Honoring Cudjo Banquante

Revolutionary War-era Newarker honored with plaque on NJPAC campus

Cudjo Banquante was an 18th-century Newarker, an enslaved person who served in the Revolutionary War (in the 3rd New Jersey Regiment) before gaining his freedom and becoming a successful entrepreneur. In May 2025, an eclectic gathering was held on the newly renovated Chambers Plaza to unveil a historic marker honoring Banquante’s life and achievements.

The event featured dancers and drummers from Ghana wearing colorful garb and a traditional African libation ceremony. John Schreiber, President and CEO of NJPAC, and Nikita Taylor, a Banquante descendant, were among those who delivered remarks. Guests included elected leadership, reenactors of the Continental Army’s 3rd New Jersey Regiment and members of New Jersey Daughters of the American Revolution.

The Arts Center’s front yard was the designated location for the marker because the area was once home to a cemetery where Banquante was said to have been buried in 1823. “I can’t imagine a better site,” said Bobbi Bailey, State Historian of the New Jersey Daughters of the American Revolution, about the marker that now stands in the plaza close to Center Street. “It’s got beautiful landscaping around it and the benches nearby provide a great opportunity to rest and contemplate. I think it’s a great location and it’s relevant to Cudjo Banquante’s story.”

The ceremony at NJPAC was the capstone to a series of Newark events — at places including Bethany Baptist Church, New Jersey Historical Society, The Newark Museum of Art and the Greater Newark Conservancy — that celebrated Banquante’s life and the Black experience in early New Jersey history. Bailey said his story resonates in 2026 because it exemplifies “the triumph of the spirit” through adversity.