NEWARK - Frederica Bey, a lifelong city resident, community leader, entrepreneur, activist and educator who also founded a charter school in Newark, was honored on Friday through the renaming of the intersection of Lincoln Park and Mayor Kenneth A. Gibson Boulevard to “Frederica Bey Way.”
State and local elected officials, along with family and community members, flocked to the large “Newark’ sign in front of Lincoln Park on Friday morning to celebrate Bey’s legacy.
Bey began her career with the Newark Board of Education's Title I Program, where she served as an administrator from 1980 to 1990.
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In 1990, she became a licensed realtor and later earned numerous awards and recognition as a leading seller throughout the state. She worked as a residential and commercial real estate broker from 1990 to 2009, and continues to serve the industry today as a referral agent.
Over her lifetime, Bey has been involved in numerous organizations, including the Essex County Workforce Investment Board, Leadership Newark Alumni, Sisters Coalition, Lifetime Membership in the NAACP, Black Leadership Political Action Committee, League of Women Voters-Greater Newark Chapter, the New Jersey Department of Education Council on Diversity, the New Jersey Association of Realtors, and the National Action Network.
Perhaps most notably, she founded the nonprofit Women in Support of the Million Man March, Inc., which faced a federal lawsuit in 2012. Bey and the nonprofit agreed to pay $125,000 to the United States to settle the claims that she misused federal grant money meant for after-school activities for Newark’s at-risk youth.
Bey and Women in Support of the Million Man March Inc. had purchased the mansion at 53 Lincoln Park to serve as the nonprofit’s headquarters, and the building also became the home of Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School. The state shuttered the school in 2013 following an investigation by the state Department of Education, according to NJ Advance Media reports.
Through her career, Bey has received recognition among New Jersey's 100 Most Influential People, the New Jersey Realtors Million Dollar Club Award, the Weichert Realtors Million Dollar Club Award, the NAACP Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award, and the Marcus Garvey Award, according to a July 15 City Council street dedication resolution.
“Fredrica Bey is a woman of unwavering faith, vision, and determination who has dedicated her life to empowering communities, preserving history, advancing education and fighting for justice,” the resolution read.
Adorned in a floor-length white and gold tunic and matching white head scarf, Bey sat in the front row as she heard accolades from her daughter, Central Ward Councilwoman Amina Bey.
Amina Bey shared a funny anecdote where her mother called her during a recent council meeting and demanded that she share her mother’s comments during the meeting’s hearing of citizens.
“At home, retired, she is still involved,” Amina Bey said. “She is still an advocate and I get it from my mom. I've been blessed to have a lot of great days in my life, but there's not too many that can top this day.”
Sen. Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz fondly remembered Frederica Bey pushing her and “holding me to task” when Ruiz was first elected to state office.
“Before I was born, she was carving out trenches for women that she perhaps will never even get to meet,” Ruiz said. “The whole time, when she's been pouring into the whole community and taking care of all of us, there was a young woman that was watching every step.”
Ruiz presented Bey with a proclamation from the state, as well as a proclamation from Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, Jr., who was unable to attend Friday’s street dedication ceremony.