The Reparations Commission of the Diocese of New Jersey has created a multi-site pilgrimage, designed to be experienced in a single afternoon, that will offer participants the opportunity to learn about and reflect on our diocese’s history with slavery. The resources for each site include historical introductions to the actions of our Anglican and Episcopal forebears regarding their enslavement of Africans and African Americans, remembrance of those harmed, acknowledgements of our corporate responsibility, and prayers in response to these sites of memory. The pilgrimage sites, to be visited in a circuit, are as follows:
1) The Perth Amboy slave trade historical site marker at Perth Amboy Ferry Slip, NJ.
2) The Tinton Manor African Burial ground, Tinton Falls, NJ.
3) Marlpit Hall, Middletown, NJ. Home of the Taylors, an influential Anglican/Episcopal family. The exhibit focuses on the experiences of the enslaved in the Taylor household.
4) Sandy Hook (viewed from Mount Mitchill, NJ). Location from which the first group of Black Americans enslaved by the Van Wickle slave ring were smuggled on the Mary Ann in early 1818.
5) The Perth Amboy Ferry Slip, NJ. The fourth group of enslaved Black Americans were smuggled from here by the Van Wickle slave ring on the Schoharie in late 1818.
You can follow the pilgrimage route with a group or on your own. You can complete it all in one day, or one site at a time at your own pace. The sites on this pilgrimage represent only one region of the diocese, and only a sliver of the Episcopal slavery history in that region, but this is meant as an introductory resource rather than an exhaustive treatment. The Commission is looking to develop additional pilgrimage resources for sites of memory in other regions of the diocese as well. Please contact us if you have ideas for your region. We look forward to seeing this resource used by individuals and congregations throughout the diocese. You can find more information, and the guide to the pilgrimage, on the Diocese of New Jersey Racial Justice Review website.
Images in order: the Perth Amboy UNESCO Slave Route Project site marker, Marlpit Hall in Middletown, and Sandy Hook, taken by Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski,
