Artist and Historian Noelle Lorraine Williams on Her Mission to Preserve Early Black History in New Jersey

All Of It with Alison Stewart | Oct 16, 2025

Noelle Lorraine Williams is a New Jersey-based artist, historian and director of the African American History Program and the Black Heritage Trail for the New Jersey State Historical Commission. Williams has dedicated much of her career to preserving New Jersey Black history from the 19th century, reminding residents that Black History in the Garden State began well before the Great Migration. Williams discusses the mission behind her work, as well as an ongoing exhibition she's organized at the Newark Museum of Art, "Stay: The Black Women of 19th‑Century Newark."

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