Arnold Brown was born on April 12, 1932, in Englewood, Brown's family had deep roots in New Jersey and Englewood. Brown grew up in the 4th ward and attended Lincoln Elementary and Dwight Morrow High School. Brown graduated from Bowling Green State University and received his law degree in 1957 from Rutgers University. He practiced law from 1957 to 1986.
Brown became a key figure in the Civil Rights movement in Englewood as a leader of the NAACP and Urban League. He also founded the Du Bois Book Center, which focuses on African American Studies.
In 1965, Brown became the first African American elected to the state legislature from Bergen County. In the 1980s and 1990s, Brown became a prominent historian of African American history in Bergen County.
He married Lydia Barbara White in 1955. After her death, Brown married Gwendolyn Wertby. He has four children, Crystal L., Beverly M. Brown-Fitzhugh, Dale E. Brown-Davis, and Arnold E.
Born in Durban, South Africa on November 25, 1933, Violet Cherry began fighting injustice at a young age. At the age of 12, the South African government jailed her briefly for protesting the racist Apartheid laws. After moving to the United States, Cherry completed her Master's in Social Work and Public Health from Columbia University. In 1974, the City of Englewood hired Cherry as the Director of the Health Department.
Born in Englewood New Jersey in 1913, Helen Burke attended St. Cecilia school and in 1937 married Salvatore S. Travolta. In the 1930s, Helen Burke Travolta helped lay the foundation for a thriving community film and theater scene in northern New Jersey. She was a founding member of the Bergen County Cine Club and the Bergen County Players. She also directed the drama programs at Dwight Morrow High School and St. Cecilia High School.
