Category: 1930-1959 (Born)
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Elsie Reed Eatman
1930-2014 Elsie Reed Eatman was a community activist, involved in various protests and strikes, especially for housing. Much of Elsie’s work focused around Housing and Pennington Court. She was the first president of the Pennington Court Tenants Association and vice president of the Newark Tenants Council. She co-wrote a history of Pennington Court with Walter…
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Dr. Gwendolyn Goldsby Grant
1935-2018 Dr. Gwendolyn Goldsby Grant was an advice columnist at Essence Magazine for over 25 years, writing the “Sexual Health” column. Essence called her “a legend in sexual health”. She wrote The best kind of loving : a black woman’s guide to finding intimacy Besides her writing, Gwendolyn taught at public schools in East Orange,…
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Mary Boland
c. 1950- Mary Goretti Boland was director of the AIDs program at the Children’s Hospital of New Jersey in Newark. She co-founded the program with Dr. James Oleske and was honored internationally for her work with children with AIDs. She said, “I am very impressed with the deep strengths shown by families of AIDS victims…I…
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Ruth McClain Rambo
1940-2024 Ruth Rambo, known at the time as Ruth McClain, is a graduate of Fisk University. In the 1960s she took a job with the Urban League and became one of it’s first female directors. She was associate exec director and in 1975 sued the Essex Co. Urban League saying she was denied the Exec.…
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Dorthaan Williams Kirk
1938- Dorthaan Kirk was one of the first people hired by Newark’s jazz station WBGO and became the face of and a fierce advocate for the station. She served as Director of Community Relations and Special Events, among other roles over the years. Dorthann has promoted, curated and produced jazz events throughout the region. She…
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Delores Rich
1948-1996 Delores Rich was President of the Aspen Riverpark Tenants Association, who did lots of organizing for tenants in the building. Tenants were forced out of the old Prudential Apartments to allow Aspen to renovate it. Delores and others organized to pressure the state to allow tenants to return and continually organized for better conditions…
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Patricia Hall Curvin
1936- Patricia “Pat” Curvin was the wife of historian Robert Curvin and has served many roles in the Newark community. Pat Curvin was born Patricia Hall and grew up in New York City. She married Robert Curvin in Manhattan in 1958. She was an English teacher at East Side High School starting in the 1960s.…
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Curvin Family
The Curvin Family, the family of historian and activist Robert Curvin had several interesting and important women. The family had six daughters. They were born in Newark, but they grew up in Belleville at 68 Belmont Ave. The family lived on Cottage Place and other addresses in Newark through at least 1930. Jewel Curvin (featured…