Retired Special Education teacher, labor leader, and politician Carole Graves of New Jersey labored during the Civil Rights Movement to improve working conditions for her fellow teachers. Photo credit: Ballotpedia.

There are many fine educators in our country who have labored diligently to improve the lives of others, not only the lives of their students, but also the working conditions of their colleagues. One of these is Carole Graves, a New Jersey teacher who also made great improvements for Newark public school teachers.

Carole was born on April 15, 1938, in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey. After her graduation from Arts High School in her home town, she enrolled at Newark State Teachers College, where she earned her degree in 1960. After college, Carole, accepted a position as a special education teacher at the Dayton Street School in Newark.  Later she earned a certificate in Labor and Management Relations from New Brunswick.

In 1971, Carole gained national recognition when she led the Newark teachers in a highly controversial strike that lasted 13 weeks. During the job action, over 200 teachers were jailed, and Carole herself served six months in the Essex County Jail. Her sacrifice was not in vain. The contract settlement that resulted in her efforts contained unprecedented contract gains, recognition of teachers’ rights, and improved working conditions for teachers, aides, and clerks in the Newark Public Schools. Carole went on to serve as the full-time President of the Newark Teachers Union, a position she held for 27 years.

Once she completed her work for the teachers’ union, Carole was elected on the Democratic ticket to serve as the Essex County Registrar of Deeds and Mortgages. She held this position for three terms, from 1995 to 2010. For a time she also served as a commissioner on the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) and an adjunct professor of Labor Relations at Essex County College and Rutgers Institute of Labor and Management Relations.

Now 83 years old, this Chalkboard Champion currently lives in Newark.