Episode 9
In this episode, Dr. Hettie V. Williams discusses African Americans in Asbury Park and the impact of COVID-19 on the Black community in the city with community activist Felicia Simmons. This is the second installment in a series on African Americans and the history of Asbury Park including some discussion of the coronavirus. Williams is an Assistant Professor of history at Monmouth University and the Director of the digital history Project “Paradoxical Paradise: An African American and Oral History Project on Asbury Park.” Simmons is a life-long resident of Asbury Park and community activist. She also has served the city in many capacities including as a member of the National Action Network (NAN) and a former member of the Asbury Park Board of Education. This episode was made possible through funding from the Monmouth University Urban Coast Institute’s Heidi Lynn-Sculthorpe Faculty Enrichment Grant on Just and Sustainable Community Recovery after COVID-19.