Guno צְבִי
We fight, We win, Am Yisrael Chai
Former state Sen. Ronald Rice, a fiercely independent Democrat who represented Newark for decades and was the longest-serving African-American in the Legislature, has died at 77.
A Vietnam veteran in the Marine Corps and former Newark police officer, Rice served in the Senate from 1986 until he retired in August due to ill health. He was a founder and the longtime chair of the Legislative Black Caucus and focused on racial and social justice issues throughout his career.
"He was a simple guy who meant what he said and said what he meant," he said in an interview.
Born in the Jim Crow-era south, Rice became a monumental figure in Newark, the state's largest city. He won a city council seat in 1982 and was reelected in 1986, 1990 and 1994, according to his biography. He was appointed deputy mayor of Newark in 2002.
Rice's public service began long before politics, though. He served in the Marine Corps from 1966 to 1970, spending about half that time in Vietnam.
He earned several degrees in criminal justice and joined the Newark Police Department in 1972, becoming a detective in 1974, according to his biography. He started working for the Public Service Electric & Gas Company in 1980 until his election to the Senate.
Earlier this year his alma mater Rutgers University announced an endowed scholarship in Rice's name to support students in its criminal justice program. The university cited Rice's advocacy on racial justice, including sponsoring a bill that would allow municipalities to create civilian review boards and for demanding a study on racial bias in the state's criminal justice system.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/poli...U?cvid=91472d4f67064a6d89ccdc941978ad8e&ei=52
A Vietnam veteran in the Marine Corps and former Newark police officer, Rice served in the Senate from 1986 until he retired in August due to ill health. He was a founder and the longtime chair of the Legislative Black Caucus and focused on racial and social justice issues throughout his career.
"He was a simple guy who meant what he said and said what he meant," he said in an interview.
Born in the Jim Crow-era south, Rice became a monumental figure in Newark, the state's largest city. He won a city council seat in 1982 and was reelected in 1986, 1990 and 1994, according to his biography. He was appointed deputy mayor of Newark in 2002.
Rice's public service began long before politics, though. He served in the Marine Corps from 1966 to 1970, spending about half that time in Vietnam.
He earned several degrees in criminal justice and joined the Newark Police Department in 1972, becoming a detective in 1974, according to his biography. He started working for the Public Service Electric & Gas Company in 1980 until his election to the Senate.
Earlier this year his alma mater Rutgers University announced an endowed scholarship in Rice's name to support students in its criminal justice program. The university cited Rice's advocacy on racial justice, including sponsoring a bill that would allow municipalities to create civilian review boards and for demanding a study on racial bias in the state's criminal justice system.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/poli...U?cvid=91472d4f67064a6d89ccdc941978ad8e&ei=52
