The Folklife Center of Northern New Jersey, in partnership with the Montclair Public Library, is pleased to announce the Paved with Promise: Immigration and Cultural Heritage Traveling Exhibition, on display at the Main Library, 50 S. Fullerton Ave., from July 1 – 30.

This traveling exhibition is a part of a bigger project celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Immigration and Nationality Act (aka Hart-Celler) of 1965, which allowed
for the lifting of certain restrictions on immigration from outside Europe and opened the doors for legal migrations from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and other regions of
the world. Soon after 1965, many new communities began making their home in New Jersey and continue to diversify its cultural landscape to the present day.

Paved with Promise: Immigrants Who Shaped New Jersey’s Past and Present, is a multi-media project that brings us inside the experiences of local residents who immigrated to New Jersey after 1965. It includes New Jersey Immigrant Stories – a series of video documentaries based on interviews, a traveling exhibition – Immigration and Cultural Heritage – that visualizes these stories, community conversations on topics of immigration, and a culminating celebration in October of 2026.