Hinton, Charles Burture (1877-1962)
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(c. 1876–1962)
Charles B. Hinton was a pioneering civic leader, political organizer, and longtime public employee whose career made him a central figure in Englewood, New Jersey’s Black political history during the early twentieth century. In 1914, he became the first Black resident of Englewood to be elected to public office, winning election as a Republican county committeeman—a breakthrough that predated most Black electoral gains in northern New Jersey by decades.
Born in Wake County, North Carolina, Hinton migrated north as part of the Great Migration and settled in Englewood, where he built a life rooted in work, politics, and community leadership. He spent nearly forty years employed at the Bergen County Courthouse in Hackensack, most visibly as an elevator operator. While the title understated the role, the position placed Hinton at the center of county government and allowed him to cultivate extensive relationships with judges, attorneys, party officials, and civic leaders.
According to contemporary and retrospective reporting, Englewood’s Black population was first formally recorded in 1910. Just four years later, in 1914, Hinton achieved a political milestone when he was elected Republican county committeeman, becoming the first Black citizen of Englewood elected to any public office. His election came at a time when Black voters in Englewood overwhelmingly supported Republican candidates and often played a decisive role in closely contested races. The significance of Hinton’s victory was such that it was still being cited more than two decades later as a foundational moment in the city’s political development.
Hinton’s position as county committeeman was not symbolic. He remained an active and influential figure within the Republican Party for many years, repeatedly winning re-election and defending his seat against challengers. Later newspaper coverage, particularly during the 1920s and 1930s, documents sustained efforts by white political opponents to unseat him—efforts that openly acknowledged both his long tenure and the loyalty of Black voters who continued to support him. These challenges underscore the durability of the political base he helped build following his initial 1914 election.
Beyond electoral office, Hinton emerged as one of Bergen County’s most visible Black Republican leaders. He played a leading role in organizing Black voters and served as corresponding secretary and organizer for the Bergen County Colored Voters Association, coordinating meetings, conventions, and political education efforts throughout the county. Press accounts describe Black voters as a disciplined and increasingly influential bloc, and Hinton was consistently identified as one of the figures at the center of that transformation.
During the Great Depression, Hinton’s civic role expanded beyond party politics. In 1931, Englewood Mayor Cornelius P. Kitchel appointed him to the city’s Committee to Aid the Unemployed, a broad, cross-racial relief body composed of business leaders, judges, clergy, educators, and social-service officials. The committee’s mission was to ensure that no resident of Englewood would go hungry or without shelter during the winter months, regardless of race, religion, or political affiliation. Hinton’s inclusion reflected his standing as a trusted representative of the city’s Black residents and as a bridge between marginalized communities and municipal power.
Hinton was also a founder of the Englewood Urban League, helping establish one of the city’s most important institutions dedicated to employment access, housing advocacy, and social welfare. His work connected local conditions in Englewood to broader national efforts aimed at addressing racial discrimination in employment and public life.
Like many Black public figures of his era, Hinton faced scrutiny. In the 1930s, he was called before a Bergen County grand jury on charges of inefficiency related to courthouse operations. He defended himself confidently, was cleared almost immediately, and the episode—widely reported in the press—ultimately reinforced his reputation for competence and composure under pressure.
Hinton’s life was part of a remarkable family continuum that traced the arc of African American history across three generations.
His wife, Elizabeth Sears Hinton, lived to the age of 104 and was a charter member and past president of the Nurses Club at Shiloh AME Zion Church in Englewood, a cornerstone of Black religious and civic life in the city. She was the daughter of Nancy Lee Sears, who had been born enslaved on the plantation of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Virginia and later migrated north, spending her final decades in Englewood. Nancy Sears died at age 102, her life spanning slavery, emancipation, and the industrial North.
Charles and Elizabeth Hinton’s son, Theodore H. Hinton, extended this legacy into the legal profession, becoming Englewood’s first Black city prosecutor, a Rutgers Law School graduate, and a mentor to generations of African American lawyers. Across three generations, the Hinton family moved from enslavement to elected office and professional leadership—an extraordinary transformation rooted in persistence, political organization, and community trust.
Charles B. Hinton died in 1962 at the age of 86. He was remembered as a veteran county employee, founder of the Englewood Urban League, Depression-era civic leader, and—most enduringly—as the first Black resident of Englewood elected to public office in 1914.
His life demonstrates how Black political power in the North often emerged not through spectacle, but through strategic participation, institutional endurance, and collective voter discipline. Charles B. Hinton was not a marginal figure in Englewood’s past; he was a foundational one, helping to redefine who could belong—and lead—in the city’s civic life.
"Negro Leaders Attacks City's Negro Attitude." The Record, July 15, 1938."Hinton Elected In Englewood Primary." The New York Age, 24 Sept. 1914, p.5.
"Charles B. Hinton Funeral On Monday." The Record, 17 Aug. 1962, p.37.
"Chas B Hinton in the New Jersey, U.S., State Census, 1915." Ancestry.
