Atlantic City Historian Ralph Hunter To Receive CRDA’s Spirit Of Hospitality Award

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (May 1, 2025) – For the people who think the resort offers only casinos, the beach and Boardwalk, the African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey, inside the Noyes Arts Garage of Stockton University, has stood as a place chronicling the city’s Black residents and more for the past 12 years.

The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority will thank the museum’s founder and president, Ralph E. Hunter Sr., with its Spirit of Hospitality Award for his many years of contributions to the Atlantic City tourism and hospitality industry May 7 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall.

City Council President and 1st Ward Councilman Aaron “Sporty” Randolph, 70, said he has known Hunter, who lives in his ward, for at least 40 years. Hunter deserves the recognition, he said.

“Mr. Hunter has been a real pillar to this community. He has brought people to this town,” Randolph said. “This man has contributed to the heart of Atlantic City and the fabric of Atlantic City.”

Hunter, 87, has received more than 200 awards during the past 25 years. He said one of the awards that means the most to him was given to him about 20 years ago by Asbury United Methodist Church in Atlantic City, which was honoring people in the arts.

It was one of the first acknowledgments he received after opening the first African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey in 2002 in the Newtonville section of Buena Vista Township, which is still open.

Besides the 20,000 people annually who stop by the museum in Atlantic City, Hunter said he also gives exposure to America’s Favorite Playground through his mobile museum exhibits that visit a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 100 schools during the academic year, which translates to more than 100,000 people seeing the exhibits annually.

Five different museum exhibits travel to various schools in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York and New Jersey, Hunter said.

“People say to me, ‘We didn’t know there was any history in Atlantic City,’” Hunter said.

When people stop by the African American Heritage Museum branch in Atlantic City, Hunter has visitors sign in and say where they are from. Tourists have come to the museum from as far away as Canada, Ireland, China and Japan, he said.

“It’s really, really remarkable the number of people who come to the casinos and also come to see us,” Hunter said.

By having a branch of the museum inside of the Noyes Arts Garage, each entity is able to piggyback off each other’s crowd, Hunter said.

When Hunter heard he would be receiving the Spirit of Hospitality award, he said he didn’t know what was going on.

“I thought someone was pulling my leg,” he said.

Hunter’s museum highlights the accomplishments and impact of African Americans in South Jersey and around the country, said Maisha Y. Moore, CRDA’s deputy executive director.

“The museum at the Noyes Arts Garage in Atlantic City provides unique exhibits and experiences representing and recognizing the importance of African American history and has become a popular attraction for both local residents and visitors alike,” Moore said.

The African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey’s Newtonville location is hosting the work of a multigenerational blend of Black male artists who work in a variety of mediums.

All of the museum’s 33,000 pieces of memorabilia have been cataloged with assistance from Stockton, Hunter said.

If Hunter receives a chance to talk in accepting his award, he said he would appeal to the community at large for two things: approximately $100,000 to have appraised all of the items in both museum collections and in storage, and to raise money so the Atlantic City branch could have its own 15,000-square-foot, stand-alone building.

This will be the 26th year the CRDA has held the Atlantic City Host Awards, Moore said. There have been several years when the Spirit of Hospitality Award was not awarded due to various reasons, such as COVID-19.

Among the people who received the award previously were Nelson Johnson, author of “Boardwalk Empire”; Anthony Catanoso, president and owner of Steel Pier; and Jean Muchanic, executive director of the Absecon Lighthouse.

“I feel truly humbled and amazed that they would think about little old me,” Hunter said.

By: Vincent Jackson

https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/article_a034c618-b083-4489-9f5a-eabb973766f9.html