A&R Mack Charitable Foundation Awards $100,000 Grant to African American Museum
Anthony Mack (2nd from right) presents $100,000 from the A&R Mack Charitable Foundation to the African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey. Pictured (l-r): AAHMSNJ Board Secretary Quentin McClendon, Board Member Rev. David Mallory, Board President Kyle Ruffin, AAHMSNJ Founder and CEO Ralph Hunter, Anthony Mack and Board Member Adam Mariano. Photo by Pernell Ponce
AC JosepH Media
NEWTONVILLE – A&R Mack Charitable Foundation presented the African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey a check for $100,000 to hire its first ever executive director, it was announced this month after the museum’s August board meeting.
Anthony Mack made the presentation at the museum’s Newtonville location. Mack’s wife, the late Rita Mack, was an active supporter of the museum for years, which was founded in 2002.
The museum has grown into the most significant collection of Black artifacts documenting the life and times of Blacks in South Jersey under its founder Ralph E. Hunter, Sr., 88, which started from his own personal collection.
“Rita Mack has been a tremendous supporter of the museum’s efforts,” Hunter said in a statement released by the museum. “She sponsored and was featured in the museum’s popular ‘Talking About HerStory’ Traveling Museum exhibit.
“It highlighted the outstanding contributions she and other local women have made to shaping our region and our nation. We are truly grateful for the generosity her partner and husband, Anthony Mack, has shown by investing in the growth and expansion of AAHMSNJ.”
The museum has collected, preserved, and shared important Atlantic City, regional, and national history for nearly 25 years. Hunter has driven the museum’s success with the support of devoted volunteers and interns.
The museum said that Hunter will start comes the opportunity to begin building a professional team that will ensure the museum’s future.
Rita and Anthony were the owners of two McDonald’s franchises in Atlantic City. Through their foundation, they have donated to countless organizations, including Stockton University, Atlantic Cape Community College, Faith Baptist Church and now the African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey. The city of Atlantic City honored the Mack’s enormous impact and generosity by renaming the streets of Arkansas and Atlantic Avenues ‘Rita and Anthony Mack Avenue.’
“Rita was very excited about the steps the African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey is taking to expand its impact,” Anthony Mack told the Board. “Before her passing, she herself had joined the board and was committed to supporting these efforts. I am grateful to make her wishes a reality with this donation.”
The African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey, Inc. is a 501c3 nonprofit organization with museum locations in Atlantic City and Newtonville. For more information, visit aahmsnj.org along with additional information for exhibits, events, and Traveling Museum for schools, churches, community organizations and businesses.
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