For the fourth consecutive year, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Westfield is celebrating Juneteenth with an African American History Trolley Tour through Westfield. Take a ride on a vintage trolley, which this year is revitalized by hop-on-board live presentations. African American community leaders and actors representing historic figures will join the tour at significant sites to bring life to the characters who were seminal figures in Westfield's history.
The 90-minute tour will visit select sites from the 300-year history of African Americans in Westfield, including: the Burial Grounds of The Presbyterian Church in Westfield, Fairview Cemetery, Brightwood Park, and Westfield’s Black Professional Zone, and the homes of Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and Paul Robeson. These narrated history tours are made possible in part by a 2024 Union County HEART (History, Education, Arts Reaching Thousands) Grant.
The African American History Trolley Tour will run on Saturday, June 15th: 9:00am and 11:00am, rain or shine, and begins at the Westfield High School Parking Lot near the Trinity Place entrance. Seats on the tour are limited and registration is required. There is a $15 registration fee for adults and children are $5 (we recommend 3rd Graders and up) and includes a complimentary copy of the second edition of MLK Westfield's booklet: African Americans in Westfield, New Jersey from 1720. Proceeds will be used to further the MLK Westfield Association’s work, specifically its African American History Project. Please register by June 13th.
For further questions please email: mlkwestfield@gmail.com
