Category: Politics & Government
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Audrey Harris West
Audrey Harvey Massiah Harris West 1927-2003 Audrey West worked for the Essex County Welfare Dept and then became Director of the Division of Welfare for Newark after Grace Malone, in 1969. She said, “I took this position because I wanted to get closer to the problems of Newark and that is where the real social…
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Rose Kussy
1887-1955 Rose Kussy was president of the West Side Trust Company after the death of her husband. She was a director of the Jewish News. She was a member and secretary of the Newark Central Planning Board. Rose was appointed to the Planning Board in 1943, was Secretary of the Planning Board as early as…
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Abigail Malmgreen
1909-2009 Abigail Malmgreen was a lifelong political activist, who lived to 100. Abigail was a member of the United Nations Association, Americans for Democratic Action, the NAACP, the Congress of Racial Equality, the Givat Haviva Educational Association and the National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy (now New Jersey Peace Action) and was an organizer…
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Kitty V. Kearney Taylor
1926-2008 Kitty Taylor was a senior citizen activist and radio host on WNJR with “The Kitty Taylor Show” and “Senior Citizens in Action”. She was named to the Mayor’s Senior Citizen Commission in 1963 by Addonizio and served as public relations for director for the Commission, and later as assistant director. She later served on…
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Pearl Beatty
1936-2019 Pearl Beatty was an Essex County freeholder (now county commissioner), who the New Jersey Globe called a “legendary veteran of Newark politics”. She said, “the only important tool an individual has is to vote.” President Giblin of the Essex Freeholders said she “lives, eats and breathes Essex County.” She was the sister of Alma…
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Marie E Gonzalez
c. 1915-2006 Marie E Gonzalez was called the “Puerto Rican Mayoress of Newark”. She was a specialist on Puerto Rican Affairs with the Newark Human Rights Commission from 1963-1981. She was Chairman of the City’s Advisory Council on Bilingual Programs and a founder of FOCUS. She is credited on “The Puerto Ricans in Newark, NJ:…
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Elizabeth “Liz” Del Tufo
1933- Elizabeth Del Tufo was head of the Newark Preservation and Landmarks Committee, retiring in 2025, after helping preserve many buildings and historic sites. She is a Newark historian, who for many years was known for her tours of Newark. In 1980, she was first director of Cultural Affairs for Essex County, and a founder…
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Sally (Sara) E. Cooke Young
1905-1967 Born and raised in Newark, Sally Young was an early Black journalist. Sally was a 1924 graduate of Central High who lived at 169 Norfolk St when she graduated Central. Her father Ambrose was listed on the census as a book author. She was the Daily News secretary at Central High. In 1941, she…