Elaine Buck & Beverly Mills

Sharon Elaine Buck, who prefers to be called Elaine, is a founder the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum and a member on the Advisory Board.  Ms. Buck is also a thirty year Trustee of the Stoutsburg Cemetery Association which is a historic cemetery for people of African descent located in the Sourland Mountains in Hopewell, New Jersey. 

Along with her research partner, Beverly Mills, Ms. Buck has co-authored a book entitled “If These Stones Could Talk,” which is based on over a decade’s worth of research on the contribution of African Americans who lived in the Sourland Mountain region and surrounding area. 

Along with Ms. Mills, 1804 Consultants, the Grounds For Sculpture, the NJ Historical Society, and the William Trent House Museum, Ms. Buck was instrumental in forming the Sankofa Collaborative, an initiative created to ensure that material and resources that relate to African American history is accessible statewide to a broader and more diverse audience.

She is a co-founder, with Beverly Mills, of Friday Truehart Consultants and works with K-12 teachers and staff on incorporating African American history into curricula.

Beverly Mills is a founder of the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum and a member on the Advisory Board and a thirty-five year Trustee of the Stoutsburg Cemetery Association. 

With her research partner, Elaine Buck, Ms. Mills has co-authored a book entitled “If These Stones Could Talk” based on over a decade of research on the contribution of the African American population who lived in the Sourland Mountain and surrounding region.  It was through this research that she has been able to trace her ancestry to African Americans who were enslaved in the Hopewell Township, New Jersey area prior to the Revolutionary War. 

For many years Ms. Mills, along with fellow trustees of the Stoutsburg Cemetery Association, has presented at various schools, community groups and historic sites.  In 2017 she helped found the Sankofa Collaborative, which presents workshops on African American history.  

With Ms. Buck, she is a co-founder of Friday Truehart Consultants, a consulting company that works closely with K-12 educators from various school systems who are interested in including African American history in their lesson plans and curricula.