The course, \u201cMigration and Movement,\u201d offered attendees a daylong, shortened educational study on the achievements and contributions of African Americans who found themselves in Atlantic City and the surrounding area. The short course also allowed social workers and educators to earn professional development credits for participating.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited to hear the information shared and learning about Atlantic City,\u201d said Kathy Inloes, 64, an Atlantic City resident who couldn\u2019t attend the short course the previous year. \u201cA lot of people know Atlantic City, but some aren\u2019t familiar with it like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
After checking in at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, guests were offered breakfast, a welcome session and a keynote lecture from Hentrietta Shelton, an Atlantic City native and founder of the Chicken Bone Beach Foundation.<\/p>\n
Shelton discussed the history of Chicken Bone Beach, the cultural signifigance of the beach, famous visitors at Chicken Bone Beach and the lasting legacy of jazz music in the city, which is fortified by Shelton\u2019s Chicken Bone Beach Institute of Jazz Studies.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a family. The community and the Black community were a family,\u201d said Shelton during the presentation, about times where beaches were still segregated, although all people enjoyed Chicken Bone Beach, which is located in the Inlet section of the city.<\/p>\n
Ny\u2019Kirah Gantz, 17, attended the short course with her grandmother since her grandmother\u2019s friend couldn\u2019t make it. She thought it was a great way to spend time a Saturday with her grandmother.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t realize Chicken Bone Beach was segregated or even about the jazz that happened on the beach,\u201d said Gantz, who attends Atlantic City High School. \u201cI like to learn about the history of where I\u2019m from.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy teacher said people from Atlantic City talk different, and that there\u2019s a lot of people with a background from the West Indies in Atlantic City,\u201d said Gantz.<\/p>\n
Followed by the lecture, there were eight different one-hour workshops attendees could choose from to learn additional information about historical African American culture in our area.<\/p>\n
Gantz said she looked forward to the mini sessions, including an African American English workshop and \u201cThe Other A.C.\u201d presented by Turiya S. A. Raheem, the author of \u201cGrowing Up in the Other Atlantic City: Wash\u2019s and the Northside.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re sharing information. We\u2019re bringing everything to the present to stay unified,\u201d said Raheem, who is also the filmmaker of \u201cOur Side: The Other Atlantic City.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other workshops included presentations on the Northside of Atlantic City by the author of \u201cBoardwalk Empire\u201d retired Atlantic County Judge Nelson Johnson, the history and impact of Islam in the city by Lester Muhammad and 3rd Ward Councilman Kaleem Shabazz, and more.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur short course is only as strong as the people that present their stories,\u201d said Diana Strelcyzyk, the assistant director of continuing studies at Stockton University.<\/p>\n
Strelcyzk said they based the short course off their already existing short course on the Pinelands. After receiving a grant in 2018 from the New Jersey Historical Commission to do another short course, they chose to focus specifically on African American studies.<\/p>\n
The inaugural year of the African American short course was in April of 2019, but did not occur the following years until now due to the pandemic.<\/p>\n
People at the short looked forward to next year\u2019s event and learning more about the area\u2019s unique African American culture and heritage.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nice to reminisce. It brings back good memories, but it\u2019s also bringing that awareness of people\u2019s struggles,\u201d said Inloes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At least 65 people were at Stockton University Saturday for its second annual short course on African American Cultural Heritage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12963,"featured_media":7768,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,16],"tags":[7,30,26],"class_list":{"0":"post-7771","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-culture","8":"category-news","9":"tag-apie-project","10":"tag-culture","11":"tag-news"},"yoast_head":"\n