Category: African Americans
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Mamie White Bridgeforth
1944- Mamie Bridgeforth was a City Council member from 1998-2006. She is a community leader, professor, Chairperson of the Division of Social Sciences at Essex County College, and an ordained minister. She is currently Pastor of the Faith Christian Center Ministries in Newark, New Jersey. Bridgeforth has worked for Essex County as a faculty member for…
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Wilnora Holman
1911-1994 Wilnora Holman was a community leader in Newark and an activist in education, housing and senior services. Mrs. Holman was a Housing Authority commissioner from 1989-1995. She was also Tenant Association President at James C. White Manor, chairwoman of the Central Ward Advisory Council, and president of the George Branch Civic Association. Mrs. Holman…
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Corrina Pitters Kay-Williams
1924-1994 Corrina Kay-Williams was born to Jamaican parents in East Orange. She served as an Essex County freeholder from 1982 to 1984, serving as Vice President. She was also an East Orange councilwomen. Corrina was an educator in Newark. She served as a guidance counselor at West Kinney Junior High, retiring as Vice Principal of…
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Rosa L Sears Scudder
c. 1852 – 28 Jan 1930 Rosa Sears was the mother of Clara Scudder, piano prodigy. Rosa taught in the Colored School with James Baxter from at least 1870 until her marriage to David Scudder in 1873 and is still listed under her maiden name as a teacher in the 1874 city directory. Rosa’s sister…
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Julia A. Mason Voorhees
c. 1867-May 4, 1915 Julia Mason was the only student from the Colored School to test into the High School in 1880 with an 82.7%, higher than many other students. She was the first Black student to graduate from the High school, directly from the Colored School, since 1877. When she graduated in 1884, the…
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Rose S. Ray Moryck
c. 1858 -1942 Rose S. Ray Moryck was the mother of Brenda Moryck. Rose was one of the first colored teachers and principals in NJ, according to her obituary in the New York Age. She hasn’t been found in the Board of Education Reports for Newark, so where Rose taught is a mystery. In Newark,…
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Fanny Tuell (Faye Adams, Scruggs, Jones)
1923-2016? Fanny Tuell was a pioneering R&B singer who had several chart-topping hits in the 1950s, including 1953 hit “Shake a Hand”. She was active from the 1940s-1960s. In 1953, the New York Age calls her, “one of the most sensational new recording stars to come along in many a year.” In 1962, she was…
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Gloria Jones Swieringa
1938- In 1956, Gloria Jones was believed to be the first blind student ever elected to the National Honor Society, while she was at Barringer High School. She was an A student and also involved in many clubs and planned to go to Boston University. She said, “I do not believe I could do anything…