By Donald Gilpin

The Witherspoon-Jackson (W-J) community African American mural project is moving into high gear, looking towards an unveiling in August 2020 during the annual Joint Effort Safe Streets Celebration.

Plans for the mural were a key topic at a meeting of the W-J Neighborhood Association (WJNA) Saturday morning at the Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church, as participants discussed ways to engage the community and necessary next steps in planning and implementing the project. The mural, which will reflect the African American experience in Princeton, is currently proposed to be installed at the newly renovated Mary Moss Playground at the corner of John and Lytle streets.

W-JNA Chairman Leighton Newlin said that interested individuals are contributing a variety of concepts and ideas about how to use public art to illustrate the historic and cultural legacy of the W-J neighborhood. “We are asking for community ideas on design possibilities,” said Newlin. “Done right and with the right level of community input, this will have a meaningful and genuine impact on people who live here and people who lived here in the past. It will be a great way to illustrate the history of the community.”

Newlin added that ideas for the mural included the possibility of a three-dimensional work and an installation with many different panels that could be rotated periodically. “There could be multiple ways to illustrate the history of Witherspoon-Jackson,” he said.

John Bailey, director of Joint Effort Safe Streets, which is leading the project, pointed out that a 19-member consulting committee, chaired by Councilman Dwaine Williamson and former Councilman Lance Liverman, is already in place, supported by an honorary organizing committee of about 120.

“We want to give the community ownership. We’re trying to be as inclusive as we can in terms of thoughts and ideas,” said Bailey, who added that he had called close to 200 people to discuss the project, almost all of whom were supportive. “We’re building support and momentum.”

The Mary Moss Playground site, Bailey pointed out, is ”a historical magnet of memories, youthful lessons, and everyday experiences. In the coming year there will be community meetings, work with concerned citizens, municipal leadership, businesses, black churches, the University, art institutions, and artists, as well as the philanthropic community to move this historical Witherspoon-Jackson African American mural project forward.”

Bailey mentioned that possible themes incorporated in the mural might include historical personalities, black churches, black men and women leaders, citizens and children, historic names and symbols, community organizations, teams, important events, and different ethnic groups.

“This project is a continuation of the work in uplifting the Witherspoon-Jackson Historic District, uplifting African American history, culture and community,” Bailey noted. “We don’t want to lose sight of who we are, and we want to continue to tell the story of this crucial part of the fabric that makes up the Princeton community.” The W-J neighborhood was officially designated as Princeton’s 20th Historic District in 2016.

Bailey emphasized the collaborative nature of the project in a press release, “This recognition of black life, culture, history, education, and community at the Mary Moss Playground is an appropriate salute in acknowledging the role of black citizens in the Princeton story and the history of the Witherspoon-Jackson community.”