Honoring
Cudjo Banquante
April-May 2025
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Cudjo Banquante was born sometime in the 1720s in the Gold Coast (now Ghana), West Africa into a family of royal heritage. As a youth he was taken by European slave traders across the Atlantic, eventually being purchased by the wealthy Coe family of Newark, New Jersey.
During the American Revolution, Benjamin Coe sent the enslaved Cudjo to fight as a substitute for himself in the war against the British. Cudjo served in the Essex County and Morris County militias. He took part in the Battles of Monmouth and Germantown. He was with George Washington at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777 and later served with General Sullivan at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781.
After the war Cudjo was emancipated for his military service. The Coe family gave him land in Newark on which he established a nursery selling ornamental plants. Cudjo was the first African American businessperson in Newark. He died in 1823 at around 100 years of age. He was buried in the cemetery of Newark’s Trinity Church, located where the New Jersey Performing Arts Center now stands.
For more information about Cudjo Banquante’s life, go to the website of the New
Jersey Historical Society: www.jerseyhistory.org/cudjo/
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (Preliminary)
Sunday Apr 27, afternoon
Grand opening of special exhibit at the
Newark Museum of Art, unveiling of “Heat of the Battle” painting of Cudjo Banquante at the Battle of Monmouth by John Phillip Osborne, performance of Black Revolutionary soldier reenactor Noah Lewis and reenactors of Cudjo Banquante’s military unit (the 3rd New Jersey Regiment), and performance of musical piece written by MacArthur Award-winning composer Courtney Bryant in honor of Cudjo Banquante
Ongoing
Enrichment activities at local public and charter schools, jointly developed with the
Amistad Commission
Wednesday Apr 30, evening
Showing and discussion at the
New Jersey Historical Society of the NJ PBS film “The Price of Silence: The Forgotten Story of New Jersey’s Enslaved People”
Thursday May 1, 6PM
Interactive experience with spoken word artists of Junius Williams’ “Rise Up Newark” at
Bethany Baptist Church
Friday May 2
(2 tours, 10AM and 2PM)
Saturday May 3 (1 tour, 2:30PM)
Guided bus tours of Cudjo Banquante-related sites and other notable Black history locations in Newark starting and ending at the
Greater Newark Conservancy (registration will be required)
TBD
Showing of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s documentary, “Black Patriots: Heroes of the Revolution,” at the
Newark Public Library
Saturday May 3, 9AM
Breakfast reception – Newark NJ Black Chamber of Commerce & Ghanaian Delegation (tentative, depends on Ghanaian participation*) (registration will be required)
Saturday May 3, 11AM
Ceremony to unveil historic marker in honor of Cudjo Banquante at the
New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC). Afterwards, stay and mingle with Black Revolutionary soldier Noah Lewis, Revolutionary soldier reenactors from the 3rd NJ Regiment, and Akyem royalty* at Chambers Plaza of NJPAC (or Chase Room if bad weather)
Saturday May 3, 6PM
Jazz Vespers at
Bethany Baptist Church, with special discussion about the influence of African music on American gospel and jazz
Sunday May 4
Thanksgiving Service at Trinity Church (tentative)
Sunday May 4
Performance by
Trilogy, Newark-based opera company, to honor Cudjo Banquante
HONORING CUDJO BANQUANTE!
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
- Dr. James Amemasor
- Kofi Ayim
- Dr. Susan R. (Bobbi) Bailey
- Teri Corso
- Dr. Timothy J. Crist
- Carrie Efinger
- Dr. Linda Caldwell Epps
- Nina Hoban
- Lorna Johnson
- Barima Gyansi Korie
- Dr. George Robb
- Nikita Taylor
- Dr. Zachary Yamba
ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL SUPPORTERS AND CULTURAL PARTNERS
Thanks to the following organizations and individuals whose teamwork, financial assistance, and in-kind support made possible the celebration of Cudjo Banquante. The combined value of their support is at least $250,000.
