6 10 894 https://archive.englewoodmakeshistory.org/files/original/6a6786a929404bcd3bbab802acd38147.png 8291a39597a2ba902767626775048fb7 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 Actors People An individual. Metadata for a person provides detailed biographical information to describe the life of a historical figure. 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 Harris, Ed Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gage Skidmore 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 July 22, 2017 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Colman, David Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain Description An account of the resource Edward Harris is an acclaimed American actor, director, and producer whose distinguished career has spanned more than four decades. Born at Englewood Hospital in Englewood on November 28, 1950, Harris spent his early years in nearby Tenafly before pursuing a career in acting. He earned widespread recognition for his performances in films such as The Right Stuff, Apollo 13, The Truman Show, and The Hours, receiving four Academy Award nominations. Harris also directed and starred in Pollock, a biographical drama about artist Jackson Pollock that earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Although he built his career in Hollywood, Harris's roots in Englewood connect him to Bergen County's long tradition of producing influential figures in the arts and entertainment industry. His success on stage, screen, and television—including his acclaimed role as the Man in Black in the HBO series Westworld—has made him one of the most respected actors of his generation. https://archive.englewoodmakeshistory.org/files/original/205b818deca829fae308b0f59572f232.png c2a34b9c5faf82a7ff8db2919c8b1093 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 Actors People An individual. Metadata for a person provides detailed biographical information to describe the life of a historical figure. 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 Davis, Hope Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Peabody Awards 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 May 30, 2010 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Colman, David Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain Description An account of the resource <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hope_Davis">Hope Davis</a> is an acclaimed American actress known for her work in film, television, and theater. Born in Englewood, New Jersey, on March 23, 1964, she spent her early years in Bergen County and was raised in nearby Tenafly, where she graduated from Tenafly High School in 1982. Her Englewood roots placed her within a vibrant cultural community that helped shape her early interest in the arts. Davis built a distinguished acting career with notable roles in films such as The Daytrippers, About Schmidt, American Splendor, Infamous, and Asteroid City. On television, she earned Emmy Award nominations for her performances in In Treatment, The Special Relationship, and Succession. She has also received Golden Globe and Tony Award nominations, establishing herself as one of the most respected character actresses of her generation. https://archive.englewoodmakeshistory.org/files/original/4d1f4dd0b254c082419ed1f4b5d69238.png 771014a26268122cb1c5a45cad709527 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 Actors People An individual. Metadata for a person provides detailed biographical information to describe the life of a historical figure. 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 Parker, Sarah Jessica Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Shawn Miller Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Library of Congress 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 April 25, 2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Colman, David Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain Description An account of the resource <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Jessica_Parker">Sarah Jessica Parker</a> (born March 25, 1965) is an award-winning American actress, producer, and fashion entrepreneur best known for her portrayal of Carrie Bradshaw in the HBO series Sex and the City. Over a career spanning more than five decades, she has earned multiple Emmy and Golden Globe Awards and has become one of the most recognizable figures in American television and popular culture. Before achieving international fame, Parker spent part of her youth in Englewood, New Jersey, where she attended Dwight Morrow High School. Her family moved to Englewood after living in Ohio, New York, and New York City as she pursued acting and dance training from a young age. By the time she was a teenager, Parker had already appeared on Broadway, including in the title role of Annie. Parker later starred in films such as Footloose, Hocus Pocus, and The First Wives Club, but it was her role as Carrie Bradshaw that made her a global icon. Her connection to Englewood places her among the many notable performers who spent formative years in Bergen County before going on to national and international success. https://archive.englewoodmakeshistory.org/files/original/4dd5860b82adb26e240aad4087587b76.png 2c85402677ab98adf1193c7a4b167a2c 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 Organized Crime People An individual. Metadata for a person provides detailed biographical information to describe the life of a historical figure. 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 Albert Anastasia Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived publicly available old photograph 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 1953-1955 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource unknown Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Colman, David Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain Description An account of the resource <div> <div class="text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-10 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--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 gap-4 grow"> <div class="min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+&]:mt-1"> <div class="flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden"> <div class="markdown prose dark:prose-invert wrap-break-word w-full light markdown-new-styling"> Albert Anastasia (1902–1957) was one of the most influential and feared figures in American organized crime during the mid-twentieth century. Born Umberto Anastasio in Calabria, Italy, he immigrated to the United States as a teenager and rose through the ranks of the Mafia during Prohibition. He eventually became the boss of the crime family that would later be known as the Gambino family. Law enforcement officials and crime commissions frequently associated him with the feared enforcement network known as “Murder, Inc.,” making him one of the most notorious underworld figures of his era. Anastasia maintained a strong connection to Fort Lee, New Jersey, where he lived in a lavish Spanish-style estate on Bluff Road overlooking the Hudson River. During the 1940s and 1950s, Fort Lee became a favored residential enclave for a number of organized crime figures. Its proximity to Manhattan allowed mob leaders to conduct business in New York while enjoying the privacy, spacious homes, and suburban atmosphere of Bergen County. As a result, Fort Lee developed a reputation as one of several North Jersey communities where prominent underworld figures established residences. Newspaper accounts from the period frequently identified Anastasia as a Fort Lee resident. His home became a symbol of both his wealth and influence, drawing attention from reporters, law enforcement officials, and curious members of the public. The estate was known for its commanding location and elaborate furnishings, reflecting the prosperity that accompanied his rise within organized crime. Anastasia's career came to a dramatic end on October 25, 1957, when he was assassinated while sitting in a barber's chair at New York's Park Sheraton Hotel. The killing remains one of the most famous unsolved murders in Mafia history and marked a major shift in the balance of power within organized crime. In the weeks following his death, public fascination was so great that crowds reportedly overwhelmed an auction of furnishings from his former Fort Lee residence. Today, Albert Anastasia is remembered as one of the most powerful Mafia leaders of the twentieth century. His years in Fort Lee highlight the borough's little-known role in the history of organized crime, when several prominent mob figures chose the community as a suburban refuge while remaining closely connected to the criminal networks centered in nearby New York City. The Record (Hackensack, New Jersey), November 21, 1951. Article discussing Albert Anastasia's residence at 75 Bluff Road in Fort Lee and his response to reports that he had been ordered to leave New York-area organized crime circles. The Buffalo News, November 23, 1957. Report on the auction of furnishings from Anastasia's Fort Lee estate following his death, describing the large public turnout and the contents of the home. The Springfield Sunday Republican, April 22, 1951. Coverage of testimony before the Kefauver Committee that discussed Anastasia's alleged role in organized crime and his prominence within the national underworld. Nigel Nicolson, "I Used to Play with Tony Soprano," The Sunday Telegraph, October 28, 2001. Recollection of growing up in Fort Lee during a period when several organized crime figures, including Albert Anastasia, maintained homes in the community. </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> https://archive.englewoodmakeshistory.org/files/original/698aa060b37706e831443367709b32d7.png e360c884f53ca323f55591eb73e3e660 Event A non-persistent, time-based occurrence. Metadata for an event provides descriptive information that is the basis for discovery of the purpose, location, duration, and responsible agents associated with an event. Examples include an exhibition, webcast, conference, workshop, open day, performance, battle, trial, wedding, tea party, conflagration. Type of Event Other 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 The Great Migration Subject The topic of the resource the Great Migration Description An account of the resource The Great Migration and the Making of Black Englewood Between the early twentieth century and World War II, Englewood, New Jersey was transformed by the Great Migration, the mass movement of African Americans out of the South and into northern communities. Although historians often focus on destinations such as Harlem, Chicago, Detroit, and Philadelphia, smaller suburban cities like Englewood became equally important sites of Black migration, institution building, and political transformation. A significant portion of Englewood’s Black population traced its roots to South Carolina, particularly Marlboro County and the town of Bennettsville. These migration patterns developed through networks of family, church affiliation, labor recruitment, and personal relationships that connected southern Black communities directly to Bergen County. By the 1920s and 1930s, Englewood and Bennettsville existed as linked communities within a larger migration corridor stretching from the rural South to the urban North. Leaving the South African Americans left South Carolina and the broader South for many reasons. Jim Crow segregation denied Black southerners equal political rights, educational opportunity, economic mobility, and physical security. Sharecropping, racial violence, debt peonage, and chronic underinvestment in Black communities created conditions that pushed thousands northward. At the same time, northern communities offered opportunities unavailable in much of the South. Expanding suburbs such as Englewood required domestic workers, chauffeurs, laborers, gardeners, cooks, and service employees to support affluent white households. Rail connections and established family networks made migration increasingly accessible. Some of the earliest migration links developed when wealthy Englewood families brought Black domestic workers north from South Carolina during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Those workers communicated opportunities back home, encouraging relatives, neighbors, and church members to migrate as well. Over time, these chain migrations dramatically expanded Englewood’s Black population and gave the city a distinctly southern Black character rooted in communities such as Bennettsville. For many migrants, Englewood represented more than economic opportunity. It offered access to voting rights, public education, civic participation, and the possibility of building independent Black institutions beyond the constraints of southern racial control. The Creation of “Texas” The promise of the North, however, quickly collided with the realities of segregation and racial inequality. As Black migration increased, African Americans became concentrated in a neighborhood east of the railroad tracks and north of Palisade Avenue, commonly referred to as “Texas.” The neighborhood emerged as one of the clearest examples of de facto segregation in Bergen County during the early twentieth century. White political leaders, real estate interests, and local newspapers frequently portrayed Texas as a social problem rather than as the product of discriminatory housing systems. African Americans were largely excluded from many residential sections of the city while overcrowded housing conditions intensified within the Fourth Ward. Substandard infrastructure, deteriorating housing stock, unequal municipal investment, and discriminatory real estate practices reinforced segregation. Urban renewal and demolition campaigns disproportionately targeted Black neighborhoods without addressing the structural inequities that had created those conditions in the first place. Restrictive housing patterns ensured that Black residents remained concentrated within limited geographic areas even as Englewood promoted itself as an affluent and progressive suburban community. Texas became both a symbol of racial exclusion and a center of Black community life. Within its boundaries, migrants built churches, social networks, businesses, political organizations, and mutual aid systems that helped families navigate the uncertainties of northern urban life. South Carolina Connections The migration of African Americans into Englewood followed highly organized social and familial patterns. Bennettsville, South Carolina emerged as one of the strongest points of connection to Englewood, producing a migration stream that endured for decades. Migrants rarely arrived in isolation. Families settled near relatives, attended familiar churches, and entered employment networks already established by earlier arrivals. Southern traditions, religious practices, kinship structures, and community ties were carried north and recreated in Bergen County. By the 1920s and 1930s, local officials openly acknowledged the strong relationship between Englewood and Black communities in South Carolina. These migration networks became so extensive that white residents increasingly viewed Black southern migration as a political and demographic force capable of reshaping the city itself. The Great Depression intensified these tensions. As unemployment rose, Black migrants were increasingly scapegoated for economic hardship and public relief expenditures. Public debates emerged over the continued arrival of families from South Carolina, particularly from Bennettsville. Beneath these debates lay deeper white anxieties about demographic change, political power, labor competition, and access to municipal resources. At the same time, migration continued because conditions in the South remained oppressive and because family and community networks in Englewood provided migrants with a degree of support and opportunity unavailable elsewhere. William Butler and Black Political Awakening By the 1930s, Englewood’s Black population had developed an increasingly organized and assertive political consciousness. For decades, most African American voters had remained loyal to the Republican Party because of its historical association with Abraham Lincoln and emancipation. However, many Black residents began openly questioning whether either political party genuinely represented their interests. African Americans increasingly demanded access to patronage jobs, municipal appointments, public employment, housing protections, and political influence. One of the most prominent voices in this political awakening was William Butler, a leading Black political figure and president of the Colored Democratic Club of Englewood. Butler openly challenged both Republican and Democratic leaders for exploiting Black voters while failing to provide meaningful economic or political advancement. His criticisms reflected a broader national transformation occurring within Black America during the Depression era. Across the country, African Americans increasingly shifted away from automatic party loyalty and toward a more militant demand for concrete political results. In Englewood, this political awakening emerged directly from the realities of segregation, unequal employment opportunities, inadequate housing, and the persistent marginalization of Black residents within city government. Black political leaders argued that African Americans were essential to local elections yet remained excluded from the benefits of political power. This growing activism laid the groundwork for the more organized civil rights struggles that would emerge in later decades. Building Institutions and Community Despite discrimination and segregation, African Americans in Englewood built a vibrant and highly organized community infrastructure. Churches became the central institutional foundation of Black Englewood. Congregations such as Bethany Presbyterian Church served not only religious functions, but also political, educational, and social ones. Churches hosted civic meetings, educational lectures, veterans organizations, social welfare programs, and political gatherings that helped stabilize migrant families adjusting to northern life. Black women played especially important leadership roles in this institutional development. Women organized voter associations, social service federations, civic improvement campaigns, educational programs, and child welfare initiatives. Following the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, Black women rapidly mobilized to expand political participation and voter education within the city. Their activism reflected the broader tradition of Black clubwomen across the United States who viewed education, civic engagement, mutual aid, and racial uplift as essential tools of community advancement. At the same time, African Americans in Englewood developed recreational and cultural institutions that fostered community pride and cohesion. Black baseball teams competed throughout Bergen County during the era of segregated athletics, while social clubs and community forums created spaces for public life outside the constraints of white-controlled institutions. Black veterans returning from World War I organized their own American Legion post, asserting both citizenship and racial dignity at a moment when Black servicemen across the country faced renewed discrimination despite their military service. Together, these institutions created a durable foundation for Black life in Englewood and helped migrants recreate the community structures disrupted by migration from the South. A Northern City Built on Southern Roots The history of Black Englewood during the Great Migration demonstrates that suburban northern communities were central—not peripheral—to African American history. Migrants from South Carolina and the broader South did not simply relocate to Englewood; they reshaped the city’s political culture, civic institutions, labor force, and social landscape. They transformed a northern suburb into a community deeply influenced by southern Black traditions, institutions, and networks. At the same time, the segregation and discrimination they encountered revealed that the North was never free from racism. Although northern segregation operated differently from Jim Crow South Carolina, it nevertheless shaped where African Americans could live, work, and exercise political power. Out of these conditions emerged a resilient and organized Black community whose institutions and activism laid the foundation for later struggles for educational equality, school desegregation, and civil rights in Englewood during the mid-twentieth century. The Great Migration did not simply bring African Americans to Englewood. It created modern Black Englewood. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource undetermined 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 30, 1920 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Colman, David Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Library of Congress People An individual. Metadata for a person provides detailed biographical information to describe the life of a historical figure. 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 Rothman, Leonard Subject The topic of the resource Real Estate Description An account of the resource real estate https://archive.englewoodmakeshistory.org/files/original/b1e29bf56233d28f24fa2680d50372a1.png 5c536cfcbddf3febfde5998cad2f62fa 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 Music People An individual. Metadata for a person provides detailed biographical information to describe the life of a historical figure. 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 Kallen, Katie "Kittie' Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource William Gottlieb Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Library of Congress 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 1949 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Colman, David Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain Subject The topic of the resource Music, Musicians Description An account of the resource Kitty Kallen (1921–2016) was a popular American singer whose career spanned the big-band era, radio, television, and popular music. Born Katie Kallen in Philadelphia, she began performing as a child and rose to national prominence in the 1940s as a vocalist with the bands of Jimmy Dorsey and Harry James. Her distinctive voice helped make songs such as “Besame Mucho,” “Little Things Mean a Lot,” “In the Chapel in the Moonlight,” and “My Coloring Book” major hits. By the 1950s she had become one of the most successful female vocalists in the United States, earning gold records and regular appearances on radio and television. Kallen developed strong ties to Englewood, New Jersey, where she and her husband, George DeWitt, made their home for decades. Newspaper accounts from the 1960s and 1970s frequently identified her as an Englewood resident, and she participated in numerous civic and charitable activities throughout Bergen County. She supported local fundraising efforts, modeled in benefit fashion shows, appeared at community events, and assisted charitable campaigns including UNICEF and programs supporting children’s causes. Her involvement reflected the broader role many entertainers played in the civic life of suburban Bergen County during the postwar era. Although her career took her around the world, Kallen repeatedly expressed affection for Englewood. Later interviews noted that she spent summers at her longtime Englewood home and appreciated the city’s proximity to New York while offering a quieter suburban lifestyle. In 1978, after an erroneous wire-service report mistakenly announced her death, Bergen County newspapers humorously reassured readers that “Kitty is alive, well and living in Englewood.” The episode underscored how closely she had become associated with the community. Today, Kitty Kallen is remembered both as one of the leading female vocalists of the mid-twentieth century and as a longtime Englewood resident who used her celebrity to support local charities, community organizations, and cultural events throughout Bergen County. Press of Atlantic City, September 7, 1949 (“Kittie Kallen Heads Show On Steel Pier”). The Herald-News (Passaic-Clifton), May 20, 1963 (Democratic Women fashion show in Bergen County featuring Kitty Kallen of Englewood). The Record (Hackensack), November 19, 1963 (UNICEF Christmas card fundraiser in Englewood). The Morning Call, November 11, 1964 (Children’s Concert Fund benefit fashion show featuring Kitty Kallen of Englewood). The Record, May 11, 1968 (Bergen County Women for McCarthy fundraiser appearance). The Record, April 21, 1978 (“Kitty is alive, well and living in Englewood”). The Record, August 13, 1995 (“Many little things later, Kitty Kallen turns into an icon”). https://archive.englewoodmakeshistory.org/files/original/36250b20472210e30dd4d237a32006c6.jpg e46053b12832ce8ce47ba44cd98bfb31 https://archive.englewoodmakeshistory.org/files/original/ec88b235ee418bab45107e07e1c23f6c.jpg a12444cd76366a63feb85427a1a6f595 Organizations and Institutions A group of individuals cooperating under similar beliefs to reach an agreed-upon goal. Metadata for organizations and institutions provides information for the basis of an investigation into the creation, purpose, beliefs, and actors involved in an organization and institution. 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 Neighborhood House https://archive.englewoodmakeshistory.org/files/original/a00dba565c9e875f1960326a4a7874e1.jpg e46053b12832ce8ce47ba44cd98bfb31 Organizations and Institutions A group of individuals cooperating under similar beliefs to reach an agreed-upon goal. Metadata for organizations and institutions provides information for the basis of an investigation into the creation, purpose, beliefs, and actors involved in an organization and institution. 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 Civic League of Englewood https://archive.englewoodmakeshistory.org/files/original/31dee0320357e97610db3954d51ddefa.png c51763e02b17ca2f22d88c9c2d05fc62 People An individual. Metadata for a person provides detailed biographical information to describe the life of a historical figure. 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 Bennett, Dexter Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Helen Tinsley Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Facebook Post, April 30, 2026 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Facebook