Kenneth A. Gibson

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Kenneth Allen Gibson (born 1932, in Enterprise, Alabama) is an American Democratic Party politician, who was the 34th Mayor of Newark, New Jersey from 1970 to 1986. He was the first African American mayor of a major Northeastern U.S. city. The previous mayor, Hugh Addonizio was convicted of extortion and conspiracy the same year.

1 Prior positions
2 Term as Mayor
3 Legal troubles
4 Sources

[edit] Prior positions

Gibson served as an engineer for the New Jersey Highway Department from 1950 to 1960, chief engineer for the Newark Housing Authority from 1960 to 1966, and chief structural engineer for the city from 1966 to 1970.

[edit] Term as Mayor

At the time, Gibson noted that "Newark may be the most decayed and financially crippled city in the nation." He entered office both as a reformer, since the prior administration was corrupt, and as a representative of the city's large African American population. The city had been scarred by race riots only three years before he took office. His election was seen at the time in almost prophetic terms. Poet and playwright Amiri Baraka 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" (Dolan, part 3).

In 1976, Gibson became the first African American president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

He was defeated in his attempt to serve a fifth term by challenger Sharpe James in 1986.

[edit] Legal troubles

During his last term, Gibson was indicted on conspiracy and misconduct charges, but was acquitted. He was later again indicted for bribery and stealing funds from a school construction project in nearby Irvington, New Jersey. His firm pleaded guilty to fraud, while Gibson himself pleaded guilty to tax fraud, in 2002.

[edit] Sources

"Gibson, Kenneth." Britannica Student Encyclopedia. 2005.
Kleinknecht, William. "Gibson Gets Three Years Probation." Star-Ledger, November 1, 2002.
Dolan, Thomas, "Newark and Its Gateway Complex." Rutgers Online
Woodard, Komozi. A Nation Within a Nation: Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones) and Black Power Politics. Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 1999.