Sharpe James Archives - Page 2 of 9

Trailblazer: Senator Ronald Rice

January 20, 2025 12:11 amJanuary 19, 2025 9:09 pm

An iconic Newark maverick whose boyhood in the South under Jim Crow laws shaped Ronald Rice’s lifelong mission as a fierce and unwavering advocate of social justice and racial equality. He was unwavering in his advocacy of the underprivileged and...

Trailblazer: U.S. Senator Cory Booker

January 20, 2025 12:10 amJanuary 19, 2025 9:06 pm

Cory Booker is the first Black candidate to win statewide office in New Jersey. He was elected to the United States Senate in 2013, winning a special election to replace the late Frank R. Lautenberg. Booker sought the 2020 Democratic...

Trailblazer: Mayor Kenneth Gibson

January 20, 2025 12:08 amJanuary 19, 2025 8:55 pm

Kenneth Gibson (1932-2019) became the first Black to serve as mayor of a major northeastern city when he ousted two-term incumbent Hugh Addonizio in 1970. Gibson had served as an engineer for the New Jersey Highway Department and as the...

Trailblazer: Congressman Donald Payne Sr.

January 20, 2025 12:00 amJanuary 19, 2025 9:48 pm

Donald Payne, Sr. (1934-2012) was the first Black to represent New Jersey in the U.S. House of Representatives. He had run for Congress twice before winning the seat in 1988. In 1970, Payne became the first African American to serve...

A brief electoral history of Ras Baraka

April 25, 2024 1:22 pmJuly 25, 2024 2:26 pm

If Newark Mayor Ras Baraka is elected governor of New Jersey in next year’s election, he’d make a lot of history. He’d be the first Black person elected to lead the state; in fact, no major party in New Jersey...

Trailblazer: Senator Ronald Rice

January 15, 2024 12:09 amJanuary 14, 2024 5:17 pm

An iconic Newark maverick whose boyhood in the South under Jim Crow laws shaped Ronald Rice’s lifelong mission as a fierce and unwavering advocate of social justice and racial equality. He was unwavering in his advocacy of the underprivileged and...

Trailblazer: U.S. Senator Cory Booker

January 15, 2024 12:07 amJanuary 14, 2024 5:21 pm

Cory Booker is the first Black candidate to win statewide office in New Jersey. He was elected to the United States Senate in 2013, winning a special election to replace the late Frank R. Lautenberg. Booker sought the 2020 Democratic...