2

Jimmy Johnson with his vending cart - late 1800's.   About 1890, Jimmy Johnson, who came to Princeton as a slave, started his own business as a merchant. He sold candy and peanuts to the students at the univeristy. He died in 1902 and was buried in an unmarked grave in the colored section of the Princeton Cemetery. In later years, the Princeton Univeristy students raised money to get a tombstone for his grave.

3

Paul Robeson Born on April 9th, 1898, in the house on the corner of Witherspoon and Green Streets, Princeton, New Jersey. From 1903 to 1906 Paul Robeson was a student at the Witherspoon School for Colored Children. Paul later graduated with high honors from Somerville High School and gained the distinction of winning America's highest scholastic honor, the Phi Beta Kappa key at Rutgers Univeristy. In 1919, Paul graduated, Valedictorian of his class and was the third African American to ever attend Rutgers. Paul was an all-around athlete. He was a star catcher on the Rutgers baseball team. He earned letters in four sports which included track and football. He was twice named on the All-American team as an end. He was a graduate of Columbia Law School and an internationally acclaimed actor, singer, and humanitarian. He spoke several languages fluently.

4

Howard B. Waxwood Howard B. Waxwood was born in New York City. He moved to Princeton where he attended the Witherspooon School for Colored Children and graduated from Princeton High School in 1922. He earned his Bachelor and Master degrees from Rutgers University. He also did graduate work at the University of Chicago and taught at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Waxwood returned to Princeton to teach and become the Principal of the Witherspoon School for Colored Children in 1936. When the Princeton Borough schools were integrated Mr. Waxwood became the Principal of Witherspoon School (the junior high school).

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Bryan Van Zandt Moore Bryan Van Zandt Moore was born in Princeton on October 15, 1912. He attended the Witherspoon School for Colored Children and graduated from Princeton High School in 1928. He received his undergraduate degree from Lincoln University in Pennsylviania. Mr. Moore is a veteran of World War II. When he returned to Princeton he attended Rutgers University where he received his Doctorate of Law degree. Mr. Moore taught at the Witherspoon School for Colored Children; was an Elder at the Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Chrurch; was an Attorney in Princeton, was a member of the Mercer County Bar Association; and was Assistant Mercer County Prosecutor. He was a member of the Princeton Historical Society, the Princeton Planning Board and the Borough Housing Committee. He was the first African American to serve on the Princeton Board of Education.

6

Bruce Wright Bruce Wright attended the Witherspoon School for Colored Children from 1928 through 1932. He graduated from Princeton High School in 1936. He attended Virginia State University and Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. He attended Fordham and New York University Law School. He later became a justice on the New York Supreme Court. Judge Wright was considered to be a brilliant legal scholar by many. He is also a poet, author, and civil rights activist. He credits his eighth grade teacher, Caroline P. Gates, in his book Black Robes/White Justice (1987) for his black history lessons and introducing him to the writings of Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey, Harriert Tubman and Phyllis Wheatley, and the slaves who rebelled against the slave traders and who took over the ship.

7

Andrew Hatcher Andrew Hatcher was an Associate Press Secretary to President Kennedy. Mr. Hatcher graduated from Witherspoon School for Colored Children in 1937 and Princeton High School in 1941. He attended Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts and served in the United States Army as a Lieutenant during World War II. After his separation from the service, he relocated to San Francisco, CA. He worked as a Journalist and later as Assistant Secretary of Labor under California Governor Pat Brown. Mr. Hatcher served under the late Governor Adlai Stevenson as a Speech Writer during his two unsuccessful runs for President of the United States. In 1960, he joined John F. Kennedy’s campaign press staff as a speech writer with his close friend, Pierre Salinger. Immediately after his election as President, Senator Kennedy named both these gentlemen to his staff making Mr. Hatcher the first African American to serve a President in this role as Associate Press Secretary.

8

Rex Gorleigh Rex Gorleigh came to Princeton in 1947 from Chicago, Illinois. Before coming to Princeton Mr. Gorleigh had studied in New York, Copenhagen, Paris and Berlin. He was invited to come to Princeton by the newly developed Princeton Group Arts Center. Having a Black director of this non-profit organziation in a segregated town proved to be a positive partnership. During the years that he was Director of the Princeton Group Arts Center, he brought appreciation for art to the Princeton Community. He planned the first outdoor exhibition held in Palmer Square, gave seminars and fundraisers for art appreciation, and started arts and crafts classes for children. Mr. Gorleigh had an art studio on Spring Street, and in 1955, he opened his 'Studio-on-the-Canal' on Canal Road in Princeton. For 23 years he produced his oil, watercolor and silkscreen works. He also taught art. His famous paintings are those of the migrant workers who worked on the farms of Central New Jersey. When Mr. Gorleigh was 73 he received his B.S. degree from Rutgers University.

 

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Kathleen Montgomery Edwards Kathleen (Kappy) Montgomery Edwards was a resident of Princeton since 1929. She attended the Witherspoon School for Colored Children and graduated from Princeton High Schol in 1942. She also attended nursing school. She was employed by the Federal Government for 52 years and worked for the 305th Medical Group Walson Air Force Clinic at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Kathleen was a dedicated member of the Trinity Church in Princeton for over 40 years and was active in the Princeton Community as a member of various housing and Civil Rights groups. During the 1960's, she served as the first African American woman on the Princeton Board of Education. Her oldest daughter, Penelope Edwards-Carter was the Clerk for the Borough of Princeton for 22 years.