AJR93 TR

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman ANDREA KATZ

District 8 (Atlantic and Burlington)

SYNOPSIS

Celebrates and commemorates Timbuctoo's 200th anniversary.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

As reported by the Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee with technical review.

A Joint Resolution celebrating and commemorating Timbuctoo’s 200th anniversary.

Whereas, September 2026 marks the 200th anniversary of Timbuctoo, which represents the historic achievements of African-American resiliency; and

Whereas, Timbuctoo is an unincorporated community in Westampton Township, Burlington County, New Jersey and is located along the Rancocas Creek; and

Whereas, Timbuctoo was first established by formerly enslaved and free African-Americans; and

Whereas, The first four men to settle Timbuctoo in 1826, David Parker, Wardell Parker, Ezekiel Parker, and Hezekiah Hall, had all previously escaped enslavement in Maryland; and

Whereas, The first mention of Timbuctoo as a settlement did not occur until it appeared on a deed in 1830 and following that same year residents from Timbuctoo began appearing on the census; and

Whereas, The name Timbuctoo is a reference to the ancient African metropolis Tombouctou, also known as Timbuktu; and

Whereas, In 1854 land was purchased to build the Zion Wesleyan Methodist Episcopal African Church with the deed detailing that the church was part of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church denomination; and

Whereas, Renowned abolitionists, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and Fredrick Douglas were members of The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and the denomination played a significant role in the Underground Railroad; and

Whereas, Timbuctoo was a stop on the Underground Railroad and was a strategic location, as Timbuctoo was easily accessible from the Delaware River; and

Whereas, In 1860 the infamous slave catcher George Alberti sought to capture Perry Simmons, a resident of Timbuctoo, but failed when allies of Simmons ran off Alberti’s raiding party, in an event which would later be known as the Battle of Pine Swamp; and

Whereas, Victory over Alberti demonstrates how the residents of Timbuctoo were determined to protect their own and protect the freedom for all African-Americans that their community represented; and

Whereas, Timbuctoo was chosen in March 2024 to be one of the first 32 sites selected by the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State, to be part of the New Jersey Black Heritage Trail program which the program states that it was created “to promote awareness and appreciation of Black history, heritage, and culture”; and

Whereas, New Jersey is proud to recognize Timbuctoo’s achievements and history in African-American resiliency in part for its involvement in the Underground Railroad and for the community standing together to protect their own and to protect the freedom for all African-Americans that their community represented; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. The State of New Jersey celebrates and commemorates the 200th anniversary of Timbuctoo.

2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to the New Jersey Black Heritage Trail Advisory Committee, the Timbuctoo Advisory Committee, and the Timbuctoo Historical Society.

3. This joint resolution shall take effect immediately.