Category: 1910-1929 (Born)
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Altha Bleach Alston
1916-1963 Altha Bleach Alston was the first Black women state parole officer in New Jersey. In 1941, she supervised Black girls in Essex County after they were released from state custody. A 1941 profile said she was fond of her work which enabled her to “aid girls”. Her office was in the Newark Hall of…
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Anna Lundy Lewis
1916-2002 Anna Lundy Lewis (“Madame” Anna Lundy Lewis) was a virtuoso piano and organ player, gospel star, and minster of music at New Hope Baptist Church. She performed with Bing Crosby, Aretha Franklin and Sarah Vaughan and taught piano and vocals to hundreds of people including Doris Duke. She was called, “a pioneer who’s career…
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Althea Gibson
1927-2003 Althea Gibson was a world-championship tennis player from East Orange. A statue of Althea stands in Branch Brook Park, Newark and the tennis courts were named after her in 2002. Althea was very involved in the Newark community. In 1998, she founded the Althea Gibson Foundation which partnered with the City of Newark, Newark…
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Dr. Evelyn Boyden Darrell
1923-2016 Evelyn Boyden Darrell was a Newark Black journalist, writing a national column for the Afro, and later the first Black woman psychologist at Bellevue Hospital in NYC. Evelyn Boyden was born in Newark in 1923 and graduated with the West Side High class of 1940. She lived on South 13th Street and Bruce Street…
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Sister Mary Walter Dwyer
1929 – 2022 Sister Mary Dwyer was principal of Saint Columba School in Newark, in one of the poorest sections of Newark and with Deborah Humphreys, she was a driving force in the Saint Columba Neighborhood Club / El Club Del Barrio. Deborah Humphreys wrote, “It was never enough for Sr. Mary to just be…
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Queen Elizabeth Bryant James
1924-1998 Known as “Queenie”, Queen James helped get Democrats elected, including Ken Gibson, Earl Harris, and Tom Giblin. Queenie worked for the Gibson administration for 16 years, and served as a Democratic County Committe leader, in the South Ward for 25 years. She was also: Vice Chairwoman of the South Ward Democratic Organization, Vice Chairwoman…
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Mae Massie Eberhardt (Mary Graves)
1915-2007 Mae Eberhardt was a union leader and activist for nearly 35 years. During most of her union work from the 1950s to 1970s she is listed as being a Newark resident. Born in Virginia as Mary Graves, Mary moved to Orange after her marriage. Working at the Orange Domestic Laundry, she joined AFL 284,…
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Gloria Del Toro
1920-2011 Gloria Del Toro was founding director of Newark Public Schools bilingual program. She was supervisor of the Chapter 1 program for English proficiency which served 5000 students and operated in 23 schools. Eugene Campbell, former superintendent stated that she pioneered bilingual and bicultural education in the district. She initiated campaigns that spurred the availability…