THE STANLEY N. KATZ PRIZE

Cudjo Banquante began life as a royal prince from the Gold Coast, the site of present-day Ghana. Captured and enslaved from his home in Africa, he endured life-threatening imprisonment and a dangerous ocean voyage shackled to a slave ship. He was enslaved for many years by the Coe family in Newark, New Jersey.  During the American Revolution, he substituted for his “owner” as a soldier in the Continental Army, present at many history-making battles.  His story is in part one of hardship and suffering.

But despite Cudjo’s struggles, his story is one of the triumph of the spirit. He not only survived a lifetime of adversity, but he thrived and prospered as a free man late in life.  At about seventy years old, the Coe family finally granted Cudjo his freedom in recognition of his Revolutionary service and gave him an acre of land in downtown Newark.  At a time of life when most people are slowing down, Cudjo was just getting started.  He used his land to launch a successful horticulture business, importing and growing exotic plants to sell to locals in Newark.  He is the first documented Black businessman in Newark, and certainly one of the earliest in New Jersey.  He lived to about 100 years old, and by the time he died he owned his own home and had created generational wealth that he handed down to his children through his will.

Cudjo Banquante believed in possibilities. His story is compelling because of his tremendous persistence to make a better life for himself and his family despite unimaginable struggles. He endured and transformed his life journey from capture and enslavement, to freedom fighter, to successful businessman, devoted father and husband. He was a strong man of faith that there is hope that collectively we can become a nation that believes and lives “with liberty and justice for all.”

We look with respect at records of Cudjo Banquante late in life.  It took courage and strength for him to own a home and accumulate wealth inherited by his children. His bravery set his entire family on a different course, a gift to each of his descendants.  He was a man of faith who converted his faith into action.  He was a man who was able to, after experiencing the ugliness of life, provide beauty through his magnificent garden, peace, and love to his family, friends, and neighbors.  This love lasted years beyond his physical presence. Decades after his death, articles and local histories cited his royal stature and the kindness of his personality. One writeup said, “There was a something about the bearing of Cudjo which gave strength to the claim advanced by him that he was of royal African lineage.” Cudjo Banquante’s story is one of incredible triumph of the spirit.  He sets an example for all of us.

We know Cudjo Banquante's story, and we can remember and honor him, precisely because he held steadfastly to his identity.  He persistently held onto his name for his entire life despite attempts to anglicize it and assign him the name “Jack.” Even in death he wrote in his will, "I Cutjoe Banquante (alias Jack Cutjoe)." His story might not have been found if he had allowed himself to be called simply by his first name Cudjo, like so many others who were enslaved, or if he had taken his enslaver's last name, or the last name of his slave ship (like Phillis Wheatley did). He might have become one of the many enslaved Revolutionary soldiers who gave us our freedom but whom we know only by names like "Pomp" or "Caesar."

Throughout our planning, we were guided by Linda Caldwell Epps’ mantra to “go big” and reach as many people as possible in as many ways as we can.

As we drew more people into our planning team, they brought ideas of things to do. The diversity of our planning team led to a rich diversity of ideas.  Lorna Johnson, who owns an international trade and tourism business, suggested that interest in Cudjo Banquante might inspire people to study their own family history, and suggested a genealogy workshop. Several DAR members had a colleague who knew artist John Phillip Osborne, and suggested a painting. Linda Caldwell Epps knew musical composer Courtney Bryan through her church  and suggested that Dr. Bryan compose a musical piece in honor of Cudjo Banquante. Teri Corso engaged the expertise of the Sophia Inclusive Community. Dr. Zachary Yamba, president emeritus of Essex County Community College, was instrumental in opening doors to funding sources. Several team members with Ghanaian upbringing helped educate us about Ghanaian culture and customs. We were pleasantly surprised that so many people we asked for help not only accepted, but also further developed the ideas to make the project even bigger. A painting became a full-day, museum-wide grand opening and a special tour about the struggle to achieve the ideals of the Revolution. A seminar became a two-day academic symposium.

Generous financial support from many sponsors made it possible for us to afford to develop many high-quality events, and make nearly all of them free and open to the public.

We built an unusually diverse coalition of team members with different backgrounds, interests, life experiences, and specialties who worked together for the very first time. Although we were strangers to each other, we let the importance of the project be our forceful guide in moving forward. It wasn’t easy to build means of communicating and cooperating with each other, but the project in itself was an immense learning experience. We learned that we don’t necessarily know what we think we know, and that our own biases can be invisible to ourselves. We learned how to understand and appreciate diverse perspectives, and how to use our diversity to strengthen our team. Our end product was almost flawless in execution, but it was hard work.

Given the breadth of activities, we chose a “divide and conquer” strategy, assigning responsibilities to subteams to work independently and report back to the whole team.  This was highly effective.

Our most significant challenge was finding ways to work across different time zones, and the technical complexities of interacting with folks in Ghana where internet connectivity is less dependable. Our planning calls on Zoom required patience with disconnections and garbled connectivity, and we needed to learn to use alternative communications mechanisms used internationally, such as WhatsApp. We also struggled to fit into cultural traditions and royal protocol, especially when interacting with the royalty in Ghana.

Cudjo Banquante was the linchpin.  From him, we worked both forwards to present-day descendants and backwards to his ancestry in Ghana.

To identify present-day descendants, Mr. Ayim and Dr. Amemasor patiently researched genealogical records to trace the descendants, who took “Cudjo” as their last name, as they traveled and resettled in other states. This led them to modern-day descendants, and a few “cold calls” led them to family members who were interested and excited to learn of their family history.

The last name of Banquante led us directly back to the Aykem Abuakwa royal family in Ghana, who continue in the same blood line today.  Written records are scarce, but oral histories and minstrel songs preserve the traditional histories.  Minstrel songs sung by Akyem royals during special ceremonies honor who they call their “lost royals” – those captured into the slave trade and never heard from again. Cudjo Banquante is named in these songs.

Given poor record-keeping and little interest in preserving family names of enslaved persons, it is unusual for Black Americans to be able to trace their family roots much earlier than the Civil War era. It is even more unique and special that this family can trace not only back to the early 1700s, but even back to their ancestral homeland. They can not only meet their distant cousins, but also learn of the customs and traditions of their forefathers that continue today. Family members treasure this precious understanding of their family history, and they call their ancestor “Grandfather Cudjo Banquante.”

We hope that people who learn of Cudjo Banquante’s story appreciate that the quest for freedom was achieved by a diverse group of people with freedom and liberty for all as their goal. We want Americans, especially those in New Jersey, to see themselves in our country’s Revolutionary history as well as its early business history. Seeing how Cudjo Banquante overcame soul-crushing obstacles offers hope and strength to everyone.

There is a saying that a person dies twice, first when they stop breathing, and the second time when the last person on earth says their name.  Through the events and permanent memorials achieved through this project, we keep Cudjo Banquante's name, and his story, alive.

The Honoring Cudjo Banquante Committee, nearly 300 years after his arrival in New Jersey, was proud to present Cudjo Banquante to the 21^st century. May others, some hundred years from now, find inspiration in learning of the exceptional life of a man who faced adversity and overcame obstacles to serve as an example of success for so many.

According to Noah Lewis, portrayer of Black Revolutionary soldier Edward (Ned) Hector at some of our events, by the end of the Revolution 10-25% of the Continental Army were patriots of color.  Without their contribution, we might not have won our independence. We owe them a debt of gratitude, along with all Revolutionary soldiers, for the freedoms they gave us.

Our whole project demonstrates how African American history is American history. For example, the painting “Heat of the Battle” shows an African American soldier fighting side by side in an integrated army. The historic bus tours showed how African Americans played an important role in building the city. We learned in our research that Black residents of Newark during the Colonial and Revolutionary eras worshipped along with their white neighbors at Old First Presbyterian Church and Trinity Episcopal Church. Cudjo Banquante and his family were buried in integrated cemeteries along with many other people, both Black and white, enslaved and free.  Slavery was a part of life not just in the agricultural economy of southern plantations, but also here in New Jersey in factories, homes, and farms.

By creating many in-person events, we enabled people from diverse backgrounds to be together in the same room and to interact with each other. The interactions between program participants also made the events more powerful, and visceral in that the people were engaged directly in developing their own thoughts while understanding other participants’ perspectives.

Team members on this project worked on it for years, and we appreciate that our efforts are recognized by professionals in the New Jersey Council for the Humanities.

Many of our team members didn’t know each other before this project, and now we have built strong collaborations that will continue well past the specific events. We talk on a regular basis to develop new projects and ideas. For example, Dr. James Amemasor is now working on a project to identify all Black and Native American soldiers of the American Revolution in New Jersey, with help from team members. We are still in the process of rolling out curriculum modules to share with local schools and nationally. We are exploring additional projects, such as a street mural in downtown Newark, a recording of our musical piece, and distribution of classroom and library materials.