Ethnic Succession in Weequahic: The Shifting Demographics in a Newark Neighborhood 1950-­‐present Erin Slack Montclair State University HIST400: History of American Suburbia December 8th, 2013 The neighborhood of Weequahic, located in the South Ward of Newark, New Jersey has
seen a radial shift in the ethnic make-up of its residents in the last fifty years. Once a thriving
Jewish enclave, the population in Weequahic in 1950 was 98% white in the middle of the
century.1 It was an idyllic utopia located minutes from the center of the city. Thirty years later,
some new faces began to move into the area. Through a series of events, the area transformed
from 98% white to 95% black. It fell victim to urban decay and received a reputation for one of
the worst areas in Newark. This paper will examine the process that Weequahic experienced
throughout the second half of the twentieth century using insight from the ethnic succession
theory. This theory of sociology will help to explain the radical ethnic shift in the population
during this time period by examining four major conditions that paved the way for a full cycle of
succession.
Historiography and Terminology Note
Research for this paper required looking at multiple histories and data across races, income
levels, and time spans. It was essential to look at all the variables that affected this neighborhood.
Thus, it was necessary to look at the history of African Americans and white immigrants
(German and Irish, and then later Jewish) in their own context and bring them together to
understand the racial turnover of Weequahic. A lot of this paper is centered on a community
survey of Newark from 1958. The survey was given through a series of interviews of the
inhabitants of Newark. Most of the questions asked the residents of Newark about their opinions
regarding race relations, housing, and income. Their answers were recorded, tabulated, and
cross-referenced.
Throughout my research, I noticed that “Jewish,” and “White,” were regarded as
synonymous when speaking about Weequahic. Most of the literature on the white population of
1
“Newark: A City in Transition, Vol. I: Characteristics of the Population,” 1959, Market
Planning Corporation, Newark Public Library, Charles F. Cummings Information Center, Table
Weequahic encompasses this history of the Jews in the area, since the concentration of them was
so high.2 In her ethnography on Weequahic High School, Sherry Ortner noted that 80% of the
graduating class of 1958 were Jewish, and that the other 20% were from other white ethnicities.3
This is consistent with other literature I have found. Therefore, this paper’s reference to the white
population will, at times, specifically mention the Jewish population. This nomenclature should
be understood through an ethnic lens, not a religious one. As to not diminish their cultural impact
of the area, I will reference them specifically as a group.
Ethnic Succession Theory
The Ethnic Succession Theory of sociology attempts to explain the cycling of dominant
ethnicities in a particular place. Also known as the Invasion-Succession model, this theory was
developed by the Chicago School. The overarching premise explains how one ethnic group
replaces another in a given space. It begins when a few members of one group move into (i.e.
invade) a neighborhood of another group. The native residents begin to move out, giving the new
group space to move in. In time, the new group will completely succeed the old group. The exact
way in which this happens is situational, but there are certain themes that present themselves
across most cases. Sociologist R.D. McKenzie writes of four conditions that are relevant to the
case in Weequahic:4
1. Change in the economic base
2. Promotion of real-estate
3. Changes in route
4. Construction of structures with a repellent significance
2
William B. Helmreich, The Enduring community: The Jews of Newark and Metrowest (New
Bruinswick: Transaction Publishers, 1999), 10.
3
Sherry B. Ortner, New Jersey Dreaming: Capital, Culture, and the Class of 1958, (Durham:
Duke University Press, 2003), 281.
4
R.D. McKenzie, “The Ecological Approach to the Study of the Human Community,” American
Journal of Sociology 30, no. 3 (Nov. 1924), 298. Ethnic History of Newark
Newark, New Jersey became a haven for immigrants in the 1800s. Irish immigrants,
followed by German immigrants, settled in Newark in the middle of the 19th century. During the
wave of new immigration, southern and eastern Europeans came to America. By 1924, around
two million Jews from Eastern and Central Europe were living in the United States. Many of
them settled on the East coast, 45,000 of them residing Newark.5 Eastern European Jews settled
on or around Prince Street. Here they lived a life of poverty, despite the availability of jobs.
Yearning to move to a better area, Jewish families began saving up money. As their economic
conditions improved, they first moved to Clinton Hill, but eventually settled in the quiet
neighborhood of Weequahic. Weequahic was built on farmland just outside the city as a
proposed suburb of Newark. In 1909, five hundred lots had been developed in an area just south
of the center of the city. In just a few years, two thousand lots had been placed on the market as
what was described as a “fine new residential section.”6 The developer, Frank J. Block, had said
that he set out to create beauty in Newark by keeping first-class conditions year round in order to
mimic residential sections of larger cities in New England and the West.7
The Jewish population that had settled left Prince Street for Clinton Hill began to move
into Weequahic. It quickly grew into an all white Jewish haven. Up until the 1950s, there was
little change in the ethnic makeup of the community. There were many synagogues throughout
the neighborhood, and a Jewish bakery or delicatessen on every street. Newark Beth Israel
Hospital, the largest hospital in Newark, was a staple of the Jewish community. Today, it is one
of the only indications that there was ever a Jewish presence in the area.8 But nothing can tell us
more about Weequahic’s analogous community than Weequahic High School. The 1944 edition
5
William B. Helmreich, The Enduring community: The Jews of Newark and Metrowest (New
Bruinswick: Transaction Publishers, 1999), 20.
6
“Rapid Growth of Newark Suburb,” New York Times, June 6, 1909.
7
Ibid.
8
“Present Day Newark Beth Israel Medical Center,” 2013, personal photo, Erin Slack.
of The Ledged, the school’s yearbook, shows not one single African American student, staff, or
faculty member.9 The pages contain a sea of students, all with porcelain faces. Just twenty years
later, things began to change.
Figure 1: Today, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center is only remaining indication that a Jewish population
once flourished in Weequahic.
The black community in Newark has roots that go back as far as the early 1800s. There
are reports of black Baptist churches springing up in the area around 1824. Although they have
deep ties to Newark, the black population was actually very small. In 1920, only 4.1% of
Newark’s population was African American. By 1930, it had only grown to 8.8%.10 It was the
Second Great Migration that brought thousands of African Americans to the North. This
migration significantly altered the overall ethnic make-up of Newark. Between 1948 and 1958, a
9
Weequahic High School, The Legend 1944 Yearbook, (Newark, NJ: Graduating Class of
1944). Newark Public Library, Charles F. Cummings Information Center. 10
“Population Statistics from Census Reports 1900-1930”, Newark City Planning Project, Work
Projects Administration, Newark Public Library, Charles F. Cummings Information Room, Chart
3.
little over half of the black residents in Newark had migrated from the South Atlantic.11 These
migrants moved into the Central Ward, an already established African American area dating
back to the first Great Migration. Throughout the 1950s and in the 1960s, black families who
were becoming exasperated with the broken and dilapidated state of their neighborhood wished
to move to better areas to improve their living conditions.12 It was the African Americans who
sought better housing that became a main agent in the process of ethnic succession.
Promoting Real Estate
The most evident condition of ethnic succession present in Weequahic is the promotion
of real estate. In the case of Weequahic, this was a two-pronged system. Real estate agents were
promoting traditionally white neighborhoods to black residents, while at the same time
encouraging white residents to sell their homes and move to the suburbs. This process was
completed through redlining, block busting, and the growth of suburbs.
Blacks who resided in the central ward did not have many options in their search for
better housing. Due to the Home Owners Loan Corporation’s process of redlining, it was almost
impossible for residents in the Central Ward to get a loan for repairs or even a mortgage. The
HOLC assessed neighborhoods based on their investment risk. The intention was to give banks
an assessment so that they could invest accordingly. They were less likely to loan money in a
place that was regarded as “high risk,” for fear of not getting a return on their money. While this
was the intended purpose, it actually made it impossible for low-income families (i.e. Blacks)
from getting loans. The HOLC’s Essex County Master Security Map from 1939 classifies the
11
“Newark: A City in Transition. Vol. I: Characteristics of the Population,” 1958, Market
Planning Corporation, Newark Public Library, Charles F. Cummings Information Center, Table
6.
12
“Newark: A City in Transition. Vol. II: Resident’s Views on Inter-Group Relations and
Statistical Tables,”1959, Market Planning Corporation, Newark Public Library, Charles F.
Cummings Information Center, 83. majority-black Central Ward, as “D: Fourth Grade,” which is the lowest rating.13 With such a
low rating, it would have been impossible for residents in the Central Ward to get a loan. James
Holloway, who was a resident of the Central Ward, remembers that the “area was actually
redlined for years, you couldn’t get a loan in this neighborhood.”14 Regardless of the
creditworthiness of the person seeking the loan, if they were looking to live in an area with a low
rating, banks would refuse to lend. Many African Americans, like Mr. Holloway, who sought
better housing had to search somewhere else. If they had the economic means, they could move
into other areas and hope to get a loan there. To increase the change of getting a loan, blacks
would have to search in areas with a higher grade. While this information was not made
available to the public, it was not hard to guess where money was being invested. Weequahic, for
example, had a grading of “B Second Grade,” from the HOLC.15 This was the highest grade in
all of Newark, and it was also the section with the strongest concentration of whites. In order to
zove to these areas, African Americans would have to rely on the controversial convention of
block busting.16
Like many other American cities, the practice of block busting was present in
Weequahic. This process occurred when real-estate agents would intimidate white homeowners
into to sell their houses, telling them that blacks were moving into their segregated
neighborhoods. Most of the time, this thought made white homeowners uneasy. They would sell
their homes well below market value before their worth declined any further. A Report of the
13
“Essex County Master Security Map,” 1939, Home Owners Loan Cooperation, Newark Public
Library, Charles F. Cummings Information Center.
14
“The James Street Commons Historic District Reconsidered,” Newark Public Library, special
exhibit, November 8, 2013.
15
“Essex County Master Security Map,” 1939, Home Owners Loan Cooperation, Newark Public
Library, Charles F. Cummings Information Center.
16
Karl E. Taeuber, “The Problem of Residential Segregation,” The Academy of Political Science
29, no. 1 (1968), 103.
Commission of Race and Housing made mention of the essential theory that caused white
residents to sell their houses way below their value:
In the whole field of housing and race, probably no idea is more widely or firmly held
than the belief that the entry of non-whites in a neighborhood caused property values to
fall. Many real estate brokers, mortgages lenders, and property appraiser hold to this
belief almost as an article of faith.17
White homeowners, 78% of them in fact, held the belief that as black families moved into their
all white neighborhood in Weequahic, their property values would decrease.18 One-third of the
white population believed that their property value has decreased in the last ten years.19 It is
worth noting that in the last ten years, the black population in Weequahic, while minimal, had
increased.20 Since the block had already been “busted,” evident by this presence of black
families, more white families became frightened that their houses would become worthless.
Sandra West, a young black girl living in Weequiac during this time remembers a phone call she
received one day:
When we first moved into our house, I picked up the telephone and a person said, ‘The n----- are coming, the n------ are coming. Sell your house. Sell your house’21
This caller, presumably a neighbor of Sandra West, displays the sheer panic that white residents
had at the thought of black families moving in. By uprooting the white families living in
Weequahic, real-estate agents directly fostered the move to suburbia.
17
“Newark: A City in Transition. Vol. II: Resident’s Views on Inter-Group Relations and
Statistical Tables,” 1959, Market Planning Corporation, Newark Public Library, Charles F.
Cummings Information Center, 108.
18
Ibid.
19
Ibid.
20
“Newark: A City in Transition. Vol. I: Characteristics of the Population,” 1959, Market
Planning Corporation, Newark Public Library, Charles F. Cummings Information Center, Table
3.
21
Robert Weiner, “Riots to Reconciliation: Considering Weequahic,” New Jersey Jewish News,
March 19, 2009.
It is a common belief that the Newark Race Riots in 1967 began the process of white
flight out of the city. While the riot was the tipping point for some Newarkers who were on the
fence about leaving, white migration out of Newark began over a decade earlier. Between 1950
and 1960, the population in Newark dropped by 7.6%. In the next decade, 1960-1970, the
population only dropped by 5.7%.22 These statistics indicate that the population of Newark was
declining at a significant rate at least thirteen years before the riot. A 1958 survey asked residents
where they move if they were to move in the next year. Over half of the white residents in
Weequahic stated that they would move to either the suburbs, or Newark entirely.23 Taking this
into account, as well as being driven out of their neighborhood by the presence of new black
families, the white residents in Weequahic subscribed to the post-war development of suburbs.
The move to suburbs was not a new idea to Newark. The towns of Orange, Bloomfield, and
Livingston were built by 1815, and were thriving communities by 1870.24 However, the Jewish
community that comprised the white community in Weequahic did not join this movement until
after World War II. The suburbs were being promoted as the road to the fulfillment of the
American Dream.25 The availability of mortgages and the construction of Interstate 78 (which
will be discussed in length later in this paper) provided a launching-off point for whites to move
to the suburbs.
The process of real estate promotion played the most obvious part in the ethnic
succession of Weequahic. It was through the policies that the real estate agents employed on both
22
US Census of Population and Housing. 1950, 1960, 1970
1950: 438,776
1960: 405,220
1970: 381,930
23
“Newark: A City in Transition. Vol. II: Resident’s Views on Inter-Group Relations and
Statistical Tables,” 1959, Market Planning Corporation, Newark Public Library, Charles F.
Cummings Information Center, 81.
24
William B. Helmreich, The Enduring community: The Jews of Newark and Metrowest (New
Bruinswick: Transaction Publishers, 1999), 10, 50.
25
Kevin Mumford, Newark: A History of Race, Rights, and Riots in America, (New York: New
York University Press, 2007), 50. black residents and white residents that fostered neighborhood racial turnover. By promoting
areas that were still all white to the white residents in the block they were busting, real-estate
agents were able to promote their vacant houses to black residents that were looking to get out of
the Central Ward.
Change in Economic Base
Another condition of ethnic succession that existed in Weequahic was the change of the
economic base, brought on by socioeconomic factors. In addition to moving out of Weequahic
because of housing practices, the white residents found themselves moving up the social ladder.
The determination and education of the white population increased their migration to the
suburbs, attributing to the ethnic succession of Weequahic.
The Jewish population in Weequahic became increasingly upwardly mobile. Part of this
process was due to their determination to live up to the American Dream, and the other part was
the opportunities education provided them. Since first immigrating to America, Jews worked
hard. In most cases, they were being pushed out of their birthplaces by violence and racism
towards them (e.g.: the Jews who faced pogroms in Russia). This became a strong motivator for
them to work hard; if they failed, they did not have anywhere to return to, certainly nowhere they
would be welcome. Beginning in the 1920s, Jews began to become more middle-class in terms
on values and lifestyles. They were now living a better-quality life than the one they were living
in poverty on Prince Street in the years before. By 1946, at least half Jewish professionals were
making at least $10,000 a year, and seven percent were making over $30,000, which were
impressive figures for the time.26
Education was also a big factor in the mobility of the white population of Weequahic.
The high school that served Weequahic was one of the best in the country. One student recalls
26
William B. Helmreich, The Enduring community: The Jews of Newark and Metrowest (New
Bruinswick: Transaction Publishers, 1999), 74.
that going to school at Weequahic was “an extraordinary educational experience.” But for many,
they saw Weequahic as “the place where the seeds of their own desire to excel and the
wherewithal with which to do so, were planted.”27 This strong sense of self-efficacy among the
white population would eventually play a huge role in the shifting demographics that Weequahic
would experience. An overwhelming majority of the graduating class of 1944 was planning on
going to college. Many of them were going to prestigious schools such as New York University,
Rutgers University, John Hopkins University, Duke University, and Boston University. 28 By the
1950s, WHS graduated more PhDs than any other school in the country.29
The socioeconomic changes that the white population of Weequahic experienced brought
about another condition of ethnic succession: a change in the economic base. Black residents that
had already moved to the area also affected the base. At the beginning of this process, the
minority group can change the economic character of the neighborhood.30 In this case, the black
population in Newark was moving into Weequahic bringing lower incomes into the area. In
1958, less than half of the African Americans living in Newark made more than $4,000 a year. In
contrast, 61% of white residents made $4,000 or more per year, with 4% making over $10,000
annually.31 This turnover of incomes had an adverse affect on the economic base of Weequahic.
Sociologist William Frey notes that black in-migration and white flight, “contributed
27
William B. Helmreich, The Enduring community: The Jews of Newark and Metrowest (New
Bruinswick: Transaction Publishers, 1999), 112-113.
28
Weequahic High School, The Legend 1944 Yearbook, (Newark, NJ: Graduating Class of
1944). Newark Public Library, Charles F. Cummings Information Center.
29
William B. Helmreich, The Enduring community: The Jews of Newark and Metrowest (New
Bruinswick: Transaction Publishers, 1999), 115.
30
R.D. McKenzie, “The Ecological Approach to the Study of the Human Community,”
American Journal of Sociology 30, no. 3 (Nov. 1924), 298.
31
“Newark: A City in Transition.Vol. I: Characteristics of the Population,” 1959, Market
Planning Corporation, Newark Public Library, Charles F. Cummings Information Center, table
35.
substantially to the eroded economic bases that now exist in large cities.”32 This occurs because
white residents of the area, in this case Weequahic, take their higher incomes and move out, only
to be replaced with black residents, who bring the lower incomes. This process will eventually
alter the economic base of the city. In time, it was changed in Newark.
The Construction of Interstate 78
The final two conditions of ethnic succession present in Weequahic were responses to the
construction of Interstate 78. The first condition states that, “the erection of important public
structures, buildings, bridges, [or] institutions, which have either an attractive or repellant
significance,” will further ethnic succession. 33 I-78 created a literal repellant, forcing thousands
of inhabitants away. The second condition is a change in routes of transportation. Both of these
conditions, supported by the highway construction, furthered the cycle of ethnic succession.
In 1961, New Jersey received permission from the Federal Highway Department for its
proposed construction through the north end of Weequahic.34 There had been a two-year delay
because residents of Weequahic believed that it would do too much damage to their area. Despite
Weequahic’s discontent, the state continued with its original plan. It was projected that 800
buildings (700 of the residential) and 7,000 people would be displaced as a result of the
construction.35 Four years later, Weequahic was left completely destroyed by the construction.
Harold Edwards, a resident of Weequahic in the 1960s, recalls that he had a wonderful childhood
until the construction of the highway, which displaced his family.36 Thousands of other residents
32
William H. Frey, “Black In-Migration, White Flight, and the Changing Economic Base of the
Central City,” American Journal of Sociology 85, No. 6 (May 1980), 1399. 33
R.D. McKenzie, “The Ecological Approach to the Study of the Human Community,”
American Journal of Sociology 30, no. 3 (Nov. 1924), 298.
34
“Route 78 Alignment into Newark Area Adopted By Jersey,” New York Times, November 29,
1961.
35
“Road Opposition Gains in Newark,” New York Times, August 13, 1961.
36
Robert Weiner, “Riots to Reconciliation: Considering Weequahic,” New Jersey Jewish News,
March 19, 2009. had to find new homes. A resolution that was drawn up to evaluate the social and economic
impact of the area came out with this statement:
While most of the families will be forced to find new homes outside Newark because of
the lack of middle-income construction within the city, the highway will have no utility
value for the residents in its shadow37
The resolution acknowledged that by building this segment of the highway, the city would drive
the middle class out of Newark. Although, this was not a problem, the resolution states, because
they would not have a reason to
use the highway if they lived near
it. The city was well aware that the
construction of this highway would
drive the middle-class and their
income, out of the neighborhood.
The construction of I-78 made it
possible for those who wanted to
move their families out of Newark
Figure 2: Interstate 78, shown above in yellow, displaced thousands of
residents and created a barrier between Weequahic and the rest of
Newark. (Courtesy of Google Maps)
to still work in the city. It provided an easy route to-and-from many suburbs and the city. In
1958, there were already 198,200 people commuting into Newark for work.38 If this people were
already commuting before I-78 was constructed, it is likely that even more people took
advantage of this new route.
The construction of Interstate 78 had a profound affect on Weequahic that advanced
ethnic succession. McKenzie states that the creation of the automobile, which necessitated
construction of roads and highways, is “the most potent force in our recent American history in
37
“Road opposition Gains in Newark,” New York Times August 13, 1961.
38
“Community Renewal Program: Economic Base Study,” The Division of Business Research,
Newark Public Library, Charles F. Cummings Information Center, 128. affecting redistribution of our population.”39 The construction of Interstate-78 had two different
outcomes on the way it affected Weequahic. Just the construction itself caused thousands of
residents to find homes elsewhere. As the resolution stated, there were no middle-income houses
available in the city, so staying in Newark was not an option. These middle-income families
were able to move out of the city, while utilizing the interstate to continue to work in the city.
Both of these results aided in the radical shift in the dominant ethnicities present in Weequahic.
Conclusion
As apparent by the evidence outlined in this paper, the neighborhood of Weequahic has
gone through a cycle of ethnic succession, an ideas which was developed by the Chicago School.
This theory helps to explain how and why neighborhoods have different dominant ethnic groups
over time. Weequahic, built in 1909, became an enclave for the strong Jewish presence in
Newark by the 1920s. For thirty years, it continued to be an almost all white neighborhood.
Through post-war developments and policies, the began to fall into the cycle of ethnic
succession. Due to the promotion of real estate, the change in the economic base, the change of
routes, and the repellent nature of I-78, Weequahic saw a dramatic ethic shift in just thirty years.
In the 1979 edition of The Legend, you will only see six white students in the whole yearbook.40
This is a vast change from the 1944 edition. Even today, the population is still overwhelmingly
African American. However, according to the theory of ethnic succession, succession comes in
cycles. At present, there is a small Hispanic population now residing here. In the coming
decades, it is possible that Weequahic will be unrecognizable as it presents itself today.
39
R.D. McKenzie, “The Ecological Approach to the Study of the Human Community,”
American Journal of Sociology 30, no. 3 (Nov. 1924), 293.
40
Weequahic High School, The Legend 1979 Yearbook, (Newark, NJ: Graduating Class of
1944). Newark Public Library, New Jersey Room. Bibliography
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.