By Lauren Wanko
Correspondent
The African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey is full of thousands of historical pieces. It all started though with one piece, and one man — Atlantic City resident Ralph Hunter.
“Growing up in Philadelphia, I was one of four African-Americans in class,” he said.
In school, Hunter’s teacher used to read “Little Black Sambo”.
“When she read the story I would put my hands in my ears like this and never listen to the words because at lunchtime at recess the kids used to call me Little Black Sambo and I was very much offended by that,” he said.
As an adult, Hunter bought a copy of the book and started a collection that eventually grew to 11,000 pieces. Most have been donated. In 2002 he founded the museum. The items are displayed in Newtonville and three different locations in Atlantic City. Stereotypes, one of the museum’s permanent exhibits, showcases how African-Americans were portrayed in pop culture throughout the years. One of the most famous faces — Aunt Jemima.
“My grandfather and my father would not have liked to have purchased Aunt Jemima products,” Hunter said. “They would portray her in the package almost as a cartoon character as opposed to a real human being. In 1917, they started to humanize her and make her look like a real person. Up to 1951 it got a little bit better, but in 1984 they actually made her a real person. They gave her a perm.”
Hunter insists Aunt Jemima’s transformation illustrates the positive evolution of products. Other items, like a ball and chain, offer a painful glimpse into the past.
“What would happen is the master would fill it with sand and with water and it would weigh about 35 pounds. That way the slaves that were picking cotton or tobacco would not run away from the plantation,” he said.
Salt and pepper shakers, planters and other souvenirs were insulting to many members of the African-American community and often given to them as gifts, insists Hunter.
“Many times some of these things would be given to their maids as a gift from their trip down South,” he said.
Old postcards only added to the stereotype, says Hunter.
“There are postcards that came from Florida, Georgia, Alabama, south of the border that depict black people in a very negative way,” he said.
Although many items in the museum illustrate the challenges the African-American community faced, it’s also full of pieces that offer a window into the past. A few of the items are the museum are an old TV from someone’s home in Philadelphia and a wooden ice box came from house in Atlantic City.
The Atlantic City resident wants to add to the collection.
“I would love for the takeaway here to be you have remember where we came from, goals that we achieved and tell people the story who visit Atlantic City about the great contributions of African-Americans,” Hunter said.
He plans to continue to share those contributions. He just turned 78 and doesn’t want to retire anytime soon.