Picture Source T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center Exhibit
On Saturday, October 28, 2023, the T.Thomas Fortune Cultural Center had an event emphasizing the essential contributions of Afro-Americans in the field of the Black Press. The exhibit's mission sought to acknowledge the "courageous writers, photojournalists, didactic thinkers, plus newspaper publishers." The field, as mentioned above, of Afro-American contributors assisted with the overall goals to enforce the Civil and Human Rights of Black Americans who, from drawn-out times, have been despitefully used and discriminated against until this day.
T.Thomas Fortune Cultural Center also enjoyed announcing the continued season of "The Gilded Age" Television Show." Which is a mini-series on HBO/Max with whom two of the characters in the T.V. show feature T.Thomas Fortune and his wife, Caroline Charlotte Smiley-Fortune. The exhibit featured local history makers such as Dr. James Parkers, Mr. William Elijah Rock (a good friend of Fortune Plus,) the Publisher/Editor of New Jersey's oldest Black-owned newspaper, The Echo, and Count Baise's musical and intellectual exhibit. Along with a list of visuals plus copied artifacts of historical Black newspapers, photojournalists plus authors in America, and so much more—a mixture of young and old mingled while discussing the presentations' uniqueness.
History of T. Thomas Fortune:
T. Thomas Fortune was born into slavery in Marianna, Florida, on October 3, 1856, and freed by the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. Fortune organized the National Afro-American League in 1887 to defend Black communities from lynchings, riots, and other domestic terrorist attacks. Fortune would also establish or become the editor of a variety of news publications, such as:
The People's Advocate - Alexandria, Virginia 1876
The New York Globe - New York 1881 - 1907 (aka The New York Freeman & New York Age)
Editor of Marcus Garvey's Negro World Newspaper
T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center Red Bank N.J. (Picture source Red Bank Women's Club https://womansclubofredbank.org/t-thomas-fortune-cultural-center-open-house/ )
The T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center is located at 94 Drs. James Parker Blvd, Red Bank N.J. 07701. Hours of operation: Saturday and Sunday from 1-5 PM. General donation for admission is $12. To learn more about the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center, please click the link: https://www.tthomasfortuneculturalcenter.org/