A not-so underground community center in Burlington
Burlington’s Underground Railroad Educational Center is giving students and community members a bright glimpse into the tunnels of history.
The Underground Railroad Educational Center, located in Burlington, opened as a coffee house, art gallery and meeting place four years ago.
The nonprofit center is a historical site dating back to the 1730s that was initially used as a stop along the Underground Railroad to help harbor African Americans escaping slavery.
The building is part of the same historic structure as Wheatley’s Drug store, now called Burlington Pharmacy.
The center offers a museum of black history-focused exhibits, including information on black historical heroes and replicas of historical documents such as the Emancipation Proclamation and the Constitution.
The space also features different art exhibits every other month that showcase emerging and local artists.
Underground Railroad Educational Center executive director Louise Calloway started the center as a way to preserve the historical location and to spread the word about the history behind the site.
“We wanted to give back to the community, so we developed a board and became a nonprofit,” said Calloway, a retired social worker.
The educational center offers a tutoring program for students who require help in science and math, and a mentoring program to young women ages 9 to 13 in the Burlington City, Burlington Township and Willingboro areas.
The mentoring program meets at the center and aims to teach young women about history and life lessons.
In addition to the coffee house, where discussions of social issues are encouraged, Calloway hosts pizza parties for local children where she and center volunteers teach the students about heroes in black history.
“It’s a venue where people can come to discuss social issues and talk about what they believe in,” she said.
Calloway’s mission for the center is to bring history and the arts to underserved members of the community. Currently, every third Friday of the month, the center hosts a live neo-soul music event called “Freedom Fridayz” from 7 to 9 p.m. and a poetry open mike night from 7 to 9 p.m. every second, third, and fourth Saturday of the month. As a fundraising event, the center holds “Soul Food Saturday” every first Saturday of the month, which, food and poetry from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
In the future, Calloway hopes to create more programs for young children with the help of funding.
“Our goal is to have a Saturday school program where we will have some of the youngsters in the community learn about American history and participate in art workshops with local artists,” she said.
The center is currently funded by personal donations from board members. Calloway said the center is having a difficult time financially, and she plans to apply for grants and continue to hold dinner fundraisers to keep the center going.
Calloway was inspired to create the center out of a lifelong passion for a community-gathering place focused on history.
“We don’t know enough about history, and I wanted to provide a place to sit down and converse to talk about different issues. I thought that it was important to add in poetry and art. All of that in one place is wonderful,” Calloway said. “When kids come in off the street and are intent on hearing about history that makes our mission feel very important to us.”
For more information, visit the Web site at http://ugrrburlington.webs.com or call 609-386-4343.
The Underground Railroad Educational Center, located in Burlington, opened as a coffee house, art gallery and meeting place four years ago.
The nonprofit center is a historical site dating back to the 1730s that was initially used as a stop along the Underground Railroad to help harbor African Americans escaping slavery.
The building is part of the same historic structure as Wheatley’s Drug store, now called Burlington Pharmacy.
The center offers a museum of black history-focused exhibits, including information on black historical heroes and replicas of historical documents such as the Emancipation Proclamation and the Constitution.
The space also features different art exhibits every other month that showcase emerging and local artists.
Underground Railroad Educational Center executive director Louise Calloway started the center as a way to preserve the historical location and to spread the word about the history behind the site.
“We wanted to give back to the community, so we developed a board and became a nonprofit,” said Calloway, a retired social worker.
The educational center offers a tutoring program for students who require help in science and math, and a mentoring program to young women ages 9 to 13 in the Burlington City, Burlington Township and Willingboro areas.
The mentoring program meets at the center and aims to teach young women about history and life lessons.
In addition to the coffee house, where discussions of social issues are encouraged, Calloway hosts pizza parties for local children where she and center volunteers teach the students about heroes in black history.
“It’s a venue where people can come to discuss social issues and talk about what they believe in,” she said.
Calloway’s mission for the center is to bring history and the arts to underserved members of the community. Currently, every third Friday of the month, the center hosts a live neo-soul music event called “Freedom Fridayz” from 7 to 9 p.m. and a poetry open mike night from 7 to 9 p.m. every second, third, and fourth Saturday of the month. As a fundraising event, the center holds “Soul Food Saturday” every first Saturday of the month, which, food and poetry from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
In the future, Calloway hopes to create more programs for young children with the help of funding.
“Our goal is to have a Saturday school program where we will have some of the youngsters in the community learn about American history and participate in art workshops with local artists,” she said.
The center is currently funded by personal donations from board members. Calloway said the center is having a difficult time financially, and she plans to apply for grants and continue to hold dinner fundraisers to keep the center going.
Calloway was inspired to create the center out of a lifelong passion for a community-gathering place focused on history.
“We don’t know enough about history, and I wanted to provide a place to sit down and converse to talk about different issues. I thought that it was important to add in poetry and art. All of that in one place is wonderful,” Calloway said. “When kids come in off the street and are intent on hearing about history that makes our mission feel very important to us.”
For more information, visit the Web site at http://ugrrburlington.webs.com or call 609-386-4343.
