Neptune Black History Month focuses on the value of resistance

Charles Daye, Asbury Park Press
·2 min read
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NEPTUNE - Resistance is good.

That's the message organizers hope to share at the township's annual Black History Month celebration.

Good Trouble: Black Resistance in Neptune and the Jersey Shore is the theme for the event, which runs from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Michael T. Lake Performing Art Center, Neptune High School on Neptune Boulevard.

"There was resistance in Neptune. People don't think there was a whole lot of resistance down here, but there is," said Dianna Harris, chair of the Neptune Black History Month Planning Committee.

Following the legacy of civil rights icon John Lewis, encouraging all to “Speak Up, Speak Out, Get in the Way, Get in Good Trouble, Necessary Trouble,” the program booklet includes articles about Black resistance and the fights against slavery, segregation and discrimination. It also provides accounts of the 1969 Neptune High School sit-in and the 1970 Springwood Avenue Uprising.

"People have to understand what resistance is, and resistance is really just standing up and speaking out, but speaking out for positive change. Because there can be negative things that happen when you resist but what we want to emphasize is the positive changes that have come out of resistance," Harris said.

The booklet provided by the Black History Month Committee for the #NeptuneBlackHistory "Good Trouble" celebration of resistance on Feb. 25
The booklet provided by the Black History Month Committee for the #NeptuneBlackHistory "Good Trouble" celebration of resistance on Feb. 25

"You can't let it go. You have to stay on it until you get the results that you need in the community. That is the most important message .... is the fact that you can speak out. There are ways to speak out without being angry," Harris said.

The event will include videos featuring local residents, and performances by the award-winning a cappella group Scarlett Sounds, Asbury Park Technical Academy of Dance and students from Asbury Park Martin Luther King Jr. Upper Elementary School and Neptune Summerfield middle and high schools.

A page in the #NeptuneBlackHistory "Good Trouble" booklet provided by the Neptune Black History Month Committee for the celebration on Feb. 25
A page in the #NeptuneBlackHistory "Good Trouble" booklet provided by the Neptune Black History Month Committee for the celebration on Feb. 25

The keynote speaker is Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka.

"I am sure he will bring history to the table that probably a lot of people in Neptune don't even know about," Harris said.

Charles Daye is the metro reporter for Asbury Park and Neptune, with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. @CharlesDayeAPP Contact him: CDaye@gannettnj.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Neptune NJ marks Black History Month talking about resistance