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RACE IN AMERICA
Gov. Phil Murphy says New Jersey must “tear down” racist terms from public discourse. KEVIN R. WEXLER/USA TODAY NETWORK
Governor wants NJ to end
its use of ‘freeholder’ term
County title once left out
women and Black people
Dustin Racioppi
NorthJersey.com
USA TODAY NETWORK
TRENTON, N.J. – New Jersey will
probably shed its national distinction of
keeping a Colonial vestige rooted in
structural racism: the title of county
freeholder.
Gov. Phil Murphy and the two Demo-
cratic leaders of the state Legislature
announced Thursday that they support
legislation that would do away with the
“outdated” term in favor of county com-
missioner, which is more commonly
used around the country.
State and local lawmakers have tried
in fits and starts for years to make the
change. Last week’s announcement
may have been driven by protests de-
manding racial and social justice after
the death of George Floyd, a Black man
who died after a white police officer
knelt on his neck in Minneapolis.
“As our nation tears down symbols of
injustice, we must also tear down words
we use in New Jersey that were born
from racism,” Murphy, Senate President
Officer becomes the Navy’s first
Black female tactical fighter pilot
N’dea Yancey-Bragg
USA TODAY
Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle made history
by becoming the U.S. Navy’s first Black
female tactical fighter pilot.
The chief of Naval Air Training con-
gratulated Swegle Thursday on Face-
book for completing her training and
said she will receive her “Wings of Gold”
this month.
“BZ to Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle on
completing the Tactical Air (Strike) avi-
ator syllabus,” the post read, using the
abbreviation for Bravo Zulu, which
means “well done.”
Swegle earned praise from Rear Adm.
Paula Dunn, the Navy’s vice chief of in-
formation, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-
Mass., and tennis icon Billie Jean King.
“Very proud of LTJG Swegle,” Dunn
tweeted. “Go forth and kick butt.”
Swegle graduated the U.S. Naval
Academy in 2017 and is assigned to the
Redhawks of Training Squadron (VT) 21
at Naval Air Station Kingsville in Texa-
s,according to the Navy Times.
The news of Swegle’s achievement
came the same day a female soldier
graduated from the Army’s elite Special
Forces course, becoming the first wom-
an to join a Green Beret team.
Swegle’s milestone comes more than
45 years after Rosemary Mariner be-
came the first woman to fly a tactical
fighter jet in 1974, The Associated Press
reported. It wasn’t until the 1980s that
Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speak-
er Craig Coughlin said in a joint state-
ment. “It’s past time for New Jersey to
phase out the term ‘freeholder’ from our
public discourse – a term coined when
only white male landowners could hold
public office.”
Each of New Jersey’s 21 counties
elects a freeholder who sits on a board
of chosen freeholders. People have vot-
ed for them since New Jersey’s incep-
tion two centuries ago.
Very few people know what freehold-
ers do – they control county finances
and policies – let alone what the name
means. Freeholder is an old English
term, predating the American Revolu-
tion, to describe a person who owns
land free of debt. No other state uses the
term “freeholder” to describe elected
county officials.
At the time it came into use, Black
people and women could not own prop-
erty, effectively barring them from
elected office and keeping white men in
power. There were women freeholders
in the 18th century – single women were
allowed to inherit and own property in
New Jersey – and from 1776 to 1807, the
state did not limit suffrage based on
gender or race as long as the voter
owned property “free and clear,” ac-
Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle is the Navy’s first Black female strike aviator and will
receive her Wings of Gold in a ceremony on July 31. COURTESY OF LT. J.G. LUKE REDITO
Brenda Robinson became the first Afri-
can American woman to earn her Wings
of Gold and become a Navy flight in-
structor, evaluator and VIP transport pi-
lot, according to Women in Aviation In-
ternational.
An investigation in 2018 from Milita-
ry.com found that out of 1,404 F/A-18
Hornet pilots, just 26 were Black and 33
were female. Less than 2% of all pilots
assigned to jet platforms were Black, the
USA TODAY ❚ TUESDAY, JULY 14, 2020 ❚ 3A
cording to the Asbury Park Press.
The makeup of freeholder boards
has changed over the years to include
more women and minorities, but the
name stuck.
The most recent attempt to dump
the term was led by Sen. Joseph Pen-
nacchio, R-Morris, in 2018. His bill
passed the Senate but never made it
out of the Assembly.
He suggested changing the name of
freeholder to county commissioner, as
other states have done.
“When you have a title, which refers
to men ‘free and clear,’ you ultimately
discourage individuals from partici-
pating in critical local government po-
sitions,” Pennacchio said.
His effort faced opposition in Ocean
County, where the all-Republican free-
holder board voted in favor of a resolu-
tion against the bill.
Sweeney said Thursday that Pen-
nacchio’s S-855 will be considered by
the Senate Community and Urban Af-
fairs Committee at its next meeting
Thursday.
“This is not a matter of political cor-
rectness; it is a corrective action to re-
place an outdated designation that is
rooted in institutional prejudice,” Mur-
phy, Sweeney and Coughlin said.
outlet reported.
Last month, the Navy announced
the formation of “Task Force One Na-
vy” to address the issues of “racism,
sexism and other destructive biases
and their impact on naval readiness.”
“As a Navy – uniform and civilian,
active and reserve – we cannot toler-
ate discrimination or racism of any
kind,” Chief of Naval Operations Mi-
chael Gilday said in a statement.
Police to
investigate
use of neck
restraint
Video of incident draws
parallels to Floyd’s death
Jordan Culver
USA TODAY
Police in Pennsylvania are investi-
gating after an officer appeared to put
a knee on the neck of a person during
an incident captured on video by at
least one bystander that drew compar-
isons to the death of George Floyd.
The Allentown Police Department
is conducting a use-of-force investiga-
tion, according to a statement released
Sunday. Video of the incident on Twit-
ter shows three officers on top of a
screaming man.
One of the officers appears to put a
knee on the man’s neck after trying to
restrain him by other means.
Attorney Ben Crump, who repre-
sents Floyd’s family, shared video of
the incident on Twitter, describing it
as “exactly what led to (Floyd’s)
death.” He called for police to identify
the officer.
Floyd, a Black man, died after Min-
neapolis police officer Derek Chauvin
held his knee to Floyd’s neck for nearly
nine minutes. Chauvin, who is white,
was fired and arrested on second-de-
gree murder charges, and three offi-
cers involved in the incident were ar-
rested and charged with aiding and
abetting Chauvin.
Floyd was restrained by three offi-
cers while a fourth worked to control a
growing crowd around the situation.
The incident in Allentown took
place Saturday at St. Luke’s Hospital-
Sacred Heart.
Officers were at the hospital for an
“unrelated matter” before they “ob-
served a male outside who was vomit-
ing and staggering in the street, even-
tually stopping in the driveway of the
emergency room,” police said in the
statement.
“The individual continued to be
noncompliant, which required
officers to restrain the individual.”
Allentown Police Department
In a statement
“The observed erratic behavior re-
sulted in the officers and hospital staff
interacting with the individual,” the
statement said. “The individual began
to yell, scream and spit at the officers
and hospital staff.
“As the officers attempted to re-
strain the individual, all parties fell to
the ground. The individual continued
to be noncompliant, which required
officers to restrain the individual and
the hospital applied a spit shield.”
The statement doesn’t mention the
officer putting a knee on or near the
man’s neck.
The man was treated at the hospital
and released, according to the state-
ment. Police said an investigation into
the incident will be reviewed by the
Lehigh County district attorney this
week. Video from the incident is also
being reviewed, police said.
The Allentown Police Department
did not respond to requests for com-
ment from USA TODAY. St. Luke’s and
the Allentown mayor’s office also did
not immediately respond.
Floyd’s death on Memorial Day set
off protests nationwide against racial
discrimination and police brutality.
The Morning Call in Pennsylvania
reported protesters marched to down-
town Allentown and confronted Mayor
Ray O’Connell and Police Chief Glenn
Granitz about Saturday’s incident.
O’Connell called the video “disturb-
ing” and said, “I think we need to gath-
er all the facts and information before
we go forward,” according to the news-
paper.
The Allentown Police Department’s
use-of-force policy is available on its
website. The policy notes, “Use of neck
restraints or similar weaponless con-
trol techniques (choke holds) is pro-
hibited.”
Preventing imminent death or seri-
ous bodily injury to a member or citi-
zen is the only exception to the prohi-
bition, according to the policy.
Contributing: The Associated Press