-
Amelia (Berndt) Moorfield
1876-1950 Amelia (Berndt) Moorfield (1876-1950), was a suffragette from Newark, with the Women’s Political Union. She was financial secretary of the WPU, recruited by Mina Van Winkle. In this role, she raised money for the suffrage cause, helping to achieve the passage of the 19th Amendment. Amelia’s parents were German immigrants. Born in Kentucky, she…
-
Maria DeCastro Blake
1911-2001 Maria DeCastro Blake was a dean of admissions at Rutgers and recruited hundreds of Hispanic students. She was one of the founders of ASPIRA, a founding member of the Puerto Rican Congress of New Jersey, founder and president of the Association for Professional Education of Puerto Ricans, a founding member of FOCUS and involved…
-
Marie Anderson Bagby
1925-2003 Marie Bagby (1925-2003) was a teacher starting in 1944, and eventually principal at Barringer, West Side and University High Schools, before retiring in 1991. Marie also served on the board of St. Michael’s Medical Center, the affirmative action committee of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, the executive board of the Newark Principal’s Association,…
-
Delores DeCarlo Alexander
1931-2008 Lesbian feminist writer and reporter Delores Alexander was born in Newark and worked for the Newark Evening News. Later she worked at Newsday, was the first executive director of NOW, and opened a feminist restaurant in New York. Delores was born Delores DeCarlo in Newark in 1931. She lived on Sylvan Ave (1940 and…
-
Golden E. Johnson
1944-2010 Golden Johnson was the first Black woman to serve as a Newark municipal court judge. Her obituary called her “a trailblazer for African American women lawyers in NJ.” She was appointed a judge by Gibson in 1974, at only 30 years old. She said, “I look forward to serving the people of Newark to…
-
Elvira Rodrigues
1918-1985 Elvira Rodrigues (left) co-owned Dan’s Friendly Services in Newark with her husband (oil). She was of the East Side High School advisory board and Newark Library board of trustees, as well as the Ironbound Senior Citizens Club and St. Jame’s Hospital Auxiliary .She was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1968. Elvira…
-
Eurlee Wright Reeves
Feb 19, 1897 – Feb 1, 1990 Eurlee Reeves (center) was Newark’s only female night club owner in the Swing Era. She founded the Nest Club on Warren St which was a major Black nightclub offering full musical revues in the 1930s and 1940s. She bought the Cabin LaBlanche in 1937 and renamed it. Big…
-
Vera Brantley McMillon
1909-1987 Vera McMillon worked for the Public Welfare Department for 37 years retiring as a Supervisor, co-founded Tri City People’s Organization for Progress and a branch of the National Council for Negro Women. She also co-wrote a radio program on NJ Afr. Am. history and worked with the NJ Historical Society to promote African American…
-
Emily Coe Jenkinson
1855-1922 Emily (Coe) Jenkinson (d. 1922) served as president of the Newark YWCA for more than 20 years. The Sunday Call listed her in 1922 as one of 50 people who had done the most for Newark. Emily was born in Newark to George and Mary Coe. The family moved to Fulton, Illinois. Both Emily’s…
-
Gladys St. John Churchman
1902-1974 Gladys Churchman ran the Friendly Neighborhood House as Executive Director from 1945-1967. She was also part of the Churchman Funeral Home family. She was also involved in many other community efforts such as the YMCA and the Newark Preschool Council. She was a member of the Board of Education. Born Gladys St. John, Gladys…