Boston’s Tea & Salem’s Tree: Two Early Black American Women in Poetry

Encounter Two Early Black American Women in Poetry with Boston’s Tea & Salem’s Tree on Somerset County’s Weekend Journey Through the Past.

Boston’s Tea: Explore the revolutionary words and world of Phillis Wheatley, early Black American woman poet and correspondent of George Washington, on tour of Washington’s Headquarters at Wallace House State Historic Site.

Salem’s Tree: Visit our seedling of New Jersey’s historic Salem Oak after its first full year of growth since planted by the Borough of Somerville at last year’s Weekend Journey in October 2022.

• 12:15 p.m. Somerville Environmental Commission celebrates the first anniversary of the planting of the Borough of Somerville’s seedling of New Jersey’s historic Salem Oak, a gift for the Department of Environmental Protection’s 50th Birthday and 125 years of historic preservation at Wallace House & Old Dutch Parsonage. Girl Scouts lead a ceremony of flags and Van Derveer School of Somerville sings.
• 1 p.m. & 2 p.m. Storyteller Queen Nur premieres a dramatic performance sharing the poetry and life of Esther “Hetty” Saunders, the early Black New Jersey woman poet whose works include “A Defence” of an oak.
• 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. Tea-for-All offers a tea tasting of the five blends of tea involved 250 years ago in the Boston Tea Party and packs our shipment of “Jersey Fresh” tea for shipment to Boston as New Jersey’s contribution to the 250th anniversary reenactment of the Boston Tea Party in December.