Items

• Interview: Armstead, Bryson C. Sr., 2013

  Bryson C. Armstead, Sr. was born on December 21, 1923, in Haddonfield, New Jersey. He graduated from Memorial High School and worked for Campbell’s Soup before World War II. During the war, Bryson joined the US Navy and served as a steward’s mate. After the war, he pursued college and graduate education on the GI Bill. He received BA in social science from St. Augustine's College in Raleigh, NC, and a master's from Glassboro State College (now Rowan University), and pursued additional graduate work at Temple University in Philadelphia. He taught elementary schools for 35 years and retired from the Philadelphia School District in 1986. He lived for many years in Lawnside, NJ, and served as a Lawnside Borough Councilman for 9 years. He served on the Board of Education in Lawnside as well as in Camden. He was a lifetime member of the NAACP and Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. His community spirit was exemplified through his tireless efforts for more than thirty years to restore and maintain Mount Peace Cemetery, a historic black burial ground, in Lawnside. Mr. Armstead's interview primarily focuses on his early life in Camden County, World War II military experience, and his education following the war. It appears that a second oral history session was planned, but did not take place. Mr. Armstead passed away in 2014.
• Interview: Ramsey, James H., 1992

  James Ramsey holds a bachelor's degree from Tennessee State University and a master's in education from Brown University. He began his career as a biology teacher in Cedar Grove, New Jersey, and joined Rutgers-Newark as a professor of biology in the Academic Foundations Department in 1969; he was appointed its director in 1970. The Academic Foundations Department provided remedial programs for students who were underprepared for college work. Ramsey was key in developing the center and making it an integral part of the university. Ramsey later served as mayor of Montclair, New Jersey, from 1984-1986 and on the Montclair board of education. He has also been active in numerous civic affairs in the City of Newark.