A speech written by Reverend T.M. Booth, pastor of Newark’s St. John’s Methodist Church, that he presented at the National Conference on Black Power in Newark. The Black Power Conference began just days after the 1967 Newark Rebellion had come to a close and brought a wide array of national Civil Rights and Black Power leaders to Newark. — Credit: Newark Public Library
Attendance lists and member rosters from meetings of the planning committee for the Black and Puerto Rican Convention. The wide array of individuals and organizations that participated in the Convention’s planning can be seen by scrolling through these lists. The Convention was organized to formally select the “Community’s Choice” for Mayor and City Council in the 1970 election.
In this unpublished essay written in 2013, Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones) describes the histories of The Spirit House at 33 Stirling Street in Newark. Baraka explains the context of The Spirit House’s founding, along with its political, cultural, and historic significance for Newark and the Black Arts Movement. This essay was generously given to “The North” by Amina Baraka.
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
Article from the Newark Evening News on May 24, 1967 covering the protests at a Board of Education meeting the previous night to appoint James Callaghan as Secretary of the Board of Education. The protests waged by some “300 civil rights advocates” who supported the appointment of Wilbur Parker, a highly qualified African American accountant, effectively blocked the appointment during the meeting. — Credit: Newark Evening News
Portrait of Wilbur Parker, who was the favorite of Newark’s African American community to replace Arnold Hess for the position of Secretary of the Board of Education. — Credit: Newark Public Library
Article from the Newark Evening News covering the conflict over Mayor Addonizio’s appointment of James Callaghan to the post of secretary to the Board of Education. Newark’s Black communities rallied against Addonizio’s appointment, favoring the appointment of Wilbur Parker, the first Black Certified Public Accountant in the state. — Credit: Newark Evening News
Excerpt from a pamphlet distributed by the Church in Metropolis organization to summarize the findings of the Governor’s Select Commission on Civil Disorder. The pamphlet contains a compilation of newsclippings from the Newark Evening News related to the Commission’s Report and a summary of its recommendations. — Credit: Newark Public Library
Transcript of a WCBS radio interview with Dr. Kenneth Clark on July 16, 1967, in which he discusses his interpretations and analysis of the ongoing rebellions in Newark. In the interview, Dr. Clark says “as a psychologist, I would suggest the hypothesis that in some unconscious way, or maybe not so unconscious, incoherent, way the rioting people are saying, we want this destroyed… They’re saying, you know, it’s the only way that we’ll get change.” — Credit: Newark Public Library
Statement of immediate and long term demands of residents of Newark issued on July 16, 1967. The statement was a cooperative effort of community organizations in Newark, including the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the Newark Community Union Project (NCUP), the United Community Corporation (UCC), and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). — Credit: Newark Public Library
