The Black Experience in Englewood, New Jersey: A History of Resilience and Resistance

by David Colman

In 1900, Englewood, New Jersey, had a population of 6,253. African Americans made up six percent of the population, totaling 383 residents. Of those, 58 percent lived in the 4th Ward, primarily in its northeast section—between Jay Street and Palisade Avenue (north to south), and Armory Street and Van Brunt Street (east to west). This area became known locally as “Little Texas.” Black residents lived alongside Catholic and Jewish immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe.

Forty-two percent of the city’s Black population lived in roughly equal numbers across the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Wards. Many African Americans worked as domestics—maids, washerwomen, coachmen, and gardeners—on the wealthy white estates of the 1st and 2nd Wards, areas known as the “Hill” or “Queen City.” Others worked as day laborers throughout the city.

While some Black families had lived in Englewood for generations, most were recent arrivals from the South. Fleeing the brutal conditions of Jim Crow—disfranchisement, debt peonage, lynchings, and racial pogroms—many sought refuge and opportunity in the North. One couple, John C. Bristow and his wife Priscilla (known as “Mom”), played a central role in this migration. They arrived in Englewood in 1903 from Bennettsville, South Carolina, with their seven children. John, Priscilla, and three of their children began domestic work immediately, while the other four enrolled in school.

The Bristow’s eventually purchased two plots of land on School Street in the 4th Ward and built a two-family house. They lived in one unit and converted the other into Englewood’s first employment agency, complete with a telephone. Over the next 25 years, they helped hundreds of Black southerners find jobs in the Queen City estates, where employers preferred hiring Black workers because they could pay them $15 a month, compared to $30 for white workers.

Growth and Community Building (1920s–1930s)

Between 1900 and 1930, Englewood’s Black population grew exponentially—from 383 to over 2,500, accounting for 14% of the city's population by 1930. “Little Texas” evolved into a tight-knit, self-sufficient community with thriving Black-owned businesses, Lincoln School, the Memorial House community center, and a network of churches and social organizations. The community was served by leaders such as Dr. William Willoughby, Englewood Hospital’s first Black doctor and Bergen County’s first Black sheriff; Charles Hinton, the first Black elected official in Englewood (1914); and Reverend Thomas Harris, a key figure in Republican politics. The ward also produced cultural icons like Alexander Jackson, a Harvard graduate who co-founded Black History Month, and jazz legend Leroy “Slam” Stewart.

National Black leaders, including Booker T. Washington, A. Philip Randolph, and MatthewHenson, visited the 4th Ward, and W.E.B. Du Bois offered his support to local efforts.

The 1930s “Negro Purge”

The Great Depression hit the Black community hard. In the early 1930s, white Republicans on the Hill launched a targeted campaign to “depopulate” Englewood’s Black residents. This so-called “Negro Purge” was driven by racist fears that the growing Black population posed a threat. Critics blamed the 4th Ward for crime, disease, and poor housing, and accused Southern Black migrants of exploiting New Deal welfare programs.

The campaign gained support from estate owners who no longer needed domestic help due to the economic downturn. City officials enacted a brutal strategy described by the Bergen Record in 1938 as “simple, ruthless, and devastatingly efficient.” The Health Department would condemn, evict, and demolish homes of Black tenants who fell behind on utility bills. Properties were torn down unless owners could quickly afford repairs or pay off tax liens.

According to 4th ward Democratic leader William Butler, under Police Commissioner—and future mayor—Albert Moskin, police aggressively harassed Black residents, targeting minor infractions like loitering. The Health Department subjected Black domestic workers to demeaning exams, and residents caught housing any southerner collecting welfare were removed from assistance rolls.

Survival, Political Change, and Cultural Flourishing

Despite this, the purge failed. The Black population continued to grow, particularly in the 3^rd and 4th Wards. For decades, the Republican-controlled City Council continued efforts to displace Black residents. That changed in 1967, when the Democratic Party gained control of the council for the first time in 70 years. The new council passed an Urban Renewal Plan that prioritized Englewood’s working-class. Black residents. They built three affordable housing developments—Rock Creek, King Gardens, and Park View—which helped the Black community thrive. By 2000, over 40% of Englewood’s population identified as Black. This era saw the rise of successful and influential figures from Englewood, including:

• ·           The Isley Brothers
• ·           Clarke Peters
• ·           Sugar Hill Gang
• ·           Regina Belle
• ·           Bernard Belle
• ·           Bill Willoughby
• ·           William E. Brown
• ·           Josephine English
• ·           Freddie Perren
• ·           Larry and Alphonse Mizell

A Second “Negro Purge”?

Today, Englewood is facing a new threat. Under the guise of an “affordable housing” plan, the City Council has proposed developments that would gut the historic 4th Ward. Instead of building genuinely affordable units, the plan would create thousands of high-rent luxury apartments—largely concentrated in the 4th Ward. By contrast, the wealthy, predominantly white 1st and 2nd Wards are protected. Development in the 1st Ward will occur primarily in the working-class Black and Latino area west of the railroad tracks. No  new development is planned for the 2nd Ward.

The plan threatens cultural landmarks like:

• ·           King Gardens
• ·           Bethany Presbyterian Church
• ·           Elks Lodge
• ·           Armory Street, the last remnant of “Little Texas”

Rising rents will displace the Black and Latino working-class population. Since 2000, Englewood’s Black population has already dropped from 40% to 20%, largely due to downtown overdevelopment. New luxury buildings also bring traffic and flooding problems that make life harder for long-term residents.

The City Council’s recent actions reflect a troubling pattern. They:

• ·           Cut funding for the annual Juneteenth Parade
• ·           Ended support for the Elks Lodge’s Memorial Day barbecue
• ·           Changed the city’s colors from maroon and white —a symbol of Englewood’s        multicultural legacy—to blue and white

These changes, while not overtly racist, amount to Acultural and economic erasure. Whether intentional or not, the outcome remains the same: the displacement and destruction of Englewood’s historic Black community.