Read the full stored bill text
SJR43
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
No. 43
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator TROY SINGLETON
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
���� Celebrates and commemorates Timbuctoo's 200th
anniversary.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
A Joint
Resolution
celebrating and commemorating
Timbuctoo�s 200th anniversary.
Whereas,
September 2026 marks the 200th anniversary of Timbuctoo, which represents the
historic achievements of African-American resiliency; and�
Whereas,
Timbuctoo is an unincorporated community in Westampton Township, Burlington
County, New Jersey and is located along the Rancocas Creek; and�
Whereas,
Timbuctoo was first established by formerly enslaved and free
African-Americans; and�
Whereas,
The first four men to settle Timbuctoo in 1826, David Parker, Wardell Parker,
Ezekiel Parker, and Hezekiah Hall, had all previously escaped enslavement in
Maryland; and�
Whereas,
The first mention of Timbuctoo as a settlement did not occur until it appeared
on a deed in 1830 and following that same year residents from Timbuctoo began
appearing on the census; and�
Whereas,
The name Timbuctoo is a reference to the ancient African metropolis Tombouctou,
also known as Timbuktu; and�
Whereas,
In 1854 land was purchased to build the Zion Wesleyan Methodist Episcopal
African Church with the deed detailing that the church was part of the African
Methodist Episcopal Zion Church denomination; and�
Whereas,
Renowned abolitionists, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and Fredrick Douglas
were members of The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and the
denomination played a significant role in the Underground Railroad; and�
Whereas,
Timbuctoo was a stop on the Underground Railroad and was a strategic location,
as Timbuctoo was easily accessible from the Delaware River; and�
Whereas,
In 1860 the infamous slave catcher George Alberti sought to capture Perry
Simmons, a resident of Timbuctoo, but failed when allies of Simmons ran off
Alberti�s raiding party, in an event which would later be known as the Battle
of Pine Swamp; and�
Whereas,
Victory over Alberti demonstrates how the residents of Timbuctoo were
determined to protect their own and protect the freedom for all
African-Americans that their community represented; and�
Whereas,
Timbuctoo was chosen in March 2024 to be one of the first 32 sites selected by
the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State, to
be part of the New Jersey Black Heritage Trail program which the program states
that it was created �to promote awareness and appreciation of Black history,
heritage, and culture�; and�
Whereas,
New Jersey is proud to recognize Timbuctoo�s achievements and history in
African-American resiliency in part for its involvement in the Underground
Railroad and for the community standing together to protect their own and to
protect the freedom for all African-Americans that their community represented;
now, therefore,�
����
Be It
Resolved
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� The State of New Jersey
celebrates and commemorates the 200th anniversary of Timbuctoo.
���� 2.��� Copies of this
resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the
Clerk of the General Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to the New Jersey
Black Heritage Trail Advisory Committee, the Timbuctoo Advisory Committee, and
the Timbuctoo Historical Society.
���� 3.��� This joint resolution
shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This joint resolution
celebrates and commemorates Timbuctoo�s 200th anniversary.� September 2026
marks the 200th anniversary of Timbuctoo, which represents the historic
achievements of African-American resiliency.� Timbuctoo was first established
by formerly enslaved and free African-Americans. �The first four men to settle
Timbuctoo in 1826, David Parker, Wardell Parker, Ezekiel Parker, and Hezekiah
Hall, had previously escaped enslavement in Maryland.
���� Timbuctoo exemplifies
African-American resiliency as Timbuctoo was a stop on the Underground Railroad
and was a strategic location, as Timbuctoo was easily accessible from the
Delaware River.� Furthermore, residents of Timbuctoo aided a fellow resident, Perry
Simmons, against an infamous slave capturer, George Alberti, and his raiding
party in 1860, in which would later become known as the Battle of Pine Swamp.�
Victory over Alberti demonstrates how the residents of Timbuctoo were
determined to protect their own and the freedom for all African-Americans that
their community represented.� Therefore, New Jersey is proud to recognize
Timbuctoo�s achievements and history.