Signs of the times On the road to eternity By Daniel Israel
T
he city has recently honored two Black leaders. Edith Ferrell and Rev. H. Gene Sykes had streets renamed after them: West 19th and West 20th Street respectively. The signs stand on the corner of each street and Avenue C. Ferrell and Sykes died last year, leaving behind legacies of love and excellence.
Edith Ferrell
Edith Ferrell and Diane Sondy. Photo courtesy of Diane Sondy
Rev. H. Gene Sykes. Photo by Alyssa Bredin Quiros
30 • BLP ~ SPRING | SUMMER 2021
The portion of West 19th Street between Avenue C and Broadway was renamed Edith Ferrell Way in April. Ferrell died on Feb. 8, 2020, just days after her 70th birthday. In February of this year, the city council passed a resolution renaming that portion of West 19th Street for Ferrell. The Flournoy Gethers VFW Post #7470 is on that part of the street, where she was Auxiliary President. Ferrell was born in Virginia and moved to Bayonne after her marriage to Jerry Ferrell. For more than a decade, Ferrell’s leadership and support as the Auxiliary President of Flournoy Gethers VFW Post #7470 enabled the post to maintain its membership in the Bayonne Veterans Community. In 2019, Ferrell was selected to be the Grand Marshall for the Memorial Day Parade. She was the first African American woman and the third woman to be chosen. Ferrell served as a board member for the local chapter of the NAACP, Vice Chairperson of the Bayonne Housing Authority, Committee Member of the Bayonne City Democratic Organization, and member of the Jersey City Black Caucus. She was a former trustee of the Bayonne Board of Education, and past President of the Bayonne Community Day Care Nursery.
