Category: 1930-1959 (Born)
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Sandra L West
1947-2019 Sandra West was a 1964 Weequahic graduate. She was the editor of the Black Organization for Students newsletter at Rutgers and first African American female editor of Rutgers Observer. Sandra worked as a journalist for Information published by the City of Newark, as well as in multiple other journalism positions and freelance for publications…
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Nancy Zak
1948- Nancy Zak is a community organizer for environmental justice and housing with Ironbound Community Corporation. Nancy grew up in Lisle, IL and attended Mundelein University, now Loyola. She came to Newark in the early 1970s where she taught at Independence High School, an alternative school in Newark. By the late 1970s, she worked for…
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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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Loraine White
c. 1947 In 1980, Loraine White became a football coach at Weequahic High. She was New Jersey’s first female coach and was said to be the first Black woman to become a high school football coach in the United States. She has been inducted into the Newark Athletic Hall of Fame. Loraine (often misspelled Lorraine)…
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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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Amina Baraka
1942- Amina Baraka is an American poet, actress, author, community organizer, singer, dancer, and activist. She is the mother of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. Born Sylvia Robinson, Amina grew up in Newark and attended Arts High School, class of Jan 1961. In 1960, she married Walter Wilson. In 1963, she was one of the founding…
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Geraldine “GiGi” Foushee
1947-1997 GiGi Foushee was a Newark police officer, county detective, first woman head of Newark’s ABC department, deputy mayor & first woman warden of Essex County Jail. She said, “I love Newark, it’s my home. I understand this city, it’s me.” Charles Cummings wrote, “In a few months short of 50 yrs she accomplished more…
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Zelma Mitchell Collins
1930-2023 Zelma Collins was the first Black teacher at South 17th Street School in 1952 and rose to principal in 1973, the first Black principal. From 1986, she was principal of Clinton Ave., before retiring in 1996. She taught briefly at Oliver Street School before South 17th. She said, “I left a legacy…I gave it…