BY WALTER ELLIOTT
NEWARK – People who knew or were acquainted with Mildred C. Crump, who died here Sunday morning, are examining the threads in her 86-year-long tapestry.
Most breaking news of her passing started with her being the first African American woman to become a Municipal Council member and Council President. Many mentioned her being the first such Braille teacher in New Jersey and in her native Detroit.
“Anyone who knew or was impacted by the heart and mind of Mildred Crump feels deep sadness in in her passing today,” said Mayor Ras Baraka. “Yet, we cannot deny that our sadness is overshadowed by profound gratitude for how she plied her considerable gifts and talents to make the world a better place. The fact that she was the first Black woman to attain many stations in life is but a byproduct of her conviction in the righteousness of uplifting others.”
“Tammy and I are saddened to learn of the passing of Mildred Crump – a giant, a trailblazer and our dear friend,” said Gov. Phil Murphy. “A model public servant, Mildred deftly advocated for the most vulnerable in her community. Her impact was felt around the world, which is why she was called Mother Africa.”
“I’m deeply saddened,” said Secretary of State Tahesha Way. “Mildred broke down barriers and blazed a trail for countless people, including myself.”
Those considerable accomplishments are the start of the intertwining threads of the often pioneering teacher and council woman’s life.
Born Mildred Joyce Coleman in Detroit in 1938, she was the daughter of labor union organizer Edgar Coleman and Mattie Lee Johnson and was educated in the city’s public schools. The Wayne State University education major, before graduating, received that school’s David D. McKenzie Honor Society Award as “The Most Outstanding Female Student for Leadership and Scholarship.”
Coleman, in a 1994 interview, said she had answered an ad in the student newspaper to be a part-time volunteer teacher for a blind man. That experience led her to graduate with a degree in special education – and to become the first African American woman teacher of Braille for the blind in Michigan.
Coleman also met a Danville, Va. native named Cecil Crump. Cecil, who was pursuing dual masters degrees in engineering and linguistic science, was bestowed WSU’s Howard A. Donnelly Award for outstanding undergraduate leadership and scholarship.
The Crumps moved to Newark in 1965 – where Mildred became the first employed African American Braille teacher for the State of New Jersey. She became a longtime employee and consultant for the state Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Crump also attained a masters degree in public administration from Rutgers University-Newark.
Crump’s advocacy for underserved people, Newark Public Schools, tenants rights and for fair taxation led her to make an independent run for at-large municipal council office in May 1986. Although she qualified for the June 17 runoff election, she placed fifth among the 11-candidate field – behind Donald Tucker, Marie Villani, Ralph Grant and Earl Harris.
That special election – which saw Councilman Sharpe James unseat four-term incumbent Mayor Kenneth Gibson – had Crump come 2,100 votes short but ahead of Anthony Imperiale and then-Ironbound Community Corporation Victor De Luca. De Luca moved to Maplewood, where he became its longtime mayor and current Township Committeeman.
“Mildred Crump was a true Newark hero, always fighting for Newark and its people,” De Luca told “Local Talk” Dec. 3. “She supported my at-large race in 1986 and four years later we put together an ‘All American Team’ of us, Donald Tucker and Luis Quintana. Donald was our only winner that year.”
Crump, in a 1989 special election to fill the late Earl Harris’ seat, lost to her son Gary by 13 percent. Crump, as De Luca and some news reports noted, and Quintana were elected for at-large council in 1994. She won her seat in part because of Villani’s January resignation over her federal fraud conviction.
“I’ll always be grateful for Mildred and her family for their support,” added De Luca. “I’m proud to call her my friend and fellow advocate for the people.”
Crump, saying that the city and her voters deserved a full-time representative, asked for a year’s teaching sabbatical. She gave up her seat in an unsuccessful 1998 mayoral campaign, finishing third to James and Ronald L. Rice.
Crump returned to City Hall as part of the Cory A. Booker team’s 2006 sweep. “Local Talk” recalls Crump telling here newly and narrowly-elected colleague Carlos Gonzalez that she was relieved to see him make the cut.
A majority of voters re-elected her in 2010 and as part of the Ras Baraka team in 2014 and 18. Her colleagues named her Council President in 2006-10, 2013 and 2020-21 a position that included presiding over sometimes contentious colleagues and public speakers at council meetings.
Along the way, Crump cofounded the New Jersey Coalition of 100 Black Women, the Newark Women’s Conference and the Global Women’s Leadership Collaborative of New Jersey – the latter focused on sisterhood issues here and in Africa.
Calling herself “a Ghana girl,” Crump went on a mission to her family’s native land while in office. She and husband were members of WBGO-Jazz 88 FM and herself a proud member of the Delta Sigma Theta public service sorority.
For several years, Crump had her own “Straight Talk with Mildred Crump,” public access cable television show. She was a regular player of the American Bridge Association’s New York Metropolitan Unit and was an in-demand motivational speaker.
Space does not permit listing other memberships and involvements with other organizations. She was a 2020 inductee of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities Hall of Fame.
Crump’s faith and family were two of her main threads. She and Cecil raised C. Lawrence “Larry” Crump, Esq. and Sheri E. Crump. They were Bethany Baptist Church members, participating in several ministries.
“Revered as a consensus-builder and impactful leader, Mildred Crump’s career spanned more than three decades,” said East Orange Mayor Theodore “Ted” Green. “She fought for social justice – including better education tenants’ rights and female empowerment. She dedicated herself to opening doors of opportunity for everyone, especially those in greatest need.”
Crump, who retired as a Braille teacher in 2003, cited health reasons for immediately resigning from the council on Aug. 24, 2021. Her colleagues appointed Larry Crump, her then chief of staff, to her seat and then-Council Vice President/Central Ward Councilwoman LaMonica McIver as Council President. Crump was wheelchair-bound in her last years in public.
Her beloved Cecil, 58, predeceased her in 1993.
“After 31 years, my mother has reunited with the love of her life. She loved what she did – being a public servant for the people,” said son Larry. “Some people yelling do need the help, no matter what side of the election you’re on, you help – that’s what I learned from my mother.”
“Early this morning, my mother became a treasured ancestor,” said daughter Sheri. “She understood her assignment and lived a life of purpose, rigorous, community, faith and love. To say she’ll be missed is like saying water is wet.”
“Mildred Crump poured her heart and soul in service to her community of Newark and beyond and her legacy will endure,” said East Orange, Essex County and State Democratic Committee Chairman LeRoy J. Jones, Jr. “She epitomized the best of the human spirit and is truly among the best humanity has produced. She was a devoted wife to her late husband Cecil and a phenomenal mother to Sheri and Larry.”
Although funeral arrangements were not announced as of press time, it its anticipated that Bethany Baptist Church would be Mildred Crump’s service venue, like it was for Cecil Crump.
