Guide to the Kenneth Gibson Papers 1955-1984 MG 1684

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Descriptive Summary
Biographical Note:
Scope and Content Note
Arrangement
Access Points
Administrative Information
Bibliography

Container List

Series 1: Campaign materials (1966-1982).

Series 2: Newark College of Engineering notes and other school work (1955-1963).

Series 3: Mayoral materials (1955-1983).

Series 4: Meetings, Conferences, Rallies (1963-1982).

Series 5: Visit to Japan (March 9 – March 24, 1973).

Series 6: Awards and Honors (1962-1982).

Series 7: Magazines, Brochures, Ephemera (1963-1976)

Series 8: Miscellaneous

Series 9: Newspaper Clippings, 1963-1983.

Guide to the Kenneth Gibson Papers
1955-1984

MG 1684

The New Jersey Historical Society
52 Park Place
Newark, New Jersey 07102
Contact: NJHS Library
Phone: (973) 596-8500 x249
Email: library@jerseyhistory.org
URL: https://www.jerseyhistory.org
©2008 All rights reserved.
The New Jersey Historical Society, Publisher
Processed by Nicole Piorkowski.

Finding aid encoded by Julia Telonidis. July 2008. Production of the EAD 2002 version of this finding aid was made possible by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Finding aid written in English.

Biographical Note

Kenneth Allen Gibson served as Newark, New Jersey’s 36th mayor from 1970 to 1986. Gibson was Newark’s first African-American mayor.

Gibson was born on May 15th, 1932 in Enterprise, Alabama. Gibson’s father, Willie, mother, Daisy, and younger brother Harold, he moved to Newark’s central ward after his father took a job in the Swift packing plant in Kearny. During the war, Willie Gibson worked a lot of overtime while Daisy Gibson worked as a seamstress. Because of this, Gibson and his brother grew up by themselves.

Gibson was a product of Newark: graduated from Monmouth Street School (now defunct), Cleveland Junior High, and, in 1950, Central High. He enrolled in Newark College of Engineering that same year but was forced to drop out due to money problems; he was supporting himself and his wife (Gibson married at age 18 but later divorced; with his first wife, he had two daughters, Jo Anne and Cheryl. He later married Muriel Cook, who had daughter, Joyce, from a previous marriage). Gibson worked in the Swift packing plant in Kearny, but then landed a job with the New Jersey State Highway Department before re-enrolling in NCE evening sessions in September 1952. His education was interrupted again from 1956-1958 by service in Hawaii with the 65th Engineer Battalion of the United States Army. Upon his return, Gibson resumed classes until his graduation in 1962 with his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. At the time, there were very few African-Americans within the field. Gibson advanced his career by becoming the chief engineer for the Newark Housing Authority in 1960, a position held until 1966 when he became the city’s chief structural engineer until 1970.

Throughout the early 1960s, Gibson was active in many community activities: director of the YM-YMCA of Newark and vicinity; Urban League; NAACP. In 1964, Gibson was selected as an “Outstanding Alumnus” by Newark College of Engineering, and was also selected as “Man of the Year” by the Junior Chamber of Commerce.

In 1966, at the insistence of friends, Gibson joined the mayoral race only six weeks before the election. He ended up with 18% of the vote, causing a mayoral run-off. Although losing to incumbent Hugh J. Addonizio, Gibson spent the next four years preparing for this 1970 mayoral campaign.

From July 12-16, 1967, the Newark riots devastated the city: 26 killed, 1,200 injured, nearly 1,500 arrests, and $15 million in property damage. Inquiry into Mayor Addonizio’s handling of the riots revealed government corruption as well as Mob ties. Newark’s citizens, mostly African-American with a growing Hispanic population, grew disenchanted with the white minority control of the city. Gibson naturally drew support from the black community, notably that of LeRoi Jones (currently goes by adopted African name Amiri Baraka), a poet and activist.

Friends, family and colleagues described Gibson as being slow, but deliberate in his actions. When Gibson stepped into office, he was faced with a large deficit, high crime, unemployment, and low high school graduation rates in addition to social, political, physical, and fiscal reverberations of the Newark riots. Viewed as being the hope for Newark, Gibson made a controversial decision when he appointed John Redden, a caucasian, as Newark’s police captain. Hours before Gibson took the mayoral oath in 1970, he refused to choose a black captain and would not take the oath without Redden as captain.

In stark contrast to the previous administration, Gibson immediately established himself as someone who could not be bribed. Over the course of his time in office, he also managed to secure state and federal funding that would help in Newark’s rejuvenation, although there was still an outpouring of middle-income residents and small businesses, which transferred higher taxes, specifically personal property taxes, to the remaining residents. Unemployment remained high (usually above the national average).

When Gibson first took office in 1970, Newark residents saw him as the hope of Newark. Gibson acquired funding for Newark, constantly going against the Republican Reagan administration. While Gibson increased or rehabilitated thousands of housing units, Newark population continued to drop while crime and unemployment remained high. In the early 1980s Gibson made an unpopular decision to increase property taxes in order to fund Newark’s municipality (more than one half of Newark is tax exempt). But as legal, fiscal and political problems became more apparent in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Gibson’s image began to wane. The mayor that was once seen as calm and resolute was perceived as lethargic and apathetic. In 1981 Gibson had a highly anticipated, yet unsuccessful attempt at run for governor, losing the Democratic nomination to James Florio. In 1986, Gibson lost his position as mayor to Sharpe James.

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Scope and Content Note

This collection contains materials from the life of Kenneth Allen Gibson, the 34th mayor of Newark, N.J., who served from 1970 through 1986. Correspondence, notes, photographs, slides, newspaper clippings, fliers, brochures, booklets, maps, blueprints and magazines collected during Gibson’s time as a student at Newark College of Engineering, an employee of the New Jersey State Highway Department, as well as mayor of Newark represent this collection. Slightly less than half of this collection consists of newspaper clippings. There is one folder of over-sized materials (blueprints, maps, charts).

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Arrangement

The collection is organized into nine series.

Series 1: Campaign materials, 1966-1982.

Series 2: Newark College of Engineering notes and other coursework, 1955-1963.

Series 3: Mayoral materials, 1955-1983.

Series 4: Meetings, Conferences, Rallies, 1963-1982.

Series 5: Visit to Japan, March 9 – March 24, 1973.

Series 6: Awards and Honors, 1962-1982.

Series 7: Magazines, Brochures, Ephemera, 1963-1976.

Series 8: Miscellaneous.

Series 9: Newspaper Clippings, 1963-1983.

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Access Points

The entries below represent persons, organizations, topics, forms, and occupations documented in this collection.

Subject Names:

Addonizio, Hugh J., 1914-1981.
Baraka, Imamu Amiri, 1934-.
Gibson, Kenneth A.
Redden, John.

Subject Organizations:

Housing Authority of the City of Newark (New Jersey).
Newark Board of Education.
Newark College of Engineering.

Subject Topics:

African-American politicians–New Jersey–Newark.
Civil Engineering.
Civil rights–United States.
Housing policy–New Jersey–Newark.
Mayors–Election.
Race relations.
Riots–New Jersey–Newark.
School boards–New Jersey–Newark.

Subject Places:

Essex County (N.J.)
Japan.
Newark (N.J.)

Document Types:

Awards.
Clippings.
Letters (Correspondence).
Notes.
Pamphlets.
Photocopies.
Programs.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as: Manuscript Group 1684, Kenneth Gibson Papers, The New Jersey Historical Society.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Kenneth Allen Gibson to The New Jersey Historical Society in 1998.

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Bibliography

Gibson notes ‘renaissance.’ (1981, May 24) The Sunday Star-Ledger, p. 43.

Gibson reveals offers for ‘corrupt decisions.’ (1970, September 5) The Star-Ledger.

Akst, D. (1981, April 5). Newark: Are the 80’s on its side? The New York Times, pp.1, 28.

Boyer, P. J. (2008, February 4). The color of politics. The New Yorker, pp. 38-51.

Bryan H. (1975, June 30). Conversation with Kenneth Gibson: mayor of a depressed city in a state that’s slow to react. The Evening Times, p.17.

Cook, F. J. (1971, July 25). Mayor Kenneth Gibson says: ‘Wherever the central cities are going, Newark is going to get there first.” The New York Times Magazine, pp.7-9, 32, 36-37, 40.

McCullen, M. Legacy of a dream, Newark’s Kenneth A. Gibson: the man and the mayor. Newark! The Magazine of Metropolitan New Jersey. Sept/Oct 1970. pp. 15-17, 31-33, 35-37.

Span, P. (1983, October 2). Newark’s failing dream. The New York Times Magazine, pp.55, 58-62.

Winslow, C. (1970, November). Newark: Problems and progress. Suburban Life: The Magazine of New Jersey, 40(9), 44-45, 70, 14-15.

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Container List

Series 1: Campaign materials (1966-1982).

Scope and Content:

This series contains promotional materials from Gibson’s 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, and 1982 mayoral campaigns in addition to his 1981 run for governor. Such materials consist of mainly of fliers, but also Also included are fliers, memorandum, correspondence, tickets, and narration scripts for publicity events while mayor. Public support materials include letters, poems, modified song lyrics and drawings.

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Series 2: Newark College of Engineering notes and other school work (1955-1963).

Scope and Content:

This series contains Gibson’s notes, exams and technical bulletins from his Newark College of Engineering classes, as well as limited notes from Justin J. Calcagno (1955), Robert J. Carlin (1956), and Joyce Cook (n.d.). While some of Gibson’s notes are dated (1960-1962) (Box 3, folders 1 and 2), some notes are not (Box 3, folder 3). Also included are notes, salary listings and timesheets from the New Jersey Highway Department (Box 2, folder 8). Box 3, Folder 7 contains, among other items, Gibson’s NCE transcript from 1952-196

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Series 3: Mayoral materials (1955-1983).

Scope and Content:

The materials in this series include administrative, Newark board of education (BOE) information, and Gibson’s speeches (1968-1983, n.d.). The administrative materials encompass financial information, including a contract between the City of Newark and the U.S. Department of Labor for repayment of emergency funds; law enforcement information, including proposals for law enforcement programs, letters of complaint, an open letter to the municipal council from Mayor Gibson about the appointment of a new police director; Newark Housing Authority information, including a civil action court hearing transcript of Newark Housing Authority versus Carmella Realty Company (1955), Newark Housing Council first annual report (1970), an evaluation of impact of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1947, newsletters and brochures; voter registration statistics (registered voters decreased significantly from 1970 to 1973), a presentment from the 16th Essex County Grand Jury to Gibson concerning allegations of illegal activities surrounding the operation of the Newark Housing Authority, an undated survey of Newark residents about various topics (e.g., opinion of Newark, rating of problems facing Newark, opinion of law enforcement, etc.). Also contains a 1966 contract between the Secretary of Labor and the Welfare Federation of Newark (United Community Fund of Essex & West Hudson) as well as a 1964 ordinance for the City of Newark revising its previous building code. The Newark BOE materials include correspondence, minutes from the Newark BOE conference (1974), and information detailing the 1974 year: policy, statistics, personnel, construction and budget.

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Series 4: Meetings, Conferences, Rallies (1963-1982).

Scope and Content:

This series includes policies, correspondence, brochures, pamphlets, ephemera, newsletters, itinerary and meeting minutes from the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) as well as their subcommittees, the Legislative Action Committee (1972) and Resolutions Committee (1974). Each year, the USMC holds an annual meeting in a different US city; this collection has information about the 1972 (New Orleans), 1974 (San Diego) and 1975 (Boston) meetings. Gibson served as the USCM president from 1976-1977. In 1982, Gibson traveled to Hong Kong to participate in “Invest in America’s Cities,” a project that allows foreign investors to view American investment opportunities. Also within the series is Gibson’s 1980 visit to Burundi, Africa (box 8, folders 1-5). These folders include invitations to events, itineraries, newspapers, postcards, slides of the countryside, transmitted international news and events (March 27 – April 2, 1980). Gibson visited the University of Burundi on April 3, 1980; an invitation, itinerary and speech (in French) are available (box 8, folder 2). Gibson spoke at The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Social Change fifth annual meeting and conference in New York, NY on April 6, 1974. The folder (box 8, folder 8) contains a newsletter, itinerary, and pamphlets. An itinerary of Gibson’s tour of the Air Force Systems Command, which was a tour of Air Force bases in Ohio, Tennessee and Florida, is in box 8, folder 10. Gibson attended the March on Washington with wife, Muriel, on August 28, 1963; the bus passenger list is located in box 8, folder 11 along with a handwritten ticket list, two halves of a March on Washington sign, and an expert from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech about Vietnam on April 4, 1967.

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 Series 5: Visit to Japan (March 9 – March 24, 1973).

Scope and Content:

This series consists mainly of brochures, ephemera, including entertainment brochures and tourist maps. Also included are postcards as well as photographs of Gibson in a meeting. There are publications (government publications) describing various facets of the Japanese government including foreign policy, human relations and education that may be useful in understanding the Japanese government during the early 1970s. Also included in the literature are publications concerning Japanese culture such as tea ceremonies (box 9, folder 4) and ikebana, or Japanese flower arrangement (box 9, folder 3). An informational booklet about the aftermath of the August 6th, 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima (box 9, folder 3) is also included (please note that this booklet contains graphic images). Gibson and his wife, Muriel, visited Japan, specifically Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara and Hiroshima, spending the majority of their time in Tokyo. Sightseeing was done in all four cities with all meetings taking place in Tokyo. On March 22, 1973, Gibson met with the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) in order to encourage new American business in Japan as well as Japanese investment in the U.S. Gibson visited Japanese broadcasting center (NHK), Sony Corporation, Ishikawashima-Harima Heavy Industries Shipbuilding facilities.

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 Series 6: Awards and Honors (1962-1982).

Scope and Content:

This series contains certificates, correspondence and programs associated with the receipt of honors and awards; this series also includes programs in which Gibson was invited to speak at an event. A copy of Gibson’s degree from Newark College of Engineering is in box 13, folder 1.

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 Series 7: Magazines, Brochures, Ephemera (1963-1976)

Scope and Content:

This series contains general information about Newark (box 14, folder 1) such as an introductory booklet about Newark city government, a general guide to Newark and fact sheets.

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Series 8: Miscellaneous

Scope and Content:

This series contains general information about Newark (box 14, folder 1) such as an introductory booklet about Newark city government, a general guide to Newark and fact sheets.

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Series 9: Newspaper Clippings, 1963-1983.

Scope and Content:

This series is comprised of newspaper clippings from 1963-1983, with a concentration of clippings from 1970. The clippings relate to Gibson’s mayoral campaigns and time in office; they also relate to the condition of Newark (in terms of budget, crime, housing, education, etc.). Some of the clippings have been photocopied and others have not.

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