Kenneth Allen Gibson (May 15, 1932 – March 29, 2019) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who was the 36th

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

from 1970 to 1986. He was the first African American mayor of a major city in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

Early life and education

Gibson grew up in

, and attended Central High School, where he played with a dance band after school to bring in income needed for his family. Gibson studied civil engineering at Newark College of Engineering (now

New Jersey Institute of Technology New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is a Public university, public research university in Newark, New Jersey, United States, with a graduate-degree-granting satellite campus in Jersey City. Founded in 1881 with the support of local indust ...

), but financial challenges forced him to drop out of school after a few months in school to work in a factory, serve in the military and later work for the New Jersey Highway Department, completing his engineering degree in 1963 by taking night classes.

Early career

Gibson worked as an engineer for the New Jersey Highway Department from 1950 to 1960. From 1960 to 1966, he was chief engineer for the Newark Housing Authority, and chief

structural engineer Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research List of structural elements, structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants. Their work takes account mainly of ...

for the city from 1966 to 1970.

Mayoral career

Emerging from a crowded six-candidate field, Gibson was elected in a runoff election in 1970, defeating incumbent mayor Hugh Addonizio. At the time Gibson noted that "Newark may be the most decayed and financially crippled city in the nation." He entered office as a reformer, alleging that the prior administration was corrupt. Later that same year, Mayor Addonizio was convicted of

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

and

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

. Gibson was also a representative of the city's large African-American population, many of whom were migrants or whose parents or grandparents had come North in the Great Migration. The city's industrial power had diminished sharply.

Deindustrialization Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry. There are different interpr ...

since the 1950s cost tens of thousands of jobs when African Americans were still arriving from the South looking for better opportunities than in their former communities. Combined with forces of suburbanization and racial tensions, the city encountered problems similar to those of other major industrial cities of the North and Midwest in the 1960s - increasing poverty and dysfunction for families left without employment. The city was scarred by

race riots This is a list of ethnic riots by country, and includes riots based on ethnic, sectarian, xenophobic, and racial conflict. Some of these riots can also be classified as pogroms. Africa Americas United States Nativist period: 1700s� ...

in 1967, three years before Gibson took office. Many businesses and residents left the city after the riots. Gibson's election was seen by some in almost prophetic terms. Poet and playwright

Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism. He was the author of numerous b ...

wrote, "We will nationalize the city's institutions, as if it were liberated territory in Zimbabwe or Angola." Gibson himself said, "Wherever American cities are going, Newark will get there first". Gibson entered and with his new city council "challenged the corporate sector's tax arrangements and pushed business interests to take a more active and responsible role in the community." By 1974, Gibson had alienated some of his supporters in his efforts to keep businesses from leaving the city. Amiri Baraka then labeled him a "neo-colonialist" and complained that Gibson was "for the profit of Prudential, Public (private) Service,

Port Authority A port authority (less commonly a port district) is a governmental or quasi-governmental public authority for a special-purpose district usually formed by a legislative body (or bodies) to operate ports and other transportation infrastructure. ...

, and other huge corporations that run in and around and through and out of Newark paying little or no taxes" while the residents were ignored. Corporate and state interests had major influence in the city. He stated that the city was beyond electing someone because they were black. He was reelected in 1974. In 1976, Gibson became the first African-American president of the

United States Conference of Mayors The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) is the official non-partisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. The cities are each represented by their mayors or other chief elected officials. The organization was founded ...

. He served as president from 1976 until the next year. In 1979, Gibson received the U.S. Senator

John Heinz Henry John Heinz III (October 23, 1938 – April 4, 1991) was an American businessman and politician who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Pennsylvania from 1977 until Merion air disaster, his death in 1991. An he ...

Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, an award given out annually by the Jefferson Awards. After 16 years under Gibson, the city’s unemployment rate had risen nearly 50 percent, its population had continued dropping, it had no movie theaters, only one supermarket remained, and only two-thirds of its high school students were graduating. In 1986, fellow Democratic challenger, Sharpe James, defeated Gibson in his attempt to be reelected for a fifth term.

Later life

After unsuccessful runs in 1981 and 1985 for the Democratic nomination for New Jersey governor, he was defeated as well in his bid for a fifth consecutive term as mayor by Councilman Sharpe James. Gibson then ran an engineering consulting business until 1998, when he said that ''the timing was right'' to return to politics. He ran for Essex County executive but lost in a close vote to incumbent James Treffinger. On July 24, 2000, Gibson was indicted for

bribery Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or Offer and acceptance, acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official ...

and for stealing funds from a school construction project in nearby

Irvington, New Jersey Irvington is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 61,176, an increase of 7,250 (+13.4%) from the 2010 Uni ...

. Gibson went to trial the following year, but a jury failed to reach a unanimous decision, and thus a

mistrial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, ...

was declared. In November 2002, Gibson agreed to plead guilty to

tax evasion Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to red ...

as long as the other charges were dropped. In a 2005 interview with ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Gibson said his "most gratifying" mayoral accomplishment had been improving Newark's health services, leading to a reduction in the city's high rates of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, infant mortality and the deaths of mothers during childbirth. He also said he regretted not having been able to "attract major job-producing industries to the city." Regarding the criminal cases, Gibson observed that "a public figure of note" is often a target of prosecutors seeking advancement, "whether or not we should be." But "when the history books are written, Ken Gibson's name will be there," he said, adding that he did not think "anyone will remember" the names of his prosecutors.

Death and legacy

Gibson died in West Orange, New Jersey, on March 29, 2019, at the age of 86. Funeral services were held at Newark Symphony Hall on April 4, 2019. In May 2019, Broad Street in Newark was designated Mayor Kenneth A. Gibson Boulevard.

Early life and education

Early career

Mayoral career

Later life

Death and legacy

References

Further reading