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Montclair community comes together to preserve historic home with important Black history

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Montclair community comes together to preserve historic home with important Black history


MONTCLAIR, New Jersey (WABC) — A group effort in Montclair, New Jersey helped to save a historic house that tells the story of slavery and freedom.

“If you’re a child growing up, you may have rode your bike past the house didn’t know what it was,” said Aminah Toler, who is part of the Friends of the Howe House non-profit organization that is committed to preserving the home of James Howe, a formerly enslaved man who was freed in 1817.

“There was speculation, but now we can get in behind the walls,” said Kimberly Latortue of Friends of the Howe House. “We can put definite answers to some of that we learned along the way.”

For the first time since purchasing the home last February, the organization has gained unlimited access to the property now that the tenants have moved out.

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The quaint one bedroom home on Claremont Avenue once belonged to Howe.

A last will and testament dated in 1831 shows Howe’s enslaver, Nathaniel Crane, left the house along with $400 and about six acres of land to him.

“It’s a tiny house with 1,000 stories and 600 feet, but has been passed through hands and been surrounded by multiple different African American families over the course of more than a century,” said John Hearn of the non-profit organization.

Serving as a symbol of Black history that tells a story of slavery, freedom and the importance of homeownership – the home altogether is a story that has withstood the test of time.

“In 1933 this house was almost demolished,” said Toler. “In 2013, it survived a fire.”

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In 2022, the home’s previous owner listed it for sale, and community members sprung into action to save it.

They formed Friends of the Howe House and purchased the home with the help of donations.

“I just didn’t want to see anymore erasure of African American history here in Montclair,” said Toler.

Efforts are underway to make this a state and national landmark – all in all, preserving Howe’s legacy for future generations.

Black Gotham Experience fills in the blanks of Black history one step at a time

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Kemberly Richardson has more on Black Gotham Experience.

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New Jersey

Woman that drove her car into N.J. emergency room called police for help earlier the same day

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Woman that drove her car into N.J. emergency room called police for help earlier the same day


The Delaware woman that drove her car into a New Jersey hospital on New Year’s Eve had called authorities earlier in the night asking for help, according to police.

The 38-year-old woman from New Castle, Delaware, said that she called New Jersey State Police in Seabrook earlier in the night asking to be admitted to the hospital for a “crisis” after she was upset with her mother-in-law, authorities wrote in a warrant for her arrest.

When police responded, the woman declined to be taken to the hospital and stated she did not want to be transported to the hospital, but wanted to drive herself with an escort, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

Once state police left, she found the keys to her car and struck two other vehicles in Seabrook before driving to Bridgeton to find help, she told police after she was arrested.

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The woman told police she saw the Inspira hospital and thinking no one would help her, decided to drive her car through the double door entrance to the emergency room hoping to knock herself unconscious.

The incident happened around 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday and the woman’s car reached about 60 feet down a hallway and almost struck a security guard, Bridgeton police said Wednesday.

Authorities said the woman exited the car and was taken to another area of the hospital where she waited for authorities to arrive and was uncooperative, according to charging documents.

A state police spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday.

The hospital security guard suffered a minor injury jumping out of the way of the vehicle, according to an Inspira spokesperson.

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No one was else was injured, authorities said. The woman was charged with assault by motor vehicle, endangering others and third-degree criminal mischief, according to court documents.

The damage to the hospital was estimated at over $135,000 and ambulances were rerouted away from the hospital until about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday to allow authorities to secure the damaged entrance and establish a new temporary entrance, the spokesperson for the hospital said.

The woman did not have an attorney listed in court records as of Thursday.

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Matthew Enuco may be reached at Menuco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Matt on X

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New Jersey

N.J. bill could extend bereavement leave to families who have lost a child

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N.J. bill could extend bereavement leave to families who have lost a child


From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

Shortly after Gloucester County, New Jersey resident Jackie Mancinelli was hired as a high school English teacher in Camden County in 2014, she suffered a miscarriage late in her first trimester.

After the miscarriage was confirmed by an ultrasound test, she returned to work the next day as if nothing had happened, because she said she felt nervous to take time off.

“I really struggled to get through the school day, I broke down crying in front of my students and it was really difficult, and no one in my building had any idea what was happening,” Mancinelli said.

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Two years later, the Voorhees teacher had an emergency cesarean section after carrying her baby for 33 weeks, but the child only lived for one hour after being born.

Mancinelli was distraught, but under New Jersey law, if a baby dies, the parent is no longer eligible to take family leave time off, because the law stipulates you can only care for another, not yourself.

She used sick time and unpaid leave to take a break from her job and was forced to take a custodial job cleaning classrooms over the summer to make ends meet.

In 2021, she founded Start Healing Together, a nonprofit organization that advocates for workplace rights for grieving families experiencing pregnancy loss, infertility and adoption loss.

“Their worlds are falling apart, the idea of having to return to work just to earn a paycheck to pay bills. It’s really inhumane,” she said.

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Mancinelli then worked with Assemblywoman Shanique Speight on legislation to provide bereavement leave for those dealing with this kind of loss.

“If you want that employee to come back strong, you definitely want to give them time to properly grieve,” Speight said.



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New Jersey

Tough Stretch | REWIND | New Jersey Devils

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Tough Stretch | REWIND | New Jersey Devils


NewJerseyDevils.com is the official web site of the New Jersey Devils, a member team of the National Hockey League (“NHL”). NHL, the NHL Shield, the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup and NHL Conference logos are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks as well as all other proprietary materials depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective NHL teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. Copyright © 1999-2024 New Jersey Devils and the National Hockey League. All Rights Reserved.



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