Neighborhoods of Color

Neighborhoods of Color surveys the experience of blacks in southern New Jersey beginning with colonization and forced migration in the seventeenth century, continuing through the years of slavery and segregation, and concluding with the decades-long struggle for civil rights and equality in the late twentieth century. Throughout the entire period and in the face of racism and prejudice, which often isolated them from the majority, African Americans in South Jersey successfully establish their own communities, their own neighborhoods of color. This study is the first history of the African American experience in southern New Jersey. It is the culmination of decades of research by Gary Hunter, former professor and chairperson of the Department of History at Rowan University.

New Release! Long awaited publication by the late Dr. Gary Hunter.

Biography, Gary J. Hunter, 1946-2003

From 1974 to 2003, Dr. Hunter taught African American history and New Jersey history at Rowan University. He received his B. A. from Lincoln University in 1969 and a M.A. from Atlanta University in 1970. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1977. The title of his dissertation was "'Don't Buy Where You Can't Work': Black Economic Boycotts during the Great Depression." He has published essays on the African American struggle for freedom in the United States in general and on the black experience in New Jersey in particular. At Rowan University, he founded the program in African American Studies. Over the years, he received numerous honors from groups such as the New Jersey Association of Black Educators and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In 1989, Rowan University named him Teacher of the Year in the Humanities, one of several awards for teaching and service he earned. In 1998, he was appointed to the New Jersey State Historical Records Review Board. After his death, Rowan University created three separate awards to honor his legacy: The Gary Hunter Medallion for Excellence in History, the Gary Hunter Memorial Scholarship, and the Gary Hunter Award for Excellence in Student Mentoring.

Contact Information

Denise Williams
Department of History
201 Mullica Hill Road
Glassboro, New Jersey, 08028
Phone: 856-256-4818
Email: williamsd@rowan.edu