Category: 1930-1959 (Born)
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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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Diane Sutton
Diane Copeland 1941-2000 Diane Sutton co-owned Je’s Restaurant. The first restaurant in Downtown Newark founded by people of color. Mayor Sharpe James called her “the heart and soul of downtown Newark”. The corner of William and Halsey Street, the site of her restaurant, was named in her honor. Diane was born in North Carolina. After…
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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…
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Rebecca “Becky” Andrade Doggett
1941- Rebecca Doggett has had a long varied career in community organizing, social services, government, education and corporate. She was a founder of Tri City Citizens Union for Progress in 1966 and in the 1970s. In 1965, she was first President and later Executive Director of the Newark Preschool Council. In 1979, she was appointed…
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Mildred C Crump
1938-2024 Mildred Crump was Newark’s first African American councilwoman in 1994 and first female council President, from 2006-2010 and 2013-2021. She was also the first African American Braille teacher in NJ. Born in Detroit, as Mildred Coleman, Mildred came to Newark in 1965. In 1973, Mildred was a teacher at Newark’s Helen Keller School, for…