Plainfield School Desegregation Marker to Be Unveiled at Booker School
Robert Hargrove · Union County Life
According to the New Jersey Historical Commission's event flyer.
A New Jersey Black Heritage Trail marker honoring the desegregation of Plainfield schools will be unveiled at the school named for Charles and Anna Booker, whose court case challenged segregation in the city's public schools.
The New Jersey Historical Commission will unveil the marker on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 1 p.m. The ceremony is set for the Charles and Anna Booker School, 730 Central Street.
Plainfield Public Schools and New Jersey Orators will join the commission in hosting the unveiling. In December 2025, the Plainfield Board of Education approved an agreement with the commission to make and install the marker at the school. The marker is titled Booker & NAACP Desegregates Plainfield Schools.
The commission, a division of the New Jersey Department of State, runs its statewide Black Heritage Trail program. Gov. Phil Murphy signed the bill creating the program in September 2022. The commission's list of approved trail sites includes Plainfield Schools Desegregation, approved in 2024.
The marker recalls Booker v. Board of Education of City of Plainfield. In September 1962, children in the Plainfield schools, acting through their parents, petitioned the state Commissioner of Education. They protested the local board's refusal to adopt plans to end racial segregation in the city's public schools.
Robert L. Carter argued the case for the families before the New Jersey Supreme Court. On June 28, 1965, the court reversed the earlier decision and sent the matter back to the Commissioner of Education. In a separate opinion, Justice Hall called it the first case before the court on school authorities' obligation to remedy racial imbalance.
Charles and Anna Booker were born and raised in Plainfield, according to the New Jersey Schools Development Authority. The authority said of the couple, "In 1965, they won a legal case, Booker v. Board of Education of City of Plainfield, to end segregation in Plainfield schools."
The Plainfield Board of Education named the school in the Bookers' honor, and the building held its ribbon cutting in July 2023. Mrs. Booker was a teacher in Plainfield when the district began hiring African American teachers, and she retired after 20 years in the district.
Whether the unveiling is open to the public, and details on parking, RSVP and speakers, were not stated. Questions about the trail can go to the NJ Black Heritage Trail program by email or 609-292-6062.
Find more Plainfield events, businesses, and local news on Union County Life.
Source: New Jersey Historical Commission event flyer; New Jersey Schools Development Authority; Booker v. Board of Education of City of Plainfield (N.J. 1965)
Photo: Brett Sayles / Pexels
What to do
- When
- Thursday, Oct. 29, 1 p.m.
- Where
- Charles and Anna Booker School, 730 Central Street, Plainfield
- Contact
- NJ Black Heritage Trail (general program contact, not an event contact): NJBlackHeritageTrail@sos.nj.gov, 609-292-6062
Frequently asked questions
When is the Plainfield school desegregation marker being unveiled?
The unveiling is set for Thursday, Oct. 29, at 1 p.m. at the Charles and Anna Booker School, 730 Central Street in Plainfield.
What was the Booker v. Board of Education of Plainfield case?
In September 1962, Plainfield schoolchildren, acting through their parents, petitioned the state Commissioner of Education over racial segregation in the city's public schools. The New Jersey Supreme Court decided the case on June 28, 1965, and sent it back to the commissioner for further action.
What is the New Jersey Black Heritage Trail?
It is a statewide historical marker program run by the New Jersey Historical Commission, part of the New Jersey Department of State. Gov. Phil Murphy signed the bill creating it in September 2022.
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