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Rose A Leonardis
1916-2012 Rose A Leonardis was a lifelong Ironbound resident. She graduated from embalming school in 1950 and was the proprietor of the Rose A. Leonardis Funeral Home on Ferry Street after the death of her father in 1953. Rose ran the funeral home until she retired in 1999. Rose was active in many organizations including…
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Margaret (Peggy) Officer Lista
1913-2013 Margaret (Peggy) was inducted into the Newark Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994 for being a basketball and track standout at Central High in the late 1920s. She also was a cheerleader and dancer. She was president of the Girls Athletic Association. As of 1930, she was the only girl at Central ever to…
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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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Mildred Roberts Helms
1907-2002 Mildred Helms was a community activist, who encouraged the building of affordable housing in Clinton Hill. In 1972, she helped found the Clinton Hill Area Development Corp which built 151 units of housing in Clinton Hill Community Gardens. Mayor Sharpe James said, “She was a creative, wonderful, hardworking woman….With a ready smile, winning sense…
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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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Willie Belle Hooper
1906-1999 Willie Belle Cooper was born in Georgia (maiden name: Saunders) and attended school, including getting a teaching certificate in Florence, S.C, after which she taught in several rural schools. According to her daughter, Newark would not accept her teaching certificate. In her oral history she says she tried to get “in school” and couldn’t…
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Asimina Speros Zois
1909-1987 Asimina Zois began sending care packages back to her native village in Greece after WWII, and later sent packages to Vietnam servicemen all over the world. In 1969 the post office gave her a Humanitarian Award for her work. She said, “What we throw away in this country they can use over there. The…
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Anna Lois Russ Jones
1911-1987 Anna Jones was the mother of Amiri Baraka who was active in the community in education and civic activism, and a champion sprinter in her youth. She was also administrator of Community Hospital, Newark’s Black hospital, for many years. Born in Alabama, Anna lived in Newark from around 1926. She attended Tuskegee, Fisk, and…
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Sarah (Sara) Catherine Howard Johnson
1907-1993 Sarah Johnson was one of the first African American nurses in the Visiting Nurses Association of Newark, where she worked from 1930-1950. She was a nurse at Hawkins Street School from 1965-1977. Sarah received degrees from Tuskegee Institute (1929) and Seton Hall. She was a member of the Graduate Nurses Association. She was a…
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Maggie Clay Beckett
c. 1892-1972 Maggie Clay Beckett founded the James H. Beckett funeral home with her husband. Maggie was President of the New Jersey State Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs 1943-1947, as well as former Vice President. She was the first advisor to the Junior Federation. She was instrumental in presenting a pageant with the group at…