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ing advantage of his celebrity, he called
together some of the leaders of black
Newark to form the United Brothers in
;;;;. The organization morphed into
the Committee for a Unified Newark
(CFUN) and became the primary vehicle
for the election in ;;;; of Ken Gibson as
the first black mayor of Newark.
It’s possible Gibson could have been
elected mayor without the Rebellion. But
the momentum that sparked a ;; percent
turnout at the polls in ;;;; began with
the events of July ;;;;, followed by the
medical school compromise and the
work of the United Brothers/CFUN. Additionally, because they picked the wrong
horse in the race, many of Addonizio’s
black supporters were finished in Newark politics after the Rebellion.
As for Addonizio, a federal grand
jury indicted the mayor and nine other
members of his administration in December ;;;; for taking kickbacks from
city contractors. The following year, he
and others were convicted on ;; counts.
Addonizio was sentenced to ;; years in
federal prison and fined ;;;,;;;.
Despite facing federal charges,
Addonizio—abandoning his dream of
becoming governor—ran for reelection
in ;;;; against Gibson on a promise to
“heal and rebuild the city,” said Reilly. He
ran a racist, vicious campaign, aiming
most of his barbs at Baraka, Gibson’s
most controversial supporter. Addonizio
made it to a run-o; with Gibson. He
lost—and went to jail.
In the wake of the Rebellion, the white
minority continued to exit Newark. In
the ;;;;s, easy mortgage money and
improved highways made the suburbs
ever more attractive. By the mid-;;;;s,
the construction of routes ;; and ;;;
had destroyed the Jewish and Italian
neighborhoods of Newark. That drove
more whites to the suburbs and down the
Shore. The ;;;; Rebellion was just the
final gust that carried still more whites
out of Newark, taking their businesses
and tax revenues with them.
Once installed as mayor, Gibson began
to change the complexion and culture
of the police department. He hired
blacks and Latinos, men and women.
He assured the remaining white business owners and residents that he had
no intention of furthering the racial
polarization that had infected the city
under Addonizio. Residents of Newark
continued to vote for leaders who o;ered
some redress of grievances. The people
no longer felt they must resort to violent
upheaval for change.
It has taken decades, but the people of
Newark and their leaders have gradually
changed the way the city is perceived.
Businesses are investing here. NJPAC
and the Prudential Center have become
keystones of the new Newark entertainment and sports scenes. New downtown
hotels, o;ce buildings and residences
are going up.
Newark’s population is still exceedingly low income. Crime, gang warfare,
drugs, joblessness and failing schools
are still facts of life in some Newark
neighborhoods. But the cultures of many
ethnic groups continue to lift the spirit of
its many peoples. Increasingly, Newark
is a good place to call home.
The ;;;; Newark Rebellion changed
power relations in Newark forever. It
ushered in a new era when race is not the
only basis upon which to base one’s political choices. The next challenge for the
current mayor, Ras Baraka, who began
his tenure in ;;;;, is to make it possible
for Newarkers of all income levels, races
and nationalities to enjoy the benefits of
America’s third oldest city.
Baraka—the son of Amiri Baraka—is
very much aware of his heritage and the
challenge before him. This challenge requires all of us to put the Rebellion in the
past where it belongs, but to learn from
its lessons to carry us forward.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Junius Williams is an attorney, educator,
musician and community advocate. He
is the director of the Abbott Leadership
Institute at Rutgers-Newark; author
of Unfinished Agenda: Urban Politics in
the Era of Black Power; and producer
of the digital archive The North: Civil
Rights and Beyond in Urban America
( riseupnorth.com). In 2016, he served
as chairman of Newark Celebration350.
He is pictured (left) at New Hope Village, a Newark housing development
on land originally acquired for a medical
school complex. Inset: Williams, circa
1967, at the headquarters of the Newark
Area Planning Association.
