To the Editor:

The decade was the 1980s, the situation was the busing of children to schools, the outcome was the bonding of two boys from different communities in Princeton! Taylor “Todd” Marrow III and Jason Harding met when they were students at Littlebrook School, continued through John Witherspoon Middle School, and graduated from Princeton High School. Last Tuesday evening they reunited on a Zoom meeting fundraiser for the Witherspoon-Jackson Historical and Cultural Society (WJHCS). Their lasting friendship and respect for each other was evident as they shared their growing up days of childhood antics, confronting racial injustices, sharing the love and care from both families and their educational journeys to becoming history professors. 

Todd, an associate professor at Chemeketa College in Salem, Oregon, and Jason Harding, a professor at Pennington School, gave an entertaining hour-long talk  centering on a variety of topics influenced by race and history. Jason introduced Todd’s recently-released edited book, America Awakened by Ida B. Wells-Barnett. Both professors shared an evening of remembrances, history, and the joys and challenges of life. 

WJHCS publicly sends our gratitude and appreciation to Professor Taylor “Todd” Marrow III and Professor Jason Harding for an inspiring, enjoyable, and heartfelt evening. Our acknowledgements and thanks go out to the 84 persons who registered for this Zoom webinar with a special thank you to our sponsors, all of whom supported our fundraiser for the installation of 29 Heritage Plaques to commemorate noted African American establishments in Princeton. 

This fundraiser was conceived by Reverend Gregory Smith, event chairperson and close friend of both presenters.  Mr. Julian Edgren, a Studio Hillier architect, and Mr. Jaime Escarpeta, a photographer and printing consultant, both served as the Zoom event technicians. 

Shirley Satterfield
President, Trustees of the Witherspoon-Jackson Historical and Cultural Society