Attention:

Trenton Free Public Library will transform into a “living museum” sharing the perspectives of African Americans on the Revolutionary War and its meaning for enslaved people during a new Patriots Week event from 3-5 pm Monday Dec. 27, 2021.

“A Revolutionary Conversation: Whose history and whose freedom, anyway?” will feature Trenton students portraying real-life African-Americans who lived during the Revolutionary War and were excluded from the ideals espoused by founding fathers that “all men are created equal” and “endowed with certain inalienable rights.”

The event will include:

• Characters sharing their stories while engaging visitors in discussions about choices they faced and actions they took.
• Free copies of “Answering the Cry for Freedom” while supplies last at the event.
• Arts/crafts activity or game for young children
• Idea board for the community to share thoughts/reactions/next steps

The event is funded by a community history grant from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities to the Old Mill Hill Society. Volunteers include community activists such as Marc McKithen, Algernon Ward, Crystal Feliciano, and Kenneth Miles, educators such as Rebecca FrancoMartin, Laurie Budwiecz, Nina McPherson, and Danielle Miller-Winrow, as well as neighborhood volunteers.

Issues to be explored were selected based on a public survey in July and a virtual “community conversation” that was live streamed on the TFPL Facebook page.

Trenton Downtown Association hosts Patriots Week between Christmas and New Year’s and attracts thousands of visitors to the city to commemorate and recognize Trenton’s unique and pivotal role in the American Revolution.