Committee of Concern

From July 12 to July 17, 1967, the city of Newark, New Jersey, was wrecked by racial violence. In six days of rioting, 23 people were killed, 725 were injured and nearly 1,500 were arrested. Property damage was estimated at over $10 million. While the riots were still in progress, sixty community leaders formed a Committee of Concern with the following aims: to help restore calm to the city, to study the causes of racial unrest, and to formulate goals for social and economic improvements that would address those causes.

The group elected as co-chairmen Malcolm D. Talbott and Oliver Lofton. Talbott, who was white and a former professor of law and dean at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, was, at the time, the vice president of Rutgers in charge of its Newark campus. Lofton, an African-American lawyer, was the administrative director of the Newark Legal Services Project. Other officers elected included Marion Kidd, a welfare recipient, as secretary, and Theron L. Marsh, executive vice president of the National Newark & Essex Bank, as treasurer. The Committee of Concern quickly grew to include 600 members from all walks of life. New Jersey's governor, Richard J. Hughes, authorized it to investigate the causes of the riots.

The Committee of Concern comprised twenty-six committees and subcommittees. Although several committees, such as the Banking and Finance Committee, were purely administrative, most committees focused on what were perceived to be major problems in Newark. Lack of proper housing, unemployment, inadequate education, and police harassment of non-white citizens were among the issues the committees addressed.

The proposed construction of a medical school and hospital complex on 150 acres in the heart of Newark's black community threatened to displace many residents and was a central concern in the community at the time of the riots. Thus, the Housing Committee focused on issues of urban renewal, while the Medical School Committee dealt with issues relating to the size and location of that facility.

Several committees were devoted to the problems of education: The Higher Education Committee concerned itself with the problems encountered by non-white youths who wanted post-secondary education, including discriminatory admissions policies and curricula. The Newark Pre-School Council Committee covered educational issues relating to children who had not yet entered the public school system. The Education Committee, which merged with the Newark Committee for Better Public Education, strove to improve both the school buildings and the curriculum for public school students.

With regard to employment, or lack thereof, several agencies were already operating in Newark. So as not to duplicate functions, two of the Committee of Concern committees merged with existing organizations: the Employment Committee with the Business and Industrial Coordinating Council (BICC), and the Economic Development Committee with the Interracial Council for Business Opportunity in New Jersey (ICBO).

Although the Committee of Concern's aim was to provide a forum for public discussion and a theoretical groundwork for improvement rather than to provide direct aid to citizens, it accomplished several things that had a lasting impact on life in Newark: It aided many of the 1,500 people who were arrested during the riots by helping to get bails reduced to reasonable levels and monitoring grand jury proceedings. It encouraged the hiring of African-Americans and Latinos as police officers, helping to arrange training for the police academy examination. It organized classes for disadvantaged Newark residents who wished to obtain the skills necessary for operating a small business. It encouraged the implementation of school reforms designed to assist inner city children. Finally,it assisted in the formation of the Newark Arts Council, an organization that continues to promote Newark's artistic and cultural resources.

The Committee of Concern was most active from July, 1967, through 1968, a period of one and a half years. By late 1968, the executive committee was no longer meeting regularly, and by 1969, most of the other committees were inactive, the exceptions being those concerned with education and culture. By late 1970, the Committee of Concern was completely inactive. During Newark's fiscal crisis of 1971, there was a failed attempt to revive the Committee of Concern.

From the guide to the Records of the Rutgers University Newark Vice President (Malcolm Talbott): Committee of Concern, 1960-1971, bulk 1967-1968, (Rutgers University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives)