Civil Rights in New Jersey before the 1950s
•Voting rights revoked in 1807; 1844
constitution expressly restricted the franchise
to “white” males.
•Many whites in New Jersey actively
supported the colonization movement during
the 1850s.
•During the Civil War era whites in New Jersey
were often hostile to the aspirations of African
Americans.
•Many people wanted “the Constitution as it is,
the Nation as it was.”
Reconstruction Amendments
• New Jersey did not ratify the
13th Amendment until after it
became federal law.
• In 1867, the state rescinded
ratification of the 14th
amendment.
• The 15th amendment was not
ratified until 1871
• But Thomas Mundy, of Perth
Amboy, was the first person to
vote under the protection of the
15th amendment.
Thomas Mundy
1870s and 1880s saw significant legal gains
• In 1872, Newark desegregated its public
schools.
• 1881 New Jersey School Law made it illegal to
deny a child a public education because of race.
• 1884 case of Pierce v. Union District Trustees
(Burlington City) ostensibly outlawed
segregation in public schools throughout the
state.
• 1884 Civil Rights Law outlawed discrimination in
public transportation, lodging, and
entertainment.
End of European immigration results in huge
influx of African Americans in the 1920s
Percent change in population from previous census year
90.0
80.0
70.0
Percent
60.0
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
1900
1910
1920
1930
1940
1950
Census Year
% change black population
% change total population
1960
Total African American population in New Jersey
600000
514875
500000
Number
400000
318565
300000
226973
208828
200000
117132
89760
100000
69844
47638
0
1890
1900
1910
1920
1930
Year
1940
1950
1960
The “Georgia of the North”
• African Americans faced
endemic prejudice, which
resulted in the formation of
urban ghettos.
• Prior to the New Deal, black
workers were, by and large,
excluded from higher paying
jobs and labor unions.
• In the face of discrimination,
many black leaders in New
Jersey preached racial
solidarity.
• Bordentown School (18861955) was New Jersey’s
“Tuskegee of the North.”
Lewis Hine photograph of
hairdressers at the Bordentown
School, 1935 (www.geh.org)
Incremental gains during the 1930s and 1940s
• African American newspapers, such as the New Jersey Herald
News vigorously protested discriminatory practices.
• Segregation in public schools became worse in many parts of the
state because white administrators and parents did not want white
children mixing with poorly prepared and “unhealthy” migrants from
the South—there were 75 separate black schools in 1935.
• The New Deal and World War II employment improved the
economic status of African Americans.
• African Americans became more politically assertive and organized
many economic boycotts— “buy where you can work” campaigns.
• In 1937, Guy Moorehead, from Newark, became the 1st Democratic
Assemblyman in state history.
• In 1938, the state formed the Urban Colored Population Commission
to improve employment, education, and housing conditions for
blacks.
• FDR’s Executive Order 8802 opened up defense jobs to African
Americans.
The foundation of modern civil rights
• In 1945, New Jersey outlawed discrimination in
employment and created a Division Against
Discrimination within the Department of
Education.
• The 1947 state constitution forbid segregation in
the militia and public schools; New Jersey’s law
was a catalyst for President Truman’s action in
regard to the Armed Services.
• The 1949 Freeman Act empowered the state to
investigate individual complaints of
discrimination; in 1954, discrimination in public
housing was prohibited.