Youth Activism and the Black Freedom Struggle in Lawnside, New Jersey

Youth Activism and the Black Freedom Struggle in Lawnside, New Jersey by Jason Romisher Bachelor of Education, Lakehead University, 2002 Bachelor of Arts (Honours), Queen’s University, 2001 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of History Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences © Jason Romisher 2018 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2018 Copyright in this work rests with the author. Please ensure that any reproduction or re-use is done in accordance with the relevant national copyright legislation. Approval Name: Jason Romisher Degree: Master of Arts Title: Youth Activism and the Black Freedom Struggle in Lawnside, New Jersey Examining Committee: Chair: Dimitri Krallis Associate Professor Jennifer Spear Senior Supervisor Associate Professor Karen Ferguson Supervisor Professor Todd M. Michney External Examiner Assistant Professor School of History and Sociology Georgia Institute of Technology Date Defended/Approved: January 12, 2018 ii Ethics Statement iii Abstract This thesis is an examination of youth activism during the black freedom struggle in Lawnside, New Jersey; one of ten self-governing African American communities in the United States. A critical factor in Lawnside’s narrative is that its young people both historically and today do not experience integration until the high school level where they are a distinct minority of the student body in a white community’s high school. During the civil rights/black power era, Lawnside’s young people created their own activist organization called the Young Blacks of Lawnside that pursued an agenda of non- violence, community improvement, educational advancement, and peaceful activism. Many African American youth from Lawnside were also inspired to address inequality and African American educational and cultural concerns at their high school by engaging in acts of collective violence and non-violent direct action. In these protest efforts, which included a boycott, two sit-ins, and a protest march, female students often held positions of influence and leadership and students acted with little direction or interference from parent groups or African American civic leaders. Keywords: African American history; civil rights movement; black power; black freedom struggle; segregation; education iv Dedication This thesis is dedicated to the people of Lawnside, New Jersey. v Acknowledgements The genesis of this thesis is my direct family connection to the South Jersey area. I have always lived in Canada but grew up hearing stories from my mother, Nancy Kellaway, who grew up in Haddon Heights and graduated from Haddon Heights High School in 1972. One of those stories was about the temporary closing of her high school because of racial fighting; an occurrence which seemed unbelievable based on my upbringing. This thesis brought my mother and I closer together and I am truly grateful for her inspiration. In Vancouver and at Simon Fraser University I would like to thank Dr. Jennifer Spear for her assistance and advice as senior supervisor for this project, Dr. Karen Ferguson for her critical insights and service on my committee, Ruth Anderson, the Graduate Program Assistant for her efforts and support, Dr. Willeen Keough, Dr. Nicolas Kenny, Dr. Roxanne Panchasi, Dr. Bidisha Ray, Dr. Andrea Geiger, and Dr. Gerardo Otero for the amazing graduate course work experiences. I would like to thank Dr. Paul Garfinkel for an excellent and enjoyable Teaching Assistant experience which gave me new assessment and instructional ideas and strategies. Thank you as well to Professor Garfinkel and his wife, Dr. Emily O’Brien for inviting me to Christmas dinner when I was far from home. The staff at interlibrary loan were great at finding the rare documents this project required. I would also like to thank Rachel Dawson, the Graduate Awards Manager, for her guidance and support through the financial aid process and Dave Chokroun for his technical advice in formatting this thesis. Thank you to Samantha Thompson for her friendship, positivity, and outstanding effort in the creation of our historical walking tour, which was entitled, “This City is Ours: A History of Contentious Space in Vancouver.” Finally, a big thank you to Kendra Nelson for always being there whenever I needed a laugh, a hug, or company over a five-dollar meal. At the University of Toronto, I would like to thank Dr. Russell Kazal, Dr. Takashi Fujitani, and Dr. Franca Iacovetta for their amazing courses and getting me prepared for graduate studies. I will always be indebted to you for serving as my references for my vi MA and SSHRC applications. Dr. Kazal – I really appreciated that you attended my presentation at the University of Toronto Annual Graduate History Symposium. Your twentieth century American history seminar inspired me to study and research African American history. In the United States, I would like to thank Dr. Kenneth Jolly for his expert feedback and analysis about my research at the 2017 International Graduate Student Conference at Central Michigan University. I would like to thank Dr. Todd M. Michney also for his expert advice and for serving as external examiner for my thesis defence. At Rutgers University, A big thank you goes to Dr. Howard Gillette for meeting with me upon my arrival in New Jersey and giving me tremendous encouragement, advice, and the contact information for local historians and civic leaders who turned out to be very important to this project. I am very grateful for the opportunity and hospitality afforded by Dr. Natasha Fletcher from Rutgers University’s Center for Urban Research in Education who provided me with the opportunity to do a public lecture about my research where I was able to connect with current Haddon Heights High School students from Lawnside. My project would not have been the success it was without the support of Kevin Riordan whose newspaper article about my research gave my project the publicity it needed to attract people willing to discuss their old high school experiences. I would also like to thank South Jersey historian Paul Schopp for sharing his research with me and offering tremendous archival advice. In Haddon Heights, I am indebted to the former Director of the Haddon Heights Public Library, Bob Hunter, who gave me unfettered access to the library archives, set up interviews with former 3HS staff and students, and invited me to be the guest speaker at a Haddon Heights Rotary Club meeting. In Lawnside, special thanks goes out to Linda Shockley and Morris Smith. Ms. Shockley – I really appreciate you meeting with me, inviting me into your home, and sharing so much about Lawnside’s history. I also appreciate your efforts in asking people to contact me and share their stories. Mr. Smith – I am truly grateful that you invited me into your home and to so many events in Lawnside. These opportunities really helped me gain a better understanding and appreciation for the community. The last person I will thank from Lawnside is Gordon Higgs whose contributions to this project were invaluable. Mr. vii Higgs - your enthusiasm, charisma, and thoughtful responses made my thesis come to life. The funding I received from Simon Fraser University and the Government of Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council was of critical importance. I could not have completed this project without the generous support of these institutions. Thanks also is extended to the staff at Timberlane Campground in Clarksboro, New Jersey, and Jane and Tom my neighbours at the campground for their friendship and fake flamingos. I really appreciated the hospitality of my long-lost cousins in Cape May, John, Jesse, and Chris, their lovely wives, Andrea, Trisha, and Meghann, and their amazing children. Thank you to Aunt Marian for the hoagies and for taking me to my first Phillies game. A final big thank you goes to Virginia Grimaldi for her motivation, inspiration, editing efforts, incredible insights, and for affording me access to source materials while writing in Toronto. viii Table of Contents Approval ............................................................................................................................. ii Ethics Statement................................................................................................................. iii Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iv Dedication ........................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ vi Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... x Chapter 1. Introduction, Historiography, Lawnside, New Jersey History, New Jersey African American History, and Research Methodology ......................... 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 2 Historiography and Literature Review ................................................................................ 5 Lawnside and New Jersey History ...................................................................................

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