Category: African Americans
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Larrie West Stalks
1925-2015 Larrie Stalks was Essex County Register from 1974-1994. Larrie worked at Western Electric and for Local 1286, before she started at City Hall in 1946. She worked her way up through City Hall while also working for Congressman (later Mayor) Addonizio. In 1950, Stalks protested against Far Eastern Restaurant, a downtown Chinese restaurant, for…
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Mildred C Crump
1938-2024 Mildred Crump was Newark’s first African American councilwoman in 1994 and first female council President, from 2006-2010 and 2013-2021. She was also the first African American Braille teacher in NJ. Born in Detroit, as Mildred Coleman, Mildred came to Newark in 1965. In 1973, Mildred was a teacher at Newark’s Helen Keller School, for…
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Marion Alexander Bolden
1946- Marion Bolden was superintendent of the Newark Public Schools from 1999-2008. In 2009, Marion founded the Newark Public Schools Historical Preservation Committee, to preserve Newark school history. Marion was born in Newark and is a graduate of South Side High School, where she was president of the National Honor Society and Clinton Place Jr.…
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Mollie Dawkins
1908-1984 Mollie Dawkins was co-organizer of the Dawkins Civic Association, worked for the Housing Authority, and coordinated the Sunshine Teleservice for senior citizens. She was also founder of Community Preservation Service, to improve her neighborhood around Leslie and Schley Street, for which she was honored in 1966. Mollie and her husband founded the South Side…
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Bernice Maxwell Cross
c. 1918-2011 Bernice Cross worked at the Star Ledger all her life, from 1939 to 2004. She coordinated several sections of the paper as part of the editorial staff. She also served as a receptionist. For many years she was also a popular soprano singer, who enjoyed singing in choirs. Bernice was one of the…
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Nellie Grier
c. 1900-1984 Mrs. Nellie Grier, who was known as “Mother Grier” in Newark, founded and directed the senior center on Clinton Ave (now named after her) and organized the Newark Senior Citizens Council. In 1975, she organized the Emmanuel Senior Citizens Center. She said, “Too many older people sit home…just get worse…But when they come…
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Grace Baxter Fenderson
1882-1962 Grace Baxter Fenderson (1882-1962) was one of the first African American teachers in the Newark Public Schools and taught for 42 years, helped found the Newark Branch of the NAACP and served on the board of the Sojourner Truth branch of the YWCA. She was president of the Lincoln-Douglass Memorial Association. From 1936, she…
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Leila Gardner
1914-1993 Leila Gardner was executive director of the Newark Traveler’s Aid Society. She was the first African-American in the nation to head a Travelers Aid unit. She later worked for Family Services as a social worker for many years. The unit helped vulnerable travelers like children, immigrants and senior citizens at Newark Penn Station and…