LIBERATION OF CONKLIN HALL 40 YEARS LATER
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Newark - (WBGO News 2/24/2009)

Shortly before six a.m.  on February 24, 1969, 19-year-old Thomas Roberts took part in what became known as the Liberation of Conklin Hall. The Jersey City native says the situation grew tense as he stood guard outside.

“My most memorable event was when a group of, excuse the expression I understand it doesn’t go over well, hostile whites, picked up a telephone poll and charged towards the building. We stopped them peacefully, no violence at all.”

Roberts says 78 hour illegal protest broke down race barriers on the predominately white campus.

“Very few blacks out of the Newark and Northern New Jersey area were not being recruited and we saw that as a real problem.”

Today, Roberts runs a development corporation in Florida. While his days as a protester are behind him, he says there are still racial issues to address on campus. However, things have come a long way over the last 40 years.

© 2/24/2009 WBGO News