Bad could have gotten worse in Trenton after MLK assassination
An early closing of Trenton Central High School and Junior High School Three occurred a day after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. King died just after 6 p.m. on April 4, 1968 which impacted a potential for violence although some protests erupted in the city’s East Ward.
On Friday, Principal William Walker dismissed classes just after 9:30 a.m. following peaceful protests at the Chambers St. campus.
Youths overturned garbage cans, tossed rocks and bottles, broke windows and delivered minimal looting in downtown stores. City youth needed only a reason for disturbance as the Trenton High student body struggled with race relations. The death of Dr. King served as catalyst.
April 5 had marked the third time in four months that student violence had forced an early closing at Trenton Central High School.
Reports noted that approximately 200 teens injected themselves into a downtown area near State and Broad streets. The crowd produced several crimes as a tray of diamond rings were stolen from Lippman Jewelers on North Broad St. while looters hit a couple of shoe stores.
Most stores owners locked their doors, understanding that police officers were overmatched by crowds of youth fueled by anger, frustration and the effects of Dr. King’s murder.
The day produced a first police shooting as Patrolman Robert Poli drew his weapon to fire a warning shot at the crowd. Poli tripped on a sidewalk grating. His weapon discharged. The errant bullet struck Tommy Brown in the left thigh.
The accidental shooting got tossed onto a growing heap of disruption. Almost every incident served as kindling for heated conversations about race and the killing of Dr. King.
A first day following King’s death included the assault of Robert Amenta, a 14-year-old Junior 3 student who suffered a beating near Cadwalader Park. Amenta needed treatment for a head wound.
Mrs. Carole Tessein, 27, of Parkway Ave., suffered a right shoulder injury after a rock thrower attacked. Skirmishes and attacks were reported throughout Trenton as the city and nation braced for trouble.
President Lyndon Johnson proclaimed the Sunday after King’s death a national day of mourning, hoping that the acknowledgment would head off extensive rioting in U.S. major cities. Johnson’s comment could dovetail with current U.S. sentiments regarding racial disharmony.
“I did not understate the case Sunday when I spoke of the divisiveness that is tearing this nation,” Johnson said. The President asked the nation to pray for an end to racial hatred.
“In our churches, in our homes, in our private hearts, let us resolve before God to stand against the divisiveness in our country and all its consequences.”
Government leaders dispelled notions of hoping for the best and prepared for the worst of situations. Major U.S. cities like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago braced for riots and community-police confrontations. State and local leaders wondered if violence could reach second-tier cities like Trenton, Camden and Newark.
Trenton Mayor Carmen Armenti held preliminary strategic conversations with Gov. Richard Hughes and New Jersey State Police Commander Col. David B. Kelly. Discussions included the potential of calling in the National Guard. The unrest jolted the Armenti household.
Armenti and his wife, Hope, had enjoyed the birth of the first of two children, Melinda, in February 1968. Now months later, Armenti knew his city faced peril.
“Carmen loved Trenton,” Hope Armenti, 80, said recently. “So, here’s the potential of something really bad happening in Trenton. He hardly slept.”
The Armenti insomnia continued throughout the first days after Dr. King’s death. Local, county and state government leaders could feel the city’s pulse find a ratcheted pace.
Armenti enlisted the help of black leaders W. Oliver “Bucky” Leggett, Rev. S.Howard Woodson, a civil rights leader and powerful politician, as well as Albert “Bo” Robinson, another political heavyweight with strong community ties.
Leggett served as Armenti’s administrative assistant after the two men had grown up in the city’s North Ward neighborhood.
Armenti’s all-hands on deck initiative dispersed black leaders as peacekeepers into challenged neighborhoods. But with Dr. King dead along with his debated position of non-violence, young people turned away from local leaders.
Despite those snubs, Trenton managed to stay relatively peaceful considering what had occurred in more than 60 other U.S. cities.
Tomorrow: One rock shatters a downtown business window and peace.