Funded projects range from a theater-based discussion about antisemitism to oral histories of women living with HIV/AIDS to ethnography of Indigenous women’s role in preserving the cultural and spiritual well-being in NJ Native communities

(Camden, NJ) – The New Jersey Council for the Humanities (NJCH) has awarded 18 grants totaling $216,319 in its most recent grant round. These funds will support a diverse array of projects in nine counties across the Garden State, highlighting NJCH’s ongoing commitment to fostering the public humanities in New Jersey.

Notably, of the 18 awarded projects, five had their genesis in prior NJCH grants or programs. The high quality of applications for these projects demonstrates the distinctive value of NJCH’s support for the development of public humanities projects in early stages and within emerging organizations.

Two organizations, the AIDS Resource Foundation for Children and the Hispanic Family Center of Southern NJ, received funding for projects that expand upon The Dear Rosa Project, an oral history initiative amplifying the voices of women living with HIV/AIDS that was funded by a prior NJCH grant. In addition, Clinton Hill Community Action and Raíces Cultural both received funding to extend projects initially developed in NJCH’s Community History Program. Truehart Productions received funding to produce a new episode of the PBS documentary series The Price of Freedom, which previously received developmental funding from an NJCH incubation grant.

“We are thrilled to see the continued impact and evolution of projects that have received our support in the past. Their success demonstrates the profound influence of our programs on the public humanities in New Jersey,” said NJCH executive director Carin Berkowitz, Ph.D. “The diverse and dynamic projects funded in this round will significantly contribute to the understanding and appreciation of our state’s rich cultural heritage.”

All awarded projects are listed below. For more information on the grant recipients and their projects, please visit njhumanities.org/grantees-2024-r2.

Incubation Grants support the planning and development of public humanities projects:
• Trent House Association – Trenton, “Intimate Portraits of Domestic Servants in the Gilded Age” ($15,000.00)
• Montclair State University Native American and Indigenous Studies Program – Montclair, “The Lessons Are To Give Away: Exploring Indigenous Women’s Stories” ($14,943.00)
• Fanwood Memorial Library – Fanwood, “What the Holocaust Taught Us: Save One Life, Save the World” ($3,000.00)
• Hispanic Family Center of Southern NJ, Inc. – Camden, “Querida Rosa / Dear Rosa” ($15,000.00)
• Ubuntu Cultural Pavilion, Inc, Somerville/Piscataway – “Ubuntu Cultural Pavilion – Citizen Archivists” ($9,280.00)
• The Briar Patch Collaboratory, Westfield – “MATI’s Black Her-story Curriculum: An Arts-Based Exploration of Black Feminists’ Historical Writings”

Action Grants support the implementation or continuation of public humanities projects:
• The theater project – Union, for “The Interpreter — What the Nuremberg Trials Can Teach Us About Antisemitism” ($3,750.00)
• Clinton Hill Community Action – Newark, “Newark’s Clinton Hill Neighborhood History Project” ($15,000.00)
• Rutgers, the State University – Newark, “SOMOS NJ Poetry & Culture Festival” ($15,000.00)
• Whitesbog Preservation Trust – Browns Mills, “Harvesting Stories” ($15,000.00)
• Truehart Productions – Lambertville, “The Price of Silence, The Search for Freedom in New Jersey” ($15,000.00)
• AAPI Montclair – Montclair, “Roots and Routes: An Illustrated Map of Asian American History in New Jersey” ($15,000.00)
• Writers House, Rutgers-Camden, “Outside the Wire: Writing Grief” ($7,272.00)
• Elizabeth Youth Theater Ensemble – Elizabeth, “Walking the Beat’s Community Safety Podcast” ($15,000.00)
• AIDS Resource Foundation for Children – Newark, “The Rosa Logues” ($15,000.00)
• Stockton University – Galloway, “Generations: An Oral History of Jewish Farming in Southern New Jersey” ($15,000.00)
• Millville Army Air Field Museum – Millville, “Veteran Interview Project” ($13,074.00)
• Raíces Cultural Center – Highland Park, “Family Ties Digital Project Portal & Exhibit Development” ($10,000.00)