route 78

NAPA Letter to DOT Commissioner John Kohl (Feb. 13, 1970)-ilovepdf-compressed

Letter from the Newark Area Planning Association (NAPA) to John Kohl, Commissioner of the NJ Dept. of Transportation, regarding the planned development of Route 75 in Newark. The letter is signed by several members of the Community Transportation Coalition, a group formed to unite civil rights organizations in the fight against the highway development. Route 75, an eight lane highway planned to run North to South, would have cut the Central Ward in half and displaced thousands of Black and Puerto Rican residents.

R.H. Booker’s Notes on Route 75 (Dec. 3, 1969)-ilovepdf-compressed

Notes from Washington, D.C. activist R.H. Booker on strategies and tactics for fighting the development of Route 75 in Newark. Route 75, an eight lane highway planned to run North to South, would have cut the Central Ward in half and displaced thousands of Black and Puerto Rican residents.

R.H. Booker’s Notes on NAPA Highway Fight (Nov. 23, 1969)-ilovepdf-compressed

Official Correspondence Regarding Route 75 Project (Mar 18, 1969)-ilovepdf-compressed

Correspondence between Margaret Burns (Presbyterian Community Center), David J. Goldberg (NJ Commissioner of Transportation), Aaron Lambert, (Dept. of Housing and Urban Development), and James Hyde (NJ Dept. of Transportation) regarding the planning and construction processes for Route 75 in Newark. Also included in the correspondence is a Feb. 24, 1969 policy statement from Commissioner Goldberg regarding the suspension of property acquisitions for the development of Route 75.

Map of Route 75- The Midtown Connector with Notes on Plaintiffs (January, 1968)-ilovepdf-compressed

Map of the proposed Route 75, an eight lane highway planned to run North to South, which would have cut the Central Ward in half and displaced thousands of Black and Puerto Rican residents. Written on the maps are names of organizers responsible for gathering plaintiffs in different neighborhoods to file suit and seek an injunction against the project.

Form to Authorize Legal Representation in Fighting Urban Renewal

The Truth About Route 75

Statement prepared by Junius Williams, head of the Newark Area Planning Association (NAPA), to encourage community support for the fight against Route 75 as Newark prepared for a landmark 1970 mayoral election. Route 75, an eight lane highway planned to run North to South, would have cut the Central Ward in half and displaced thousands of Black and Puerto Rican residents, thereby eliminating them from the voting rolls of the Central Ward.

The Master Plan Newsletter (Jan 25, 1968)-ilovepdf-compressed

Newsletter of the Emergency Committee to Stop Route 75, a Newark Area Planning Association (NAPA) initiative, to spread information about the proposed highway and the efforts to stop its construction. Route 75, an eight lane highway planned to run North to South, would have cut the Central Ward in half and displaced thousands of Black and Puerto Rican residents.

Route 75 Newsclippings and Photo of Junius Williams

A page from the scrapbook of Newark Area Planning Association (NAPA) head, Junius Williams, containing newspaper clippings on a planned rally to protest the construction of Route 75 in December, 1969. Williams is pictured in the photograph inside the NAPA office on South Orange Avenue with a “Stop Route 75” bumper sticker on the window.

Flyer- Stop Route 75 Rally

Flyer for a rally to be held on December 15, 1968 to protest the construction of the proposed Route 75 highway. Speakers at the event included LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka), Thurmond Smith, Junius Williams, Rev. B.F. Johnson, Rev. Levin West and Balozi Zayd. Route 75, an eight lane highway planned to run North to South, would have cut the Central Ward in half and displaced thousands of Black and Puerto Rican residents.

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