john collier

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

Community Corner by Bernice Bass (Aug 29,1964)

Article written by Bernice Bass for the New Jersey Afro-American newspaper on August 29, 1964, covering the topics of conversation during her radio program “Community Corner.” –Credit: New Jersey Afro-American

Advance Newspaper (Jan 6, 1966)

Why Citizens Advisory Board was organized (May 11, 1963)

Editorial from an unmarked newsclipping carrying a statement released by the newly-formed Citizens Police Advisory Committee. The Committee, formed in response to Mayor Addonizio’s rejection of a police advisory board, was proposed as an unofficial and independent organization to hear complaints of police misconduct.The statement makes reference to a petition organized by George Richardson which collected 18,000 signatures requesting the formation of an official police advisory board. — Credit: Newark Public Library

Request Inquiry in Police Action (May 28, 1963)

Unmarked newspaper article from May 28, 1963 covering two recent cases of alleged police misconduct. The first resulted from the arrest and mistreatment of Mrs. Carrie Powell, vice principal of Hawthorne Avenue School, as she objected to the beating of a suspect by Newark police in Penn Station. The second resulted from a police shooting at the Lido Bar after an off-duty patrolman responded to a “brawl” there. These two instances are credited as propelling the continued struggle for a police review board in Newark. — Credit: Newark Public Library

Interracial Action- The Story of Newarl’s BICC, by Douglas Eldridge

Note from the pamphlet: “This series of articles on the efforts of the Newark Business and Industrial Coordinating Committee to assist Negroes and Puerto Ricans in gaining employment was published by The Newark News in its issues of March 22-26, 1964. These pamphlets have been prepared by The News for distribution by the committee.” The BICC was established in the wake of the contentious protests at the Barringer High School construction sites in July 1963. — Credit: Doug Eldridge, The Newark News

Telegram from John Collier to JFK, RFK, Gov. Hughes, Arthur Sills, and Mayor Addonizio

Telegram sent by Rev. John Collier to President John Kennedy, Attoenry General Robert Kennedy, Governor Richard Hughes, and NJ Attorney General Arthur Sills regarding the beatings of peaceful demonstrators at the Barringer High School construction site in July 1963. Members of the Newark Coordinating Council and their supporters were attacked by construction workers and police officers as they demonstrated against hiring discrimination in the building and construction industries at the construction site. — Credit: Newark Public Library