Welcome to One Hillsborough

On August 27th, the Somerset Patriots played in special jerseys with the logo of the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum (SSAAM) as well as a newly-designed logo honoring the Black Yankees. These game-worn jerseys were auctioned off live after the event to benefit SSAAM’s mission and educational programming.

SSAAM –as well as One Hillsborough –supported this event honoring the history and legacy of the New York Black Yankees: a Negro League baseball team of the 1930s and ‘40s. At a time when Major League Baseball excluded Black athletes, Negro League teams gave African Americans a path to play professional baseball.

The Patriots took on the visiting Harvard Yard Goats as the "New York Black Yankees" to commemorate the Negro League team that played from 1932 until 1948. The Harvard Yard Goats played as the "Harvard Schoolboys" in honor of Connecticut baseball legend Johnny "Schoolboy" Taylor, who played in the Negro Leagues during the 1930s. He is regarded as one of the best players ever from the state of Connecticut, yet was never able to play in the major leagues.

About the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum

The Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum is a history museum located in the Skillman section of Montgomery Township, New Jersey, United States. The museum is located at the Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church, an African Methodist Episcopal church constructed in 1899. (Source: wikipedia)

About seventy Hillsborough residents, students, community leaders, police and other stakeholders came together to listen, share experiences and exchange ideas on what works well and what could or should be improved in our community.

After initial welcome remarks, representatives of various institutions and organizations introduced our four topics for the night. Mayor Lipani spoke of government, police Chief McMahon shared some thoughts on the police department, education was introduced by Assistant Superintendent Feltre, and community involvement received remarks from Naz Cattelona, representing the Hillsborough YMCA Board, and Raina James, representing Hillsborough High School’s Student Diversity Initiative. 

Some additional notable characteristics of the night included the exhibit of Hillsborough student’s artwork (see the photo collection of the event) celebrating Martin Luther King, the presence of all four additional Township Committee Members, the attendance of ten Hillsborough Police Officers, the Middle School principal, multiple teachers, and additional community organizations with information tables: the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum, BoroSAFE, the Hillsborough-Millstone Municipal Alliance, and the NJ Division on Civil Rights.

A brief program break –refreshments courtesy of the Hillsborough Education Association–  allowed for participants to walk to four large Post-It boards to ponder and share their views on “What is going well” and “Where is there room for improvement?” on the four specific topics for the night. Four breakout groups were then formed to engage in a facilitated discussion on issues facing the community. Student Diversity Initiative co-facilitators were on hand, as were dedicated scribes to take notes. After well over an hour of earnest conversations and reflections, group summaries were shared and special guest Mrs. Patricia Williamson of the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights shared some observations on the importance of residents being engaged in their towns civic life. 

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From most accounts, this inaugural town-wide community conversation seems to have accomplished the dual goal of fostering dialogue among and between community and leadership, and add to the growing recognition of One Hillsborough as a group platform for advocacy and activism, particularly on behalf of the unheard and underrepresented.

After the event, the Post-It boards were combined with the discussion notes of each group to generate written summaries for each of the night’s topics. These summaries have been sent to all participants and institutional representatives and are available here: government, public safety, education, community involvement. The full report covering all topics and Post-It boards is also available. 

One Hillsborough welcomes all residents to join in partnership and goodwill that begins with having good conversations. Our follow-up events will circle back to questions and concerns where possible, and the institutions were invited to provide feedback before our n​​ext community gathering.

The full Community Conversation MLK2023 Report

Photo collection of the inaugural Community Conversation/MLK2023

Note: Journalist Rod Hirsch covered the event comprehensively online at TAPintoHillsborough.

Nishat’s impression: “And what a night! This was our group who watched Me, The Other. The film was stunning and such a beautiful story about people who just want to belong and not be seen through their differences. We had a rich conversation after and discussed how so many more people should see this movie. (More to come on that front!) It was an honor hearing how the film was made from the Director. Can’t wait to see this again with a bigger audience! Also ps - every story resonated with each of us in different ways - and once again helping us see that we are so much more connected than we are different.

For the curious, there is some background of our first screening in 2021. 

About Me, The Other
English Feature Documentary (84 minutes) by director and co-producer Shidan Majidi.
Real stories of a diverse characters experiencing prejudice, with the intent to create conversations about what connects us and what keeps us apart. Available on Vimeo-on-demand. More info at www.metheotherfilm.com