Cooper Levenson Supports African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey
Museum founder Ralph Hunter speaks at the African American Heritage Museum Exhibit hosted by the Hard Rock Casino & Hotel for Black History Month on Feb. 19, 2023. Photo by Meredith Winner/Mer-Made Photography.
AC JosepH Media
ATLANTIC CITY — Cooper Levenson, Attorneys at Law presented $2,500 to Ralph E. Hunter, Sr. of the African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey recently to continue the organization’s interactive traveling museum project.
The project is an entertaining and educational experience for schools, community organizations, and companies that want to explore the depth of African American history with students, employees or customers.
The AAHMSNJ museum is housed at the Noyes Arts Garage in Atlantic City, a Stockton University facility, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in Newtonville. The museum now has more than 12,000 pieces.
The African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey sprang from the passion of its founder, Ralph E. Hunter, Sr. After retiring from a long career in retail, Ralph began collecting cultural treasures that he stumbled on while traveling or just by being an astute observer of his surroundings.
In 2002, his museum became a reality when he was offered a space by the mayor of Buena Vista Township. This allowed him to show off his treasures, put to use his talent for display, and share stories about the meaning behind the artifacts he collected — the first of which was a copy of “Little Black Sambo” by Helen Bannerman.
Hunter had painful memories of that book growing up and bought it to take it off the market. That same book is now the centerpiece of a vast collection of paintings, ceramics and advertising and branding memorabilia that portrays African Americans in both a flattering and unflattering way.
They may make some uncomfortable, but they also serve to start the larger conversation about the true African American experience.
Cooper Levenson is a full-service law firm, founded in 1957. The firm has offices in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Florida, and Nevada. For more information, visit www.cooperlevenson.com.
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