During September 2021, East Brunswick Public Library partnered with The Lost Souls Public Memorial Project to celebrate the diversity of our community and the sense of unity we feel with others in town, as well as to memorialize the 137 African Americans who, in 1818, were kidnapped into the Van Wickle Slave Ring and sent from East Brunswick, NJ to permanent slavery in the Deep South.
As part of this initiative, the library sponsored an essay contest for teenagers in middle school, junior high school, and high school, ages 13-18 years of age. Writers were asked to familiarize themselves with the story of these 137 African Americans by visiting The Lost Souls Public Memorial Project.
Then they submitted essarys reflecting on one of the two following prompts:
What are the effects of racism on modern society? Physiological, psychological, historical, structural, etc. are all options to explore.
How does a broader knowledge of history propel us (as a society or as individuals) to reckon with our community's past and move forward to a more equitable society?
Essays were judged by a panel of teen committee members, Lost Souls Public Memorial Project staff, and librarians. One winning essay was selected and you can read all of the entries here.