6 10 193 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource People People An individual. Metadata for a person provides detailed biographical information to describe the life of a historical figure. Birth Date 1903? Birthplace Tenafly, New Jersey, USA Death Date 1974-11-04 Occupation Politician Government Official Engineer Businessman Source of File Attached "W. Gerould Clark, 71." The Record, 6 Nov. 1974, p.C-15. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Clark, W. Gerould, Jr. (1903?-1974) Subject The topic of the resource Politics, Englewood Description An account of the resource W. Gerould Clark Jr. was the mayor of Englewood from 1954-1955. He also was a city councilman and president of the Common Council from 1948 to 1953. Before his involvement in politics, he was a civil engineer for the Erie Railroad. He eventually owned W. Gerould Clark Inc., a realtor company. He married Helen Mary Goodman. He had two sons, W. Gerould III and William. "W. Gerould Clark, 71." The Record, 6 Nov. 1974, p.C-15. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Ludder, Rachelle https://archive.englewoodmakeshistory.org/files/original/bf6dc04bc3af8bf7c09f37aa3b2d0b5a.png bb82303225d838eb34448a278b83b9da Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource People People An individual. Metadata for a person provides detailed biographical information to describe the life of a historical figure. Birth Date 1939-12-27 Birthplace Newark, New Jersey, USA Occupation Actor Athlete Source of File Attached “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Amos">John Amos</a>.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Aug. 2024. <div></div> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Amos, John Allen, Jr. (1939-?) Description An account of the resource John Allen Amos Jr. is an actor. Before his acting career, he did social work and played football. His first major work was on The Mary Tyler Moore Show from 1970 to 1973. He is most well-known for his part in Good Times from 1974 to 1976. Amos served as artistic director of John Harms Theater. He married twice, first to Noel Mickelson from 1965 to 1975. He had two children, Shannon and Kelly "K.C." His second marriage was to Lillian Lehman from 1978 to 1979. Mann, Virginia. "From script to stage to TV with a master." The Record, 11 Apr. 1994, p. A-1, A-15. Subject The topic of the resource Movies Theater Sports, American Football Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Colman, David Ludder, Rachelle Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Telfair H. Brown Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available wikipedia Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource August 8, 2001. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain Entertainment Sports https://archive.englewoodmakeshistory.org/files/original/6f9ff0dd064e5cfe29a591eecb8df4e2.jpg 2f14c628829e71c6406986f89b428124 https://archive.englewoodmakeshistory.org/files/original/8991c46fbbfa4451fffa8b48a2147b1c.jpg e64f9c5d6443c6d6fbd0ad1f4bf6e5d2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource People People An individual. Metadata for a person provides detailed biographical information to describe the life of a historical figure. Birth Date 1887-11-27 Occupation Businessman Source of File Attached "Legitimate Shows and Musical Plays Coming to Plaza." The Record, 7 Mar. 1928, p.6. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Backer, Franklyn Edmund (1887-?) Description An account of the resource Franklyn E. Backer was an early twentieth-century theater entrepreneur, film producer, and cultural booster whose work helped place Englewood on the regional entertainment map during the silent-film era. Born in Newark, New Jersey, on November 27, 1887, Backer was raised and educated in that city, graduating from Newark High School with honors. Rather than follow a single profession, he moved quickly through a variety of business roles, gaining experience that would later prove essential in the rapidly changing world of motion pictures and theatrical exhibition. Backer arrived in Englewood in 1914, drawn by what he saw as an untapped opportunity. At the time, the city’s entertainment options were limited, and he believed Englewood deserved a modern, first-class theater comparable to those in larger urban centers. Acting on this conviction, he negotiated for property on Palisade Avenue and oversaw the excavation and construction of what became the Englewood Theatre. Despite setbacks—including a serious construction accident that temporarily halted progress—the theater was completed later that year and quickly became a focal point of local cultural life. After operating the Englewood Theatre for several years, Backer sold the property in 1916 and turned his attention westward. By early 1917 he was on the Pacific Coast, where he financed and managed his own motion-picture production company. This venture eventually became known as East Coast Studios, an unusual name that reflected his intention to bring East Coast sensibilities into a film industry increasingly dominated by Hollywood. Under his direction, the studio produced a number of films and worked with prominent actors of the era, giving Backer firsthand experience as both a producer and distributor. Between the late 1910s and early 1920s, Backer’s career took him across the country as he personally promoted and marketed his films, blending showmanship with business acumen. His producing work included popular adventure and dramatic pictures, and his years in film were among the most financially successful of his career. Yet despite his national reach, he retained a strong attachment to theater buildings themselves—the physical spaces where audiences gathered. That attachment ultimately drew him back to Englewood. After years of planning and negotiation, Backer spearheaded the construction of the Plaza Theatre on North Van Brunt Street. Designed as a modern entertainment venue, the Plaza reflected both his experience in film production and his belief that suburban communities deserved cultural institutions of the highest quality. The opening of the Plaza coincided with his forty-first birthday, a symbolic milestone in a life marked by relentless ambition and reinvention. By the mid-1920s, Franklyn E. Backer was recognized not only as a theater owner but as a figure who bridged local entertainment and the national motion-picture industry. His career illustrated the entrepreneurial spirit of the silent-film era, when individual vision and risk-taking could shape the cultural landscape of an entire community. In Englewood, his theaters left a lasting imprint, helping establish the city as a center of popular entertainment during a formative period in American film history. "Legitimate Shows and Musical Plays Coming to Plaza." The Record, 7 Mar. 1928, p.6. "Plaza Theatre Has Met With Success." The Record, 19 Jan. 1927, p.17. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Colman, David Ludder, Rachelle Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Record Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available newspaper.com Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource January 19, 1927 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain Entertainment Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource People People An individual. Metadata for a person provides detailed biographical information to describe the life of a historical figure. Occupation Police Officer Source of File Attached "Coming In For A Wing and A Prayer." The Record, 24 Nov. 1998, p. L-3. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Guppy, Kate (?-?) Description An account of the resource Kate Guppy was the first African American women to becoome a police sergeant and lieutenant in Bergen County. She began working with the Englewood Police Department in 1985. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Magyar, Melissa L. "Female police officer celebrated." The Teaneck Suburbanite, 24 Aug. 2005, p. A15. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Ludder, Rachelle African American Police Women Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource People People An individual. Metadata for a person provides detailed biographical information to describe the life of a historical figure. Birth Date 1918? Death Date 2005-06-30 Occupation Businessman Source of File Attached "Baptismal Font Dedicated." The Record, 21 Sept. 1959, p.3. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Hatab, George A. (1918?-2005) Description An account of the resource George A. Hatab was a businessman. He was president of the George Hatab Co. He was also a soldier in the Navy during World War II. Hatab was president of the trustees of St. Anthony's Orthodox Church of Englewood, a member of the Northern Valley Regional Board of Education, and a leader of the anti-integration Save Our Neighborhood Schools (SONS). Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived "A Separation That Doesn't Exist." The Record, 24 Sept. 1962, p.46. Subject The topic of the resource Veterans Schools, Public Religion, Christianity Segregation, Schools Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Colman, David Ludder, Rachelle Education Race Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource People People An individual. Metadata for a person provides detailed biographical information to describe the life of a historical figure. Birth Date 1899? Death Date 1990-07-25 Occupation Civic Leader Activist, Education Teacher Source of File Attached "300 Honor First Negro School Aide." The Record, 25 Mar. 1968, p.B-1. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Perry, John H. (1899?-1990) Description An account of the resource John H. Perry was an educator, civic leader, and civil rights advocate who emerged as a prominent figure in Englewood, New Jersey, during the mid-20th century. In 1945, he made history by becoming the first Black president of the Board of Directors of the Englewood Urban League, marking the first time in the organization’s 26-year history that a Black leader held that position. In 1955 he became the first black person to serve on the Englewood Board of Education. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Perry moved to New York City at the age of ten, where he received his early education. He later attended Hasbrouck Heights High School in New Jersey, gaining recognition for both scholarship and athletics. During World War I, he was one of only three Black students enrolled in the Student Army Training Corps at New York University. While working for seven years at the New York City Post Office, he pursued higher education, earning a Bachelor of Pedagogy from New York Teacher Training College and a master’s degree from New York University. Perry devoted approximately fifteen years to teaching in New York City public schools while remaining deeply engaged in community organizing and race-relations work. As vice president of the Englewood Urban League and chair of its Education Committee, he helped lead efforts that resulted in the appointment of two Black teachers in Englewood’s public schools—an important step toward educational equity. Beyond the Urban League, Perry served on the Board of Directors of the Social Service Federation of Englewood and was affiliated with numerous civic, religious, and fraternal organizations, including Bethany Presbyterian Church in Englewood, the Harlem YMCA, the Prince Hall Masons, and Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. His leadership reflected a lifelong commitment to education, community uplift, and the advancement of racial justice in northern New Jersey and the greater New York region. He was criticized by members of the Englewood Movement seeking to integrate Englewood's schools for moving too slowly on the issue. At one point, leaders of the Englewood Movement demanded his resignation from the Board. "Speakers Praise Perry's Leadership." Bergen Record, May 16, 1955 Partly written by OpenAI. (2026, January, 28). ChatGPT (GPT-5.2.) [Large Language Model] https://chat.openai.com/chat Subject The topic of the resource Activism, African American Schools, Public Segregation, Schools Activism, Education Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Colman, David Ludder, Rachelle https://archive.englewoodmakeshistory.org/files/original/8ef4642e8def4cf0b6e0d35383037d93.jpg 313a47abef6b5370a75f2fccdabd2bcd Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource People People An individual. Metadata for a person provides detailed biographical information to describe the life of a historical figure. Birth Date 1919-07-07 Birthplace New York, New York, USA Death Date 1995-09-04 Occupation Lawyer Activist, Civil Rights Source of File Attached “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kunstler">William Kunstler.</a>” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 9 June 2024. <div></div> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Kunstler, William Moses (1919-1995) Description An account of the resource William Moses Kunstler was an attorney and civil rights activist. Kunstler graduated from Yale before serving in World War II in the Philippines. He graduated from Columbia Law School in 1948. He taught at Pace College's Business School and New York Law School in the 1950s. Kunstler helped the Civil Rights Movement members with legal cases and was acquainted with Martin Luther King Jr. He was director of the American Civil Liberties Union from 1964 to 1972. He co-founded the Center for Constitutional Rights. Kunstler is well-known for defending members of the Black Panther Party, the Attica Prison rioters, Yusef Salaam of the Central Park Five cases, El Sayyid Nosair who was charged with the assassination of Rabbi Meir Kahane, and the Chicago Seven cases. Kunstler represented Englewood parents in their legal efforts to desegregate Englewood schools. He represented the Spruills who in 1962 filed a petition with the NJ State Board of Education to end segregation in Englewood. He represented the family at the hearings in Hackensack. He married Lotte Rosenberger in 1943. After they divorced in 1976 he married Margaret L. Ratner. He had four daughters, Karin Goldman, Jane Drazek, Sarah, and Emily. Stout, David. "<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/05/obituaries/william-kunstler-76-dies-lawyer-for-social-outcasts.html">William Kunstler, 76, Dies; Lawyer for Social Outcasts</a>." The New York Times, 5 Sept. 1995, p.B6. “<a href="https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/kunstler-william-moses">Kunstler, William Moses</a>.” The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute. <div>"William Kunstler dies." The Standard-Star, 5 Sept. 1995, p.B2.</div> Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <div>Los Angeles Times</div> “<a href="https://innocenceproject.org/cases/yusef-salaam/">Yusef Salaam</a>.” Innocence Project, 12 Feb. 2024. Subject The topic of the resource Activism, Civil Rights Criminal Courts Civil Rights Movement, Freedom Rides Civil Courts Vietnam War Veterans Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Colman, David Ludder, Rachelle Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource unknown Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available newspaper.com Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 2, 1970 Civil Rights Courts Crime Law Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource People People An individual. Metadata for a person provides detailed biographical information to describe the life of a historical figure. Occupation Civic Leader Source of File Attached Schlieben, Dan. "A New Ordeal For Chief Nets Tenants Assist." The Record, 3 Feb. 1970, p.B-1. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Carter, John (?-?) Description An account of the resource By the end of the 1960s, John Carter had emerged as one of Englewood’s most visible tenant advocates, first through direct action and later through sustained organizational leadership. His role in the Forest Park Gardens rent strike marked the beginning—not the culmination—of a broader effort to institutionalize tenant power in the city and beyond. After helping lead the successful 1969–1970 rent strike at Forest Park Gardens, Carter remained president of the Englewood Tenants Association (ETA), an organization that evolved from an ad hoc protest group into a formal, county-oriented tenant advocacy body. Under his leadership, the ETA sought to move beyond crisis response toward long-term infrastructure capable of supporting tenants facing rent increases, maintenance disputes, and landlord retaliation. In late 1970, Carter announced that the ETA would apply for up to $100,000 in funding from the Ford Foundation to establish a full-time storefront office staffed by paid organizers and supported by legal counsel specializing in landlord–tenant law. He estimated that between $75,000 and $100,000 would be needed to operate the program over two years. The goal, Carter explained, was to provide consistent, professional assistance to tenants not only in Englewood but throughout Bergen County. Carter was reelected to a three-year term as ETA president during this period, underscoring both continuity and trust within the organization. The association’s leadership structure—complete with officers, a correspondence secretary, and plans for retained legal representation—reflected Carter’s belief that tenant advocacy needed permanence to be effective. “This is really a tenant association’s dream,” he said, describing the push for funding and expansion. The ETA’s work under Carter also extended into mutual aid and emergency response. The organization participated in food and clothing drives to assist families displaced by apartment fires on Englewood Avenue, reinforcing its role as both an advocacy group and a community support network. Crucially, Carter framed the ETA not as a protest-only organization but as a service-oriented institution capable of navigating legal systems, negotiating with landlords, and engaging municipal authorities. This approach paralleled his simultaneous service on Englewood’s Landlord–Tenant Relations Board, where he brought tenant perspectives directly into city governance. Together, these roles illustrate Carter’s distinctive contribution to local housing activism: he helped translate tenant militancy into durable civic infrastructure. By coupling collective action with organizational development, Carter ensured that the gains made during the Forest Park Gardens rent strike were not temporary victories but part of a broader, sustained effort to rebalance power between tenants, landlords, and the city. In Englewood’s housing history, John Carter stands out not only as a strike leader, but as a builder of institutions—someone who understood that lasting change required both pressure from below and structure to carry that pressure forward. "Board measures up." The Record, July 5, 1972. Bruce Brackett, "Tenant Group Seeks Funds for Office." The Record, December 1, 1970. "Fixup Goal of Tenants' Rent Strike." The Record, December 18, 1969. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Ludder, Rachelle Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource People People An individual. Metadata for a person provides detailed biographical information to describe the life of a historical figure. Birth Date 1830-08-08 Birthplace Jetersville, Virginia, USA Death Date 1941-11-24 Occupation Midwife Source of File Attached "Mary Anderson, Slave At Birth, Is Dead At 11." The Record, 24 Nov. 1941, p.2. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Anderson, Mary (1830-1941) Subject The topic of the resource Civil War Description An account of the resource <div class="relative basis-auto flex-col -mb-(--composer-overlap-px) [--composer-overlap-px:28px] grow flex"> <div class="flex flex-col text-sm pb-25"> <div class="text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-10 [--thread-content-margin:--spacing(4)] @w-sm/main:[--thread-content-margin:--spacing(6)] @w-lg/main:[--thread-content-margin:--spacing(16)] px-(--thread-content-margin)"> <div class="[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn"> <div class="flex max-w-full flex-col grow"> <div class="min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal [.text-message+&]:mt-1"> <div class="flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden first:pt-[1px]"> <div class="markdown prose dark:prose-invert w-full wrap-break-word light markdown-new-styling"> Mary Anderson (c. 1830–1941) was a formerly enslaved woman whose life spanned slavery, emancipation, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the early twentieth century. At the time of her death, she was believed to be 111 years old—an age attested to by family records and oral history—making her one of the oldest known residents of the region. Anderson was born around August 8, 1830, in Amelia County, Virginia. She was born into slavery, as was her mother, who was enslaved by the Wilson family. As a young girl, Mary was sold to the Randall family of Dinwiddie County, Virginia, a common and traumatic experience that separated families and uprooted lives within the slave system. She lived through the Civil War and experienced emancipation as an adult, carrying firsthand memory of slavery into the twentieth century. In the early 1910s, Anderson moved north, eventually settling in northern New Jersey. For the last decades of her life, she lived in Hackensack and Englewood, where she became part of the area’s growing Black community during the Great Migration. At the time of her death, she had been living on Second Street in Englewood. Mary Anderson was the mother of eighteen children, a testament both to her resilience and to the harsh realities of nineteenth-century Black family life. She outlived all but two of her children, many of her grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren. Her surviving family included children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren living in Hackensack and Virginia, linking multiple generations across regions and eras. Despite her advanced age, Anderson was described by family members as mentally sharp and active until shortly before her death, which followed a fall at her home. She died at Englewood Hospital on November 23, 1941. Her funeral services were held at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Hackensack, a historically Black congregation that served as a spiritual and social anchor for African Americans in Bergen County. She was laid to rest following services that marked not just the end of a long life, but the passing of a living witness to American slavery. Mary Anderson’s life embodies the long arc of Black American history—from enslavement to freedom, from the rural South to the urban North. Her story reminds us that slavery is not ancient history; it lived on in memory, family, and community well into the twentieth century. "Kin Give Proof Former Slave 111 Years Old." The Record, November 24, 1941. </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived "Mary Anderson, Slave At Birth, Is Dead At 11." The Record, 24 Nov. 1941, p.2. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Ludder, Rachelle Colman, David African American Slavery https://archive.englewoodmakeshistory.org/files/original/ec197d68bed960eca4b77016ddd72205.jpg 30009d8e83155a9bb081d5cd3da8e9cf Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource People People An individual. Metadata for a person provides detailed biographical information to describe the life of a historical figure. Source of File Attached "Seeks Bequest After Twenty Years." The Morning Call, 1 Sept. 1909, p.8. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Jackson, Hannah (?-?) Description An account of the resource Hannah Jackson, a formerly enslaved person, died in Englewood in 1889. Twenty years later her grandson came to Englewood from the South to recover property he claimed Jackson had left him. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived "Seeks Bequest After Twenty Years." The Morning Call, 1 Sept. 1909, p.8. Slavery