Penn, Jessie Jones

Jessie Jones Penn (1893–1996) was a pioneering civil rights activist whose decades-long work helped dismantle racial segregation in Englewood and Bergen County, New Jersey. Born in 1893, Penn became deeply involved in civil rights organizing during the mid-20th century, focusing especially on education and housing equality. She was a central figure in the struggle to end de facto segregation in Englewood’s public schools during the 1960s, opening her home to Freedom School activities and supporting school boycotts aimed at forcing meaningful integration. Penn was a founding member of the Englewood chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and later played a key role in the establishment of the Bergen County branch of the organization. Even into her nineties, she remained an active and committed advocate, attending meetings and supporting campaigns to advance civil rights and equal opportunity. Her work earned recognition from both local and national organizations, including the NAACP, which honored her for decades of dedicated service. In 1969, she received the Sojourner Truth Award for Achievement and Community Service, and later the NAACP’s P. Dixon III Memorial Award. Known for her persistence, clarity of purpose, and moral conviction, Penn was widely respected across generations of activists. She lived her final years in a nursing home on Long Island and passed away at the age of 102. Jessie Jones Penn’s legacy endures as a foundational figure in Englewood’s civil rights history and as a symbol of sustained grassroots activism over the course of the 20th century. 

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