review board

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

Robert Curvin speaks at a CORE rally at the corner of Spruce and Belmont in Newark

“Robert Curvin speaks at a CORE rally at the corner of Spruce and Belmont in Newark.” -Credit: Wally Akerberg/The Star-Ledger

Robert Curvin Speaks at Military Park Rally, 1965 (Wally Akerberg:The Star-Ledger)

“Robert Curvin, Northeast regional vice president of the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE) speaks at a rally in Military Park, Newark, urging the creation of a Civilian Police Review Board in Newark. The demonstration was held because of the shooting death on June 12, of a black motorist by a white police officer.” -Credit: Wally Akerberg/The Star-Ledger

CORE Anti-Police Brutality demonstration in Newark, June 1965

Fred Means addresses a rally held by the Newark branch of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) to protest the killing of Lester Long by Newark policeman Henry Martinez in 1965. 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: Jim Lowney, Doug Eldrige Collection

Alexander Mark Press Release- Police Advisory Board (March 3, 1963)

— Credit: Newark Public Library

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

Advance Newspaper (Jan 6, 1966)

ACLU Press Release on Police Review Board (Sept 21, 1965)

Press release from the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey summarizing a letter from ACLU executive director Fred Barbaro to Mayor Addonizio. The letter critiqued Addonizio’s rejection of the police review board, taking particular exception to the Mayor’s plan to forward all allegations of police brutality to the FBI. The referral of these cases to the FBI was seen by many Black and Puerto Rican communities as a token gesture that would provide no redress to victims of police misconduct. — Credit: Newark Public Library

Mayor Addonizio’s Statement on a Police Review Board for Newark (Sept 15, 1965)-ilovepdf-compressed

Statement presented by Mayor Addonizio on September 15, 1965 to address the issue of a “police review board.” Addonizio made this announcement after the Newark Human Rights Commission held, on his orders, a series of four public hearings on the topic in July and August. The members of the Commission split 6-6 in their vote on the issue and Mayor Addonizio rejected the proposed board about a week later. Instead of a review board, Addonizio announced that all future allegations of police brutality would be forwarded to the FBI. In addition, the Mayor instituted a citizen observer program, a Human Relations Training Institute, a community-relations post within the police department, and a code of conduct for the police that outlawed using derogatory words toward citizens. — Credit: NJ State Archives

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

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