benjamin bryant

Advance Newspaper (Jan 6, 1966)

Issue of the African-American newspaper, Advance, from January 6, 1966. The issue contains coverage of demands made by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) for the dismissal of Police Director Dominick Spina. CORE demanded Spina’s ouster in a meeting with Mayor Addonizio after a Black teenager, Walter Mathis, was fatally shot by Newark police. This issue also details several high-profile cases of police brutality from 1962-1966, a period in which Newark’s Black and Puerto Rican communities continuously advocated for police reform and accountability to no avail from City Hall. — Credit: Newark Public Library

Advance Newspaper (Jan 6, 1966)

ACLU Newsletter on Lester Long and Police Advisory Board (June 1965)

Newsletter from the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU) summarizing the ways in which various organizations acted in response to the fatal shooting of Lester Long by Newark Patrolman Henry Martinez. The shooting of Lester Long was one of the most well-known and contentious cases of alleged police brutality in Newark during the 1960s and reinvigorated community demands for a police review board. — Credit: Newark Public Library

NAACP probing beating report (NJ Afro-American July 18,1964)

Article from the New Jersey Afro-American on July 18, 1964 covering an NAACP probe of recent allegations of police brutality, specifically the death of Benjamin Bryant while in police custody. Other cases of recent police misconduct directed at Black residents of Newark are also decribed in brief. In response to these allegations of brutality, the reporter claims that “unless some immediate steps are taken to bring Newark’s ‘trigger and club happy’ police under control it is feared that the colored community will be the scene of uncontrolled violence as colored citizens will seek some means of protecting themselves from abuse.” — Credit: New Jersey Afro-American

Bryant Case Sent to Grand Jury (NJ Afro-American Oct 3,1964)

Article from the New Jersey Afro-American on October 3, 1964 covering the case of Benjamin Bryant, who “died under mysterious circumstances while being held in police custody.” The article contains an excerpt from Mayor Addonizio’s statement to the press regarding the case and describes the actions taken by city officials to investigate Bryant’s death. After city officials side-stepped community efforts for a police review board in 1963, Bryant’s death and later instances of police abuses renewed demands for the establishment of a review board. — Credit: New Jersey Afro-American