Grants will fund projects exploring under-represented narratives in New Jersey history

 

TRENTON, N.J. – Advancing its essential mission to explore and promote history that is representative of the state’s population and diversity of contributions, the New Jersey Historical Commission (NJHC) has awarded the inaugural round of awards for its FY 2023 Inclusive History Grant Program (IHGP).

The FY 2023 IHGP awards totaling $306,123 went to 14 organizations statewide for a disparate array of work across the disciplines of archeology, research, interpretive planning, and oral history. All funded projects will explore under-represented narratives in New Jersey history with a goal of expanding inclusive, community-centered interpretation and resources offered by historic sites and history organizations for a public audience.

“Telling complex, diverse, and nuanced histories will continue to be a priority of the New Jersey History Commission, and this funding is an important next step to achieving that essential goal,” noted Secretary of State Tahesha Way. “These grants will support a wide range of disciplines and give our history stakeholders the tools to create and maximize the educational and programmatic impacts for diverse audiences ahead of, during, and in the aftermath of America’s upcoming 250th anniversary.”

The IHGP was developed in alignment with the Strategic and Interpretive frameworks of RevolutionNJ – New Jersey’s commemorative initiative for the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. In doing so, grants will actively address the shared goals to:

• Tell a diverse and inclusive story about America’s past that invites participation from all New Jerseyans.
• Encourage the growth of organizational capacity at New Jersey’s history organizations so that they are better able to attract, engage, and serve visitors, both during and after RevolutionNJ.
• Demonstrate how understanding the complexity of our history helps us to respond to the present and prepare for the future.

“Initiatives like RevolutionNJ are critical to providing the blueprint for success, but there also needs to be timely, proactive funding to conduct the research, interpretation, and planning necessary to tell the inclusive stories we strive to promote during America’s 250th anniversary and beyond,” added Sara Cureton, executive director of the New Jersey Historical Commission. “This is exactly the purpose of the Inclusive History Grant Program, and why we will continue to build on this progress in the months and years ahead.”

For more information on the NJHC’s grant programs, including the IHGP grant guidelines, please visit our homepage: History.NJ.gov.

The NJHC’s grant awards are determined through an independent peer-review process. All funding is made possible by a portion of the revenue produced by the state’s Hotel/Motel Tax legislation.

The full list of Fiscal Year 2023 IHGP grant recipients is located below:

ORGANIZATION	PROJECT TITLE	AWARD
Historic Morven, Inc.	Expanding the Stories of Enslaved Individuals at Morven	$20,000
6th Regiment United States Colored Troops	Locust Hill Project	$25,000
Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County	Oral Histories with JHMOMC	$10,000
Hamilton Partnership for Paterson	People of Paterson Digital Exhibits	$25,000
Barnegat Bay Decoy & Baymen's Museum	Untold Stories: Tuckerton Seaport StoryCorps Interview Series Expansion	$23,770
Friends of Abraham Staats House	FASH Witness Stones	$11,500
Raíces Cultural Center	Ancestral Herbal Narratives Oral History Project	$24,513
Montclair Historical Center	Research/Planning for Phase 2 Re-interpretation of Crane House/Historic YWCA	$19,340
Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy	Jersey City - American Mosaic	$24,500
Stockton University - School of Arts and Humanities	The Alliance Colony: Jewish Farming in Southern New Jersey	$24,500
Gloucester County	Red Bank Battlefield Park Archeology Project	$24,500
The Sandy Hook Foundation	The Black Brigade at Refugeetown and the Revolutionary War at Sandy Hook	$24,500
Old Barracks Museum	Research on Black and Indigenous Soldiers at the Battle of Trenton	$24,500
Merchants and Drovers Tavern Museum Association	Research Project on Hotel/Tavern Labor	$24,500
		$306,123

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About the New Jersey Historical Commission
The New Jersey Historical Commission (NJHC) is a state agency dedicated to the advancement of public knowledge and preservation of New Jersey history. Established by law in 1967, its work is founded on the fundamental belief that an understanding of our shared heritage is essential to sustaining a cohesive and robust democracy.