The successful struggle to elect newarks first black mayor, kenneth gibson. Elected in june of 1970, gibsons administration marked a turning point for the black Freedom Movement in newark and was part of a National Wave a black political organizing that culminated in the election of black mayors in cities like cleveland, dairy, atlanta and detroit from 1967 to 1974. These histories feel particularly vital right now as black lives struggle against Police Violence in the wake of the murders of george floyd in minneapolis, jacob blake in kenosha, breonna taylor, as once again sounded the call for black liberation while raising familiar questions about electoral politics and black freedom struggles. 50 years ago, gibsons landmark election came on the heels of the 1967 rebellion in newark, when the Police Beating of an unarmed black man named john smith sparked a fiveday uprising against White Supremacy and its an forces in blue in the jim crow north. Amidst heightened organizing around rac