james threatt

Transcript of Fred Means Statement to Newark Human Rights Commission Hearing on Police Advisory Review Board (July 13, 1965)

Transcript of statements made by Newark-Essex CORE Chairman Fred Means before hearings of the Newark Human Rights Commission in July, 1965. The Commission held public hearings about a possible police advisory review board after Lester Long, an unarmed Black man, was fatally shot by Newark Policeman Henry Martinez. -Credit: City of Newark Archives and Records Management Center

Excerpt on Parker-Callaghan from Report for Action- Governor’s Select Commission on Civil Disorder, State of New Jersey, Feb 1968

Excerpt from the Governor’s Select Commission on Civil Disorder regarding the influence of the Parker-Callaghan fight on the 1967 Newark rebellion. The excerpt includes testimony from Police Director Dominick Spina saying ‘The types of speeches that were made before the Planning Board and the Board of Education tell you, almost predict, that there is going to be blood running in the streets.’ — Credit: Report for Action: Governor’s Select Commission on Civil Disorder, State of New Jersey

CORE Panel Hits Addonizio on Review Board Decision (Oct 12, 1965)

Clipping from an unmarked newspaper covering a meeting of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) on October 11, 1965. The meeting, attended by roughly 100 people, was held to address Mayor Addonizio’s responses to community demands for a police review board in Newark. Those who attended the meeting, including Robert Curvin, Fred Means, and Carl Katidus, criticized the shortcomings of Addonizio’s proposals for police reform. Newark Human Rights Commission director James Threatt was “booed repeatedly” when he spoke in support of Addonizio’s plans. — Credit: Newark Public Library

Hearing for the Newark Human Rights Commission on police review board at Newark City Hall, August 1965 (Doug Eldridge Collection)

A view from inside City Hall during the fourth and final public hearing on a “police advisory review board” held by the Newark Human Rights Commission. The Commission held these hearings from July 13 to August 3 to gather public testimony on a proposed “police advisory review board” in the wake of the fatal shooting of Lester Long by Patrolman Henry Martinez. The Commission held an executive session to vote on a resolution following the hearings, where the members were split 6-6 on the issue. The review board was not established and the struggle over a police advisory board continued through the 1960s, and beyond. — Credit: Doug Eldridge Collection

Cover Page from Transcript of Newark Human Rights Commission Hearing on Police Advisory Review Board (August 3, 1965)

Cover page from the fourth and final public hearing of the Newark Human Rights Commission on a Police Advisory Review Board in 1965. The Commission held these hearings from July 13 to August 3 to gather public testimony on a proposed “police advisory review board” in the wake of the fatal shooting of Lester Long by Patrolman Henry Martinez. The Commission held an executive session to vote on a resolution following the hearings, where the members were split 6-6 on the issue. The review board was not established and the struggle over a police advisory board continued through the 1960s, and beyond. — Credit: City of Newark Archives and Records Management Center

Newark Human Rights Commission Report on Lester Long Shooting

Report of the Newark Human Rights Commission after a special meeting held on June 21, 1965, to gather information about the shooting of Lester Long by Newark Patrolman Henry Martinez. The ACLU said of this report, “the only statement that the Commission was justified in making based on the evidence it gathered was that it did not have sufficient evidence to make a statement.” 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: Junius Williams Papers

PAG Flyer- Picket in Suburbs (Advance Dec 9, 1965)

Flyer distributed by the People’s Action Group (UCC Area Board 3) and the Newark Community Union Project to protest the eviction of Mrs. Emma Gaskins. Many housing units in the Central Ward and Clinton Hill were owned by absentee landlords who lived in the suburbs and allowed the apartments to deteriorate. To protest the eviction of Mrs. Gaskins, NCUP and the People’s Action Group distributed this flyer in Millburn, where her landlord Phil Kaufman lived, to encourage the man’s neighbors to talk with him about the conditions in his rental units. — Credit: Newark Public Library

What’s cause of trouble- Mayor will name probers (Star-Ledger July 14, 1967)

Article from the Star-Ledger on Friday July 14, 1967 reporting Mayor Addonizio’s responses to two nights of demonstrations and violence in Newark following the July 12 arrest and beating of John Smith by Newark Police officers. The articles describes Mayor Addonizio’s responses, including: appointing a commission to investigate the causes of “violence and looting,” promoting an African American police officer to the rank of captain, ordering invesigations from the Newark Police and Human Rights Commission, assigning the involved officers to administrative duty, and referring the case to the FBI. — Credit: The Star-Ledger

Mayor’s Appraisal- Trouble in Central Ward Called Isolated Incident (Newark Evening News- July13, 1967)

Article from the Newark Evening News on July 13, 1967, the day after John Smith was arrested and beaten by Newark Police outside of the Fourth Precinct. The article describes Mayor Addonizio’s responses to what he called “an isolated incicdent,” including assigning the police officers involved to administrative duty, ordering investigations, and referring the case to the FBI. — Credit: Newark Evening News