Witness Stones Project Inc.

Restore History, Educate, and Honor Humanity

#FridayTruehartNJ1

Witness Stones Project Comes to New Jersey to Honor, Remember Enslaved Teen

· ·

Thursday, April 28, 2022 – Witness Stones Project installation ceremony at the Old School Baptist Church on Broad Street, honoring Friday Truehart, who was enslaved in Hopewell at the age of 13 by Rev. Oliver Hart.Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

 

By Michael Mancuso for NJ Advance Media for NJ.com on April 28, 2022

More than 240 years ago, in Charleston, South Carolina, a 13-year-old African American boy named Friday Trueheart was separated from his mother Dinah, when their enslaver, the Rev. Oliver Hart, came north to New Jersey and took the young teen with him.

Oliver would become the new pastor at the Old School Baptist Church, which still stands on West Broad Street in Hopewell.

On Thursday, a Witness Stone — a permanent brass marker to memorialize an enslaved individual — was unveiled on the ground in front of the church by Truehart’s direct descendant and family matriarch Patricia True Payne. Continue reading.

Students from Timberlane Middle School Honor Friday Truehart

· ·

 

April 28, 2022

Students from Timberlane Middle School gathered today to honor Friday Truehart. This is the capstone of work they have been doing this spring with the Witness Stones Project. The have shared their work on their website. We invite you to visit to learn more.

Timberlane Middle School to Hold Ceremony Honoring Enslaved People

· ·

From CentralJersey.com on March 15, 2022

Timberlane Middle School (TMS) will hold the first-ever Witness Stones ceremony in the state on April 28.

TMS, located in the Hopewell Valley Regional School District in Pennington, will host the ceremony from 9:30-10:45 a.m. at the Hopewell Old School Baptist Meeting House, 46-48 W. Broad St., Hopewell.

Continue reading.

Timberlane Students Will Be First in New Jersey to Undertake a Witness Stones Project

· ·

 

By MercerMe Community Contributor on March 10, 2022

 

Timberlane Middle School will hold the first annual Witness Stones ceremony on Thursday, April 28, 2022 from 9:30am to 10:45am at the Hopewell Old School Baptist Meeting House at 46-48 W Broad St, Hopewell, NJ 08525.

Due to the small size of the venue, the event is by invitation only.

The Witness Stones Project, Inc. of Guilford, Ct., seeks to restore the history and honor the humanity of the enslaved individuals who helped build our communities. The Project provides research assistance, teacher development, and curriculum support to help middle school students study the history of slavery in their own communities. The students explore the lives of enslaved individuals through primary source documents.

Timberlane students will bring the Hopewell community together to place a Witness Stone (a permanent brass marker) to memorialize an enslaved individual, Friday Truehart, who came to this region with the Reverend Oliver Hart from South Carolina, when he was a thirteen year boy. This stone will honor where Friday lived, worked, and worshiped in the Hopewell region.

At public installation ceremonies, students, faculty, administrators, historians, public officials, local clergy, and the larger community will remember and honor the forgotten through music, poetry, oration, and reflection. The Project’s hope is that the students’ work and the public memorials inspire communities to learn their true history, dismantle current inequities, and build a just future.

The project and event will be completed and organized in conjunction with the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum and its founders, Elaine Buck and Beverly Mills. Timberlane Middle School is proud to be the first school in the state of New Jersey to undertake a Witness Stones Project.