Category: African Americans
-
Julia Baxter Bates
c. 1917-2003 The first African-American student admitted to Douglass College. Granddaughter of James Baxter, principal of the Colored School. Master’s degree from Columbia University. Was denied the right to teach in New Jersey’s…
-
Carole Anderson Graves
1938- President of the Newark Teacher’s Union. Leader of the 1970 Teacher’s Strike. Later ran for General Assembly and served as Essex County Register. 1955 Arts Yearbook Bibliography G-25, Graves Carole, Newark News…
-
Ruth Crumpton Dargan
1921-2010 Became a Newark policewoman in 1949. First Newark woman detective chosen for the Homicide Squad and sent to Quantico for advanced criminal investigation. She was the only woman chosen to initiate the…
-
Armita Harris Douglas
1874-1958 President, New Jersey Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs. Helped organize the NAACP and the Urban League in Newark and was a charter member of the city’s Phyllis Wheatley Literary Club. Active in…
-
Laquetta C Nelson
1955- Advocate for gay and lesbian rights. Co-founder of the Newark Pride Alliance. Awarded the 2004 Community Service Award from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Founder of the NJ Stonewall Democrats.…
-
Janyce Jackson Jones
1951- Co-Pastor of Unity Fellowship Church located in Newark, NJ. Pastor of Liberation in Truth Unity Fellowship Church for which she is a founding member when it was established in 1995. Executive Director…
-
Grace L Boynton Gregory
1919-2007 Owned Poro Beauty Shop on West Market in the 1940s-1950s. In 1983, founded “Guiding Light Inc.” (originally Caring and Sharing) a tutoring and counseling agency. She also had a 32 year career…
-
Audrey Harvey West
Audrey Harvey Massiah Harris West 1927-2003 Born Audrey Harvey in Trenton, Audrey attended Howard University and came to Newark in 1958. She worked for the Essex County Welfare Dept and then became Director…