(RED BANK, NJ) -- In the spring of 2022 students Rhea Kripalani and Emily Luo, of High Technology High School in Lincroft, New Jersey, created three more tours for the Red Bank History app. The new tours include “Arts and Entertainment in Red Bank,” “Expansion of the African American Experience” and “Industry and Transportation of Red Bank.” 

In September of 2020, several students from High Technology High School began the process of creating an app called Red Bank History. Mentored by Marjorie Cavalier, a former history teacher, students Mia Ladolcetta, Jonah Sussman and Nina Tripathi created this app to educate the community of Red Bank about local historical sites. The app features a list of preprogrammed historical sites, which pair with a virtual tour and voice recordings that explain the historical significance of each site. The students worked in partnership with the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center to develop the app's first tour, Walking in the Footsteps of Count Baise. 

This year a new QR code sign is now encased at the Red Bank train station and at Riverside Gardens, which visitors and residents can use to access the menu of new walking tours. The app runs on Android and IOS devices, meaning people with iPhones and Androids can use the app. The goal of this app is to make history fun and interactive, while teaching users something new about Red Bank. These young visionaries have graduated and are venturing into the next chapter of their lives and we are excited to see what they will accomplish in the future.

The mission of the T. Thomas Fortune Foundation is to preserve and further the civil rights and social justice legacy of T. Thomas Fortune through community outreach, education, the arts and public programming.

T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center is located at 94 Drs. James Parker Blvd. in Red Bank, New Jersey.