived in a section of the city called Halfpenny Town, which was located along the [[Raritan River]] by the east side of the city, near Queen (now Neilson) Street. Halfpenny Town was a place populated by free blacks as well as poorer whites who did not own slaves. This place was known as a social gathering for free blacks that was not completely influenced by white scrutiny and allowed free blacks to socialize among themselves. This does not mean that it was free from white eyes and was still under the negative effects of the slavery era.<ref name=SlaveryAndDispossession />{{Rp|99}} In the early decades of the nineteenth century, White and either free or enslaved African Americans shared many of the same spaces in New Brunswick, particularly places of worship. The First Presbyterian Church, Christ Church, and First Reformed Church were popular among both Whites and Blacks, and New Brunswick was notable for its lack of spaces where African Americans could congregate exclusively. Most of the time Black congregants of these churches were under the surveillance of Whites.<ref name=SlaveryAndDispossession />{{Rp|113}} That was the case until the creation of the African Association of New Brunswick in 1817.<ref name=SlaveryAndDispossession />{{Rp|114–115}} Both free and enslaved African Americans were active in the establishment of the African Association of New Brunswick, whose meetings were first held in 1817.<ref name=SlaveryAndDispossession />{{Rp|112}} The African Association of New Brunswick held a meeting every month, mostly in the homes of free blacks. Sometimes these meetings were held at the First Presbyterian Church. Originally intended to provide financial support for the African School of New Brunswick, the African Association grew into a space where blacks could congregate and share ideas on a variety of topics such as religion, abolition and colonization. Slaves were required to obtain a pass from their owner in order to attend these meetings. The African Association worked closely with Whites and was generally favored amongst White residents who believed it would bring more racial peace and harmony to New Brunswick.<ref name=SlaveryAndDispossession />{{Rp|114–115}} The African Association of New Brunswick established the African School in 1822. The African School was first hosted in the home of Caesar Rappleyea in 1823.<ref name=SlaveryAndDispossession />{{Rp|114}} The school was located on the upper end of Church Street in the downtown area of New Brunswick about two blocks away from the jail that held escaped slaves. Both free and enslaved Blacks were welcome to be members of the School.<ref name=SlaveryAndDispossession />{{Rp|116}} Reverend Huntington (pastor of the [[First Presbyterian Church (New Brunswick, New Jersey)|First Presbyterian Church]]) and several other prominent Whites were trustees of the African Association of New Brunswick. These trustees supported the Association which made some slave owners feel safe sending their slaves there by using a permission slip process.<ref name=SlaveryAndDispossession />{{Rp|115}} The main belief of these White supporters was that Blacks were still unfit for American citizenship and residence, and some trustees were connected with the [[American Colonization Society]] that advocated for the migration of free African Americans to Africa. The White trustees only attended some of the meetings of the African Association, and the Association was still unprecedented as a space for both enslaved and free Blacks to get together while under minimal supervision by Whites.<ref name=SlaveryAndDispossession />{{Rp|116–117}} The African Association appears to have disbanded after 1824. By 1827, free and enslaved Black people in the city, including Joseph and Jane Hoagland, came together to establish the Mount Zion [[African Methodist Episcopal Church]] and purchased a plot of land on Division Street for the purpose of erecting a church building. This was the first African American church in Middlesex County. The church had approximately 30 members in its early years. The church is still in operation and is currently located at 39 Hildebrand Way. The street Hildebrand Way is named after the late Rev. Henry Alphonso Hildebrand, who was pastor of Mount Zion AME for 37 years, which is the longest appointment received by a pastor at Mount Zion AME.<ref>Makin, Cheryl. [https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/local/faith/2017/10/27/local-ame-churches-celebrate-longevity/791940001/ "AME churches celebrate spirituality, longevity"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604183955/https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/local/faith/2017/10/27/local-ame-churches-celebrate-longevity/791940001/ |date=June 4, 2019 }}, ''[[Courier News]]'', October 27, 2017. Accessed December 12, 2019. "The historic Mount Zion A.M.E. Church-New Brunswick is the oldest African American church in Middlesex County. Now at 39 Hildebrand Way, the church began with a small plot of land on Division Street in 1827. The church was founded by a mix of 'enslaved and free people,' 36 years prior to the Emancipation Proclamation, said Eric Billips, pastor since 2013 at Mount Zion A.M.E. Church-New Brunswick.... In 1827, records show that Joseph and Jane Hoagland, along with other black men and women in the New Brunswick area, were founders of the church."</ref> Records from the April 1828 census, conducted by the New Brunswick Common Council, state that New Brunswick was populated with 4,435 white residents and 374 free African Americans. The enslaved population of New Brunswick in 1828 consisted of 57 slaves who must serve for life and 127 slaves eligible for emancipation at age 21 or 25 due to the 1804 Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery. Free and enslaved African Americans accounted for 11% of New Brunswick's population in 1828, a relatively high percentage for New Jersey.<ref name=SlaveryAndDispossession />{{Rp|94}} By comparison, as of the [[1830 United States census]], African Americans made up approximately 6.4% of the total population of New Jersey.<ref>Wright, Giles R. [http://westjersey.org/AFAMI.pdf "Afro-Americans in New Jersey: a short history – Appendix 3"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115131916/http://westjersey.org/AFAMI.pdf |date=November 15, 2017 }}, [[New Jersey Historical Commission]], 1989, [[Trenton, New Jersey]]. Accessed December 12, 2019.</ref> ==== Jail and curfew in the 19th century ==== In 1824, the New Brunswick Common Council adopted a curfew for free people of color. Free African Americans were not allowed to be out after 10 pm on Saturday night. The Common Council also appointed a committee of white residents who were charged with rounding up and detaining free African Americans who appeared to be out of place according to white authorities.<ref name=SlaveryAndDispossession />{{Rp|98}} New Brunswick became a notorious city for slave hunters, who sought to enforce the [[Fugitive Slave Act of 1850]]. Strategically located on the Raritan River, the city was also a vital hub for New Jersey's [[Underground Railroad]]. For runaway slaves in New Jersey, it served as a favorable route for those heading to New York and Canada. When African Americans tried to escape either to or from New Brunswick, they had a high likelihood of getting discovered and captured and sent to New Brunswick's jail, which was located on Prince Street, which by now is renamed Bayard Street.<ref name=SlaveryAndDispossession />{{Rp|96}}
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