CRANFORD, NJ — The Dr. Deborah Cannon Partridge Wolfe Reading Garden in Lincoln Park was dedicated to honor the late Cranford native whose work in education and civil rights impacted the lives of so many in the country. On Monday, May 13, friends, family, her sorority sisters and community members gathered during the dedication ceremony. The Rev. Alfred Brown of the First Baptist Church of Cranford gave the invocation.
Cranford’s notable resident was a trailblazer and a woman of firsts. She was the first black to be named in the National Honor Society at Cranford High School, the first female to be ordained as a Baptist minister and the first black faculty member at Queens College. She led the way in a number of notable civil rights and education initiatives. Visit the Cranford Historical Society website to learn more about Wolfe and her outstanding achievements – and see a photo of her on the grandstand with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during his “I Have a Dream” speech.
Photos Courtesy of Christina Miskewitz