Cross 3, Ties, Spring No. 2008/Vol. 1, Acts of Civic Engagement Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities Rutgers University-Camden Volume 3, No. 1 Spring 2008 Acts of Civic Engagement: Confronting the History of 1960s Racial Disturbances Image donated to New Jersey Historical Society by Corbis-Bettmann While a pivotal time in Newark’s history, Have we been successful? By visitor the 1967 riot/rebellion has received little accounts, What’s Going On? Newark scholarly attention and has seldom been and the Legacy of the Sixties successfully examined within the context of the times. chronicles what happened in July 1967 and It has remained much misunderstood and why it happened. It is also catalyzing local continues to evoke passion and pain among citizens to both explore the Newark of today Newark residents and their neighbors. The and consider what we can do, as individuals, creators of What’s Going On? thus felt that to insure a better Newark of the future. More the exhibit and related programs, above all continued on page 2 July 17, 1967: Soldiers patrol a deserted else, had to be of service to the public. We Springfield Avenue in Newark, New Jersey wanted to create a space for civil discourse and open up opportunities for diverse points e present a double feature in this In This Issue of view to be expressed and respected. We issue of Cross Ties, focusing on W wanted visitors to interrogate their memories Acts of Civic Engagement: Confronting the the efforts of The New Jersey of the riot/rebellion and use those memories to History of 1960s Racial Disturbances Historical Society and the University of examine the Newark of today and imagine a 1 Baltimore to engage the public in a thoughtful better Newark for tomorrow. And we wanted consideration of the race riots that rocked 2008 Fredric M. Miller Memorial Lecture to do this in a way that would not be so Newark in 1967 and Baltimore in 1968. 2 overpowering or offensive that visitors Projects to Watch would stay away. What’s Going On? Newark and the 3 Legacy of the Sixties We approached this goal in several ways. Exploring the Mid@lantic “What a wonderful time it was.” So said a In addition to stating the facts of “what 3 recent visitor to The New Jersey Historical happened” during those five days in 1967, Featured Resource: Society’s exhibit, What’s Going On? Newark the exhibit places those events in national Distance Learning at the Bronx Zoo and the Legacy of the Sixties, which examines context and represents different perspectives 4 the 1967 Newark riot/rebellion. How could on them, reflective of the diverse racial and this era of civil discord be called “a wonderful ethnic groups that populated Newark at MARCH Happenings time”? The visitor explained that he did not the time and in the present. This last was 4 think it was wonderful living through the accomplished by placing selected quotations Regional Roundup chaos, anger, and fear catalyzed by the riot, from the nearly one hundred oral history 5 but the exhibit, he said, placed him right back interviews conducted in conjunction with Going to the Well in 1967 – the days, weeks, and months before What’s Going On? throughout the exhibit 6 the riot, when the world was changing, when on flat screens, ipods, and listening stations. the status quo was being challenged on all Equally important, we helped to constitute Famous Last Words: fronts, when we, as a society, began to look at and then worked with a committee of leaders D. Stephen Elliott how we lived and loved and demanded more of Newark’s cultural, educational, social 7 -- more accountability, more understanding, service, and political organizations to plan more brotherhood, more care for the socially additional events commemorating the riots, disenfranchised. thereby opening up multiple venues for reflection and the exchange of ideas. www.march.rutgers.edu Cross Ties Newsletter/ Spring 2008 Acts of Civic Engaement, continued from page 1 2008 FREDRIC M. MILLER long term, What’s Going On? is challenging MEMORIAL LECTURE The New Jersey Historical Society to refocus its programmatic mission in ways that use Marcy Dubroff Marcy David New Jersey stories to critically explore Schuyler, the broader topics in American history, foster Three days of scholarship, art, Arthur and dialogue within our community, expand history, and civic dialogue Katherine our understanding of diverse pasts, and April 3 – 5, 2008 Shadek encourage engagement in a shared future. University of Baltimore Professor of Linda Epps is President and CEO of The New Jersey the Humanities Historical Society. What’s Going On? will be on view For further information and to at the Society through fall 2008. and Professor register for the conference, go to of American www.ubalt.edu/baltimore68 Studies at Baltimore ’68: Riots and Rebirth Franklin & In the wake of the assassination of Dr. Martin would allow us to construct knowledge and David Schuyler Marshall Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968, civil collaborate with a broad range of people and College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, disturbances rocked Baltimore and 140 other organizations. The outcomes so far have will deliver the tenth annual Fredric cities around the country. Despite the riot’s been varied and unpredictable. Hundreds of Miller Memorial Lecture Thursday importance to our city’s past, present, and students have conducted original research, April 17th at Rutgers University in future, there has been little effort to document collected oral histories with dozens of Camden, New Jersey. The co-editor or interpret it. In the fall of 2005 faculty community members, and compiled a of three volumes of The Frederick and staff at the University of Baltimore (UB) commemorative calendar. We have created Law Olmsted Papers, including most came together to brainstorm whether and how a driving tour of the commercial districts recently The Years of Olmsted, Vaux & we should commemorate the events of April affected by the riots. Much of this material Company, 1865-1874 (1992), Schuyler 1968. As the institution of higher education is publicly available via the Baltimore will assess the creation of New York in Maryland with a student body that most ’68 website. A strong arts component City’s Central Park and its legacy on accurately mirrors the state’s demographics includes the development of a dramatic the occasion of the 150th anniversary and with the motto “Knowledge That Works,” presentation based upon the oral histories of the adoption of the Olmsted and UB was well positioned for this work. In and a meditation garden on campus. We are Vaux greensward plan of 1858. addition, we could build upon a tradition of planning a public conference April 3—5, for innovative public history work, including the which we anticipate a large audience. Schuyler is also the author of a Baltimore Neighborhood Heritage Project number of books in urban and in the 1980s, two successful Baltimore The public dimension of our work has been planning history, including A City history conferences in the 1990s, and an strengthened by several partnerships, including Transformed: Redevelopment, Race, impressive agenda to collect archival records with the Maryland Humanities Council; and Suburbanization in Lancaster, documenting modern Baltimore. WYPR, Baltimore’s National Public Radio Pennsylvania, 1940-1980 (2002); affiliate; the Annie E. Casey Foundation; and Apostle of Taste: Andrew Jackson At the outset, we had to confront fundamental three Baltimore City high schools. Our efforts Downing 1815-1852 (1996); questions about public humanities programs: will continue after April through a series of and The New Urban Landscape: How can cultural and educational organizations community dialogues in collaboration with the The Redefinition of City Form in mark anniversaries of controversial and difficult Central Maryland YMCA. Nineteenth-Century America (1986). – if significant – historical events? What He is co-editor of From Garden City effect might our efforts have on the broader It was not inevitable that UB would expend to Green City: The Legacy of Ebenezer community? How can we engage with this resources to wrestle with our community’s Howard (2002). community in positive ways? difficult past. Yet we believe it is increasingly important for urban universities The lecture will begin at 5:00 P.M. While still a work-in-progress, the efforts to with a public mission such as UB to serve in Penn 401 on the Rutgers Camden date of what has become the Baltimore ’68: as catalysts for community examination of campus. A reception will follow. Email Riots and Rebirth project suggests how we risky subjects like the legacy of civil unrest Howard Gillette at [email protected]. are addressing these questions. and protest. Even a city still in pain may be edu for reservations and directions. willing to find catharsis when people of good Early on, our steering committee committed will provide the vehicle and space. to an inclusive, representative approach to understanding the riots, with the goal of Jessica I. Elfenbein is Professor of History and Associate Provost for University Engagement at the University of making our process public and our findings Baltimore and heads the Baltimore’68 project. easily available to a broad audience. This Elizabeth M. Nix is Visiting Assistant Professor of scholarly community-building effort, we felt, History at the university and a member of the project steering committee.●✕ 2 www.march.rutgers.edu Cross Ties Newsletter/ Spring 2008 PROJECTS TO WATCH EXPLORING THE Library of Congress MID@LANTIC Outstanding websites are available for both the New Jersey Historical Commission’s What’s Going On? Newark and the Legacy of the Sixties exhibition and the University of Baltimore’s Brooklyn Bridge, ca.