By Julianna Germek
RED BANK – The T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center will soon open its new exhibit, “The Black Press: Stewards of Democracy” with a new group of young docents.
The eight students selected for the Fortune Tellers Docent Training Program have been diligently preparing since early July and officially graduated as tour guides Aug. 10.
The exhibit will open Oct. 7, coinciding with T. Thomas Fortune’s 167th birthday Oct. 3. It highlights significant leaders and journalists of the Black press such as A. Philip Randolph, Ida B. Wells and Ethel Payne, all of whom the students have been learning a lot about.
T. Thomas Fortune was a prominent civil rights leader and journalist of the 19th and 20th centuries. He resided in Red Bank at Maple Hall which is now the home of the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center. In 1976, his house was established as a National Historic Landmark.
“T. Thomas Fortune is why we’re here,” Executive Director Gilda Rogers said at the graduation ceremony.
The new docents represent several schools across Monmouth County and the state. Saeed Ellis attends Red Bank Regional High School; Ava Deady, Priscilla Michel and Kaylee Godfrey are students at Ranney School; Precious Ogunsakin and Joe Capuno attend Academy of Allied Health and Science, part of the Monmouth County Vocational School District; Sydni Scott is from Colonia High School in Woodbridge; and Xavier Reid attends Brookdale Community College.
“They’re so charming. I have picked a very charming group of tour guides, and they’re setting the tone for what this program will be,” Rogers said.
Ogunsakin and Capuno discussed their positive experiences with the program and what they hope the exhibit will provide to the community.
“The most important thing I learned, undoubtedly, was the resilience of so many important figures in this exhibit who have contributed to the Civil Rights Movement,” Ogunsakin said.
Precious Ogunsakin, a student at the Academy of Allied Health and Science, is one of the newly trained docents, or Fortune Tellers. Julianna Germek
Capuno also explained that through the program he learned more about the “hidden figures” within the African American community, those who contributed to history but may not be as well known as others.
“What I want to show with this program is that people of color can make a difference in our community,” Capuno said. “We have another exhibit here that talks about the first African American doctors and physicians that have made an influence here in Red Bank, and I found that really interesting because it tied into what we learned” about the journalists.
The T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center celebrated the students’ graduation with a ceremony and luncheon that included their parents and families. Each student presented essays they wrote about the time they spent training and the valuable knowledge they gained preparing for the exhibit’s opening.
“The Black Press: Stewards of Democracy is important because it challenges and informs individuals (about) the forceful Black figures that were pivotal in making this country a true democracy for everyone,” Scott read.
In his essay, Capuno explained that while the exhibit is still a work in progress, it fosters an increased understanding of the individuals who cultivated activism and democracy for all.
“These individuals in the Black press marked a way toward a more just and equitable society,” Deady read. “They helped lay the groundwork for the Civil Rights Movement and set the stage for our conversations about racial equality and social justice.”
Carol Penn, D.O., a family medicine doctor in Red Bank, and T. Thomas Fortune Foundation board member Mark Fitzsimmons both attended the graduation ceremony and offered a few words of celebration for the students. Exhibit designer Stan Cain presented a sneak peek of what will be featured in the exhibit, including a timeline and a listing of T. Thomas Fortune’s works, as well as those of other members of the Black press.
“The T. Thomas Fortune Foundation offered me educational and speaking opportunities as well as community engagement,” said current Fortune Teller Alexandra Lewis of Red Bank. “Overall, it is a great program for young students to get involved with history and their community at the same time.” Lewis said one benefit – and her favorite aspect – of the program is that she is always learning something new.
“It is my honor to have been able to spend these last five weeks with all of you,” Rogers told the eight graduating students at the end of the ceremony. “I’m looking forward to the opening of the exhibit and to all of you shining like stars, because you will be.”
The article originally appeared in the August 17 – 23, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
