(HACKENSACK, NJ) — ArtsBergen from the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation (NNJCF). hosted the official public unveiling of the “Black Woman Mural” painted by artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh in a celebration at the Women’s Rights Information Center (WRIC) on November 14, 2022. The mural, located at 108 West Palisade Avenue on the east side of WRIC. wall in downtown Englewood, New Jersey, was designed with participation and feedback from Black women in Englewood and the community at large gathered in several public workshops.
The mural features black women leaders past and present. These leaders include suffragette Ida B. Wells; Dr. Josie Carter, an original board member of the Women’s Rights Information Center; and activists protesting segregation at the city’s Lincoln Elementary School. Others featured are Hali Cooper, an Englewood resident who marched in the Black Lives Matter march, and Kia S. Thornton Miller, whose family has lived in Englewood for several generations, and her daughter Toni Michelle Miller, a ninth-grader- to Bergen County. Technical schools.
The mural celebrates the voices of black women, raises awareness of black suffragists, and encourages civil discourse within the community. The mural inspired pride by recognizing and honoring the contributions of the black community through a large-scale public artwork located in the center of one of the busiest downtowns in Bergen County, New Jersey. Englewood sixth- through ninth-graders created mini-murals inspired by the courage of black suffragettes during the Black Girls Empowerment workshop hosted by Arts Horizon. Their artwork was also exhibited at the celebration.
NNJCF’s ArtsBergen Initiative oversaw, raised funds and facilitated the project. “The success of this project was evident from the proud faces in the crowd and even a few tears. The Black Women’s Mural graces downtown Englewood and is an expression of the voices, culture and stories of black suffragettes and black women in the city. The artwork elevates the value of their activism and generates ownership of the place, said Danielle De Laurentis, associate director, Northern New Jersey Community Foundation.
“It was a pleasure working with our partners – the Women’s Rights Information Center, the Metro Community Center and the Women’s Club of Englewood – and community members, who each played a role in making the project a success. ArtsBergen at the New Jersey Community Foundation looks forward to continuing its work with the community and the city to create more meaningful public art.”
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Several community leaders spoke about the merits and completion of this special project led by Englewood Black women and the Black suffragettes who inspired them. Speakers included De Laurentis, Fazlalizadeh, Lil Corcoran of the Women’s Rights Information Center, Jacqueline Wisner of the Women’s Club of Englewood, Peggy King Jorde of King Jorde Culturals, Lynne Algrant of the NNJCF Board of Directors, Lauren Nance of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey, Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes, Englewood Councilman Charles Cobb and Englewood resident Toni Michelle Miller.
“What are you willing to do to make the change? asked Corcoran, executive director of the Women’s Rights Information Center. “People have suffered to give us these rights. Everyone can do something.”
“If a picture is worth a thousand words, we’ve been given a history book,” said Wisner, treasurer, Woman’s Club of Englewood.
From October 28 to November 11, the public came and saw Fazlalizadeh painting the mural on the Women’s Rights Information Center building. A video shoot, sponsored by the Women’s Club of Englewood and the Englewood and Neighborhood Teaneck Club of the National Association of Black Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc., documented the mural project and process as a memorable event in Englewood women’s history. .
Major supporters of the project included Northern NJ Community Foundation, AARP New Jersey, Valley Bank, Sozosei Foundation, Visions Federal Credit Union, Age-Friendly Englewood and PNC Bank. Learn more about the project on the NNJCF website at https://bit.ly/AARPCommunityGrant and bit.ly/3qpZvTG.
Founded in 1998, The Northern New Jersey Community Foundation (NNJCF), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Hackensack, New Jersey, focuses primarily on civic engagement, education, public health, the environment, philanthropy and the arts. NNJCF works with local governments, school districts, businesses, non-profit organizations and citizen groups in Northern New Jersey to improve community life. The Foundation’s partners identify and solve regional problems and opportunities by talking and learning from each other and sharing ideas, best practices, services and resources.
ArtsBergen, an initiative of the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation, is an arts alliance in Bergen County, New Jersey that supports and encourages creative placemaking, the practice of integrating art and culture into a neighborhood, city or region to build community and home and to stimulate. local economy. The initiative’s mission is to energize and unify artists and arts organizations in Bergen County and connect the region’s communities to the arts.
Photos by Sam Lee