By Sparkle Prevard The curtains open and the lights brighten up the stage to show a restaurant. The restaurant is known as Wash’s and it is owned by the Washington family. Four ladies jump out from behind the curtains-cleaning, dancing, and singing while wearing their uniforms. Three of the women in this scene are aunts […]
Our Side Blog
Visibility and Storytelling
By Mariah Fabel The education system lacks diversity in history and narratives of Black experiences. Having history textbooks written in primarily Eurocentric points of view, results in students lacking understanding of the past’s true extent. African American Storytelling is necessary because oppressed and disenfranchised populations have been denied accurate recounts of past experiences. Kathryn L. […]
Perry Mays & The Chicken Bone Beach
By Diamond Pilgrim I had the privilege of interviewing my Grandfather. Well, before mentioning what I questioned him on, let me introduce him. Born in the early 1950s, my grandfather, Perry Mays, experienced the Civil Rights Movement in Southern New Jersey as a young, African American man. As the only one in my family to […]
Margaret Creswell: New Jersey’s First Policewoman
Sean Murphy Margaret Briar Creswell Hiawatha, Atlantic City’s first policewoman, made a large impact on the lives of African Americans in Atlantic City. She was born on April 27, 1899 to African American parents John and Willie Briar in Greenville, South Carolina. Her mother worked as a nurse and her father, a contractor. Raised a […]
Atlantic City Blog Post
By Michelle Dorantes In April of 1990, Donald Trump opened his biggest project of his career, the 42-story, $1 billion Trump Taj Mahal. In just a short amount of time, Trump became a commanding figure in Atlantic City with his casinos accounting for nearly a third of its gambling revenues and employing more than 8,000 […]
The History of Atlantic City
By Dominic Tesauro Atlantic City has a rich, extraordinary history and foundation unseen by tourists who just see casinos, dirt and muck. Is that just what they see or is that what the city really has become? The side of the story that often goes unheard through the sound of slot machines and dead dreams […]
Effects of the Casinos in Atlantic City
By Ebony Fleming In 1976, New Jersey residents voted against legalizing gambling, but just two years later they approved the legalization with restrictions only in Atlantic City. As a result, this lead to the first casino known as the Resorts Casino Hotel, which opened up on May 26, 1978. Politicians and residents of Atlantic City […]
Institutionalized Oppression as Explicated Through Atlantic City
By Danny Thompson Within our current-day political climate, there has been great room for discussion in regards to the powers and entities which rule over its people. This has led some to believe that our government structure has become one resembling more of an oligarchy. In a structure such as this one, a small group […]
Miss Black America
By Brianna Holder “The scars and stains of racism are still deeply embedded in the American society.” – John Lewis. Today, social media has made such an enormous impact when dealing with racism. Everyone seems to be feeling this impact; it makes one think about race in ways that they may not have thought about […]
How the Film “Our Side: The other Atlantic City” Explicates African American Culture Within Atlantic City
By Christine Adams The play “Growing up in the other Atlantic City: Wash’s and the Northside” reflects the culture of the Black community in Atlantic City in the past that also still makes relevant connections with Atlantic City today. The film captures the essence of what it is like to be an African American living […]