The following text is courtesy the Westside Community Center Historic Restoration Association, used with permission.
In 1942, The Westside Community Center was founded in Asbury Park, New Jersey as the successor to the Urban League. Rev. John Ashby, Lorenzo W. Harris Sr., Leonard J. Martin, and William Griffin were its founding leaders. Located on Dewitt Ave, its building was the former home of Dr. William J. Parks, a prominent African-American doctor in the community.
The organization was dedicated to the promotion of the moral, spiritual, physical, social, and mental welfare of Asbury Park’s Westside, a predominately African- American community.
Since 2022, WCC Historic Restoration Association INC. has taken on ownership of The Westside Community Center to improve the lives of the youth and families by providing education and resources, health and wellness, leadership and career training.
The Westside’s Decades of Decline
The 1970’s Asbury Park riots marked the beginning of The Westside Community Center’s decline. The preceding flight of Black wealth especially left Asbury Park’s Westside community with masses of underrepresented people who lacked the income, wealth, and resources necessary to sustain the crucial mission and vision of the Center.
The subsequent War on Drugs era soon left Asbury Park’s Westside Community and the Westside Community Center hobbled for many years. A once self-sufficient community suddenly fell victim to the scourge of drugs, gun violence, and poverty. As a result, the Westside Community Center was left dormant to languish in decay.
Since 2022, WCC Historic Restoration Association Inc. has taken over ownership of The Westside Community Center with the aim of restoring its glory and prominence.
BLACK HISTORY TRAIL: Click here to go back to Day Two, Step 7, The Turf Club on Springwood Avenue in Asbury Park. This is the final stop on Day 2. Click here to return to the Black History Page.
Sources:
Martin, Katrina. (2016). The Asbury Park July 1970 Riots. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Duke University, June 28, 2016. Available: https://blogs.library.duke.edu/rubenstein/2016/06/28/asbury-park-july-1970-riots/
Weeks, Daniel. (2016). From Riot to Revolt: Asbury Park in July 1970. New Jersey Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Vol. 2, No. 2, July 1, 2016. Available: https://njs.libraries.rutgers.edu/index.php/njs/article/view/49
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