“Sail Into Summer” and Preserve a National Historic Landmark in Red Bank

Kick-off your Memorial Day holiday weekend with the T. Thomas Fortune Foundation, at its pre-holiday fundraiser on Thursday, May 24, 2018 at 26 West on the Navesink, in Red Bank.  All proceeds will go toward the operating expenses for the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center, which is scheduled to open late fall.

It has been a long journey, but the home of T. Thomas Fortune, one of the most prominent African American journalists of the late 19th and 20th Centuries, is currently being restored and rehabilitated to embody “Maple Hall,” what Fortune called the home when he and his family resided there at the turn of the century.

The National Historic Landmark was brought back from the brink of destruction by Roger Mumford of Roger Mumford Homes, who is the builder.  It will operate as a cultural center, which will feature exhibits, along with educational programming and community outreach. The Foundation has already established a “Fortune Tellers,” program for youth ambassadors to the cultural center.   And the “Fortune Journal” newsletter debuted in February, along with the Foundation’s launch of its new website, www.tthomasfortuneculturalcenter.org.  Tickets to the event are $40 and can be purchased through the website, at the “Events” page.

“We’re all very excited about the opening of the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center and what it will mean to our community,” said Robin Blair, chairwoman of the Events Committee. “By honoring the legacy of Fortune is to honor and value all people, who he stood for.”