City of Bridgeton Renames South Pine Street to Rev. Dr. Albert L. Morgan Place

By: Reney Waters, Follow South Jersey Bridgeton City Intern

Photo: Reney Waters | Follow South Jersey

BRIDGETON, N.J. — The corner of South Pine Street’s name was changed to Reverend Dr. Albert L. Morgan Place on June 27 during a special ceremony hosted by Bridgeton Mayor Albert B. Kelly.

Union Baptist Temple members and Rev. Morgan were present during the ceremony at the end of last month. The celebration of Rev. Morgan’s achievements and work for the community coincided with both his 35th pastoral anniversary and 70th birthday.

“We would like to present this signage not only to Pastor Morgan, but Union Baptist Church,” Mayor Kelly said. “The intersection of Martin Luther King Way — now, we’re L. Morgan Place.”

Although the Mayor and other city officials had some trouble with the height of the street sign when removing the tarp, the job got done eventually. And, of course, those small logistical hiccups certainly don’t take away from the significance of Rev. Morgan’s impact on the community.

You can watch the reveal of the new street sign here:

Thanks to administrator Cedric Holmes and his committee, who spend weeks every year preparing his annual event, Rev. Morgan is described as a historic leader in the community. He heavily supports the African-American community both inside and outside the church. During the June 27 service, other community figures made guest appearances to express their gratitude to Rev. Morgan and his outstanding work for the community throughout his life.

“As the church knows, it’s very difficult to surprise him,” Bridgeton City Council President Edward Bethea said during the presentation.”We tried to coordinate when exactly we could put the sign up to cover it. It was a challenge, but we were somehow able to do it. On behalf of the mayor and city council we salute you and say congratulations.”


This article was produced by a Follow South Jersey news intern thanks to a grant provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation through the New Jersey Health Initiatives program to create hyper-local news to meet the informational and health needs of the City of Bridgeton, N.J.