Category: Politics & Government
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Gloria Waldron Butler
1931 – 1998 Gloria Butler was a political activist in the Central Ward. She became involved in local politics in the 1950s from friendships with Irvine Turner and Timothy Still, among others. She was a Democratic committeewoman and district leader, for many years in Hayes Home and “a fixture at the polls, working tirelessly to…
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Constance Hedden Schotland
1906-1997Constance Hedden was a Board of Education member, teacher and active in civic groups. Born in Newark on James Street, Constance Hedden graduated from Barringer High in 1924 and then Dennison University, and Montclair State Teachers College, where she received a Masters in Education in 1933. She took other teaching courses at Columbia, NYU and…
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Edwina Johnson Hale
1933-2019 Alt names: Bailey, Manigault, Mason Edwina Johnson lived with her parents and siblings at 56 Ridgewood Ave in Newark and attended South Side High (now Shabazz). Her father was a taxi driver. In Jun of 1949, when she was 16, Edwina and her brother Marshall, along with their father, stopped in Montgomery, AL, on the…
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Myrtle L. Bruton Hartsfield
1934-2001 Myrtle Hartsfield was the first woman to be named to Newark’s Alcohol and Beverage Control Board in 1981. She said, “I am very proud to be the first woman on the Board. We do have a lot of lady tavern owners here and I welcome the challenge.” She served until at least 1984. At…
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Sylvia Guarino
26 Dec 1945- Sylvia Guarino was the first woman deputy mayor in Newark, appointed by Mayor James in 1986. The full time position paid $28300 and the purpose was to “serve as a conduit between the government and its citizens” and “assist the day-to-day operation”. She envisioned improving quality of life, working with the community and…
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Ida Clark
1921-2006 Ida Clark was a tenant advocate and NHA Commissioner, who had a “colorful and charismatic” personality and was known as “Mother Clark”. Ida was appointed as a NHA commsioner in 1986, where she pushed education and programs for youth. She served as Chair and Vice Chair. This made her the first tenant in the…
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Margaret Brydon Laird
1871-1968 Margaret Laird was a leader in the women’s suffrage movement and NJ’s first Assemblywoman, elected with Jennie C. Van Ness. She was born in Newark and lived there most of her life. She attended Newark schools and graduated the Newark City Hospital Training School for Nurses in 1895 and lived in Newark until the…
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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…