In a bold move to avoid actually addressing systemic racism, the state of New Jersey has decided to create a personalized heritage trail in South Jersey that will lovingly commemorate every single thing Black people have ever done. Because who needs actual social justice reform when you can just put up some signs and call it a day?
The trail, which is being touted as a "cultural awareness" initiative (read: tokenistic PR stunt), features 34 sites so far, including the "House Where Our Great-Aunt Mildred Made That One Really Good Gumbo in 1987" and the "Field Where Our Cousin Jimmy Played Football with Some Other Guys."
State officials claim that the trail is necessary because, apparently, the previous 200 years of oppression and marginalization were just a big misunderstanding. By highlighting every single achievement and contribution Black people have made to South Jersey (no matter how minor or insignificant), they're hoping to "promote cultural awareness" – i.e., white people will finally understand that we exist and aren't just invisible background noise.
The trail is being developed by the New Jersey Historical Commission, a group of esteemed historians who are still trying to figure out why their previous attempt at commemorating Black history resulted in a bunch of awkwardly-worded plaques that mostly mentioned how "resilient" our ancestors were.