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Created page with "{{Infobox officeholder | name=Jewel Joseph Newman | image=Jewel Joseph Newman of LA.jpg | nationality=African Americans | birth_date=March 3, 1921 | birth_place=Baton R..."
{{Infobox officeholder
| name=Jewel Joseph Newman
| image=Jewel Joseph Newman of LA.jpg
| nationality=[[African Americans]]
| birth_date=March 3, 1921
| birth_place=[[Baton Rouge]], [[Louisiana]]
| death_date=October 4, 2014 (aged 93)
| death_place =
| resting_place=Donated corpse to medical science
| office=Member of the [[Baton Rouge|East Baton Rouge Parish]] Council from Scotlandville
| term_start=1972
| term_end=1984
| office2=[[Louisiana]] State Representative<br>for District 63
| term_start2=1984
| term_end2=1988
| preceded2=[[Joe Delpit]]
| succeeded2=Kip Holden
| party= [[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
| religion=[[Roman Catholic]]
| alma_mater=William McKinley Senior High School<br>
Southern University (both in Baton Rouge)
| occupation=Service station operator and community organizer
| spouse=(1) Dorothy Daniels Price<ref name=charlobs>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Norris&GSfn=Karen&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=23899866&df=all&|title=Karen Ann Newman Morris obituary|publisher=''[[The Charlotte Observer]]''|location=[[Charlotte, North Carolina]]|date=December 14, 2005|accessdate=October 12, 2014}}</ref>|2=Sallie Gillespie Newman (married c. 1963-2014, his death)}}
| children=Brenda Joyce Cooks<br>
Linda Cooks Narcisse
Edwin Cooks<br>
Urlecia Cooks<br>
Constance Newman Douglas (deceased)<br>
Karen Newman Norris (deceased)<br>
Eight grandchildren<br>
'''Parents''':<br>
Joseph "Papa" and Florence Knox Newman
| branch = [[United States Army]]
| battles = [[World War II]]
| rank = [[Sergeant]] 4th class
}}
'''Jewel Joseph Newman''' (March 3, 1921 – October 4, 2014) was an American [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[politician]] and community organizer from the historically black Scotlandville neighborhood of his native [[Baton Rouge]], [[Louisiana]].
==Biography==
===Early years===
The son of Joseph "Papa" Newman and the former Florence Knox, Newman graduated at the age of twenty in 1941 from the then [Segregation|segregated]] black McKinley Senior High Schoo] in the capital city of Baton Rouge. He attended the then all-black [[Southern University]], at which he was a member of the Reserve Corps program. He was q, since Exxon,] service station in Baton Rouge.<ref name=obit/>
===Political arena===
Even before he entered politics, he was involved in bringing Little League competition to Scotlandville. In 1972, Newman won the first of his three four-year term on the East Baton Rouge Parish Council as the representative from the Scotlandville area. In 1983, he was elected as the state representative to succeed [[Joe Delpit]], who had also been the first African American city council member from Baton Rouge. Newman served a single term in the House from 1984 to 1988<ref>{{cite web|url=https://house.louisiana.gov/H_PDFdocs/HouseMembership_History_CURRENT.pdf|title=Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2024: East Baton Rouge Parish|publisher=Louisiana House of Representatives|accessdate=October 12, 2014}}</ref> which corresponded with the third term of [[Governor]] [[Edwin Edwards]]. He defeated the 31-year-old lawyer Kip Holden, later the first of thus far two blacks to serve as Baton Rouge Mayor-President. Through his "Help Our People for East Baton Rouge" program, Representative Newman in 1985 raised $14,000 through bingo games to keep open three [[food stamp]] offices in north Baton Rouge, which had been marked for closure under state budget restraints. In the 1987 nonpartisan blanket [[primary]], Holden unseated Newman. The two subsequently became warm friends.<ref name=madeadifference/>
===Community organizing===
After his legislative term, Newman continued to work as a community organizer. He served on the boards of the American Cancer Society and several organizations seeking to control [[narcotics]], the predecessors to the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program in public schools. He also worked against [[alcohol]] abuse through Mothers Against Drunk Driving. His activities paved the way for the first community centers in Baton Rouge.<ref name=madeadifference/> He sat on the board of the Foster Grandparents Program and the Louisiana Lottery Corporation. An active [[Roman Catholic]], Newman served on the board for Catholic Community Services in the Diocese of Baton Rouge. He was a member of the charitable [[St. Vincent de Paul Society]] of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. With other craftsmen from St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Newman helped to build the Immaculate Conception sanctuary, which was completed in 1959. He managed the St. Vincent de Paul dining room for two years in Baton Rouge until sidelined by illness. He also worked to establish the Bishop Ott shelters and a [[Charity shop|thrift store]] for the needy.<ref name=obit/><ref name=madeadifference/>
==Legacy==
On October 4, 2014, Newman died at the age of ninety-three. He was survived by his wife of more than a half-century, the former Sallie Gillespie (born September 1928); children, Brenda Joyce Cooks (born May 1948), Linda Cooks Narcisse (born January 1950) and husband Johnny S. Narcisse (born December 1949), Edwin Cooks (born April 1951) and wife Jocelyn H.Cooks (born May 1953), Urlecia Cooks, and eight grandchildren. He was preceded in death by two other daughters, Constance Newman Douglas and Karen Newman Norris (1948-2005).<ref name=charlobs/> A memorial mass was held on October 11, 2014 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. Newman donated his body to the [[Tulane University]] School of Medicine in [[New Orleans]].<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theadvocate/obituary.aspx?n=jewel-joseph-newman&pid=172739205#sthash.QJNQ6DPM.dpuf|title=Jewel Joseph Newman|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|accessdate=October 12, 2014}}</ref>
Joseph Delpit called Newman "the hardest-working elected official I knew, including me ... There wasn’t a person who needed help that Jewel would not get out of his bed at midnight to see about helping him.”<ref name=madeadifference>{{cite web|url=http://theadvocate.com/news/10460859-123/baton-rouge-activist-legislator-jewel|title=Baton Rouge activist, legislator Jewel J. Newman dies: 'He really made a difference'|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|author=Ryan Broussard|date=October 7, 2014|accessdate=October 12, 2014}}</ref>
Former Mayor Holden said that Newman, who later became his mentor, "paid special attention to the needs of people in the district he represented, which is also the district I grew up in. If someone called to say they [sic] had a problem with their ditch, he would go out to the home himself to see what the problem was.”<ref name=madeadifference/>
The Jewel J. Newman Community Center on Central Road off Interstate 110 North is named in his honor.<ref name=madeadifference/>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newman, Jewel}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:African Americans]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:United States Army]]
[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:Catholics]]
[[Category:Catholic Politicians]]
| name=Jewel Joseph Newman
| image=Jewel Joseph Newman of LA.jpg
| nationality=[[African Americans]]
| birth_date=March 3, 1921
| birth_place=[[Baton Rouge]], [[Louisiana]]
| death_date=October 4, 2014 (aged 93)
| death_place =
| resting_place=Donated corpse to medical science
| office=Member of the [[Baton Rouge|East Baton Rouge Parish]] Council from Scotlandville
| term_start=1972
| term_end=1984
| office2=[[Louisiana]] State Representative<br>for District 63
| term_start2=1984
| term_end2=1988
| preceded2=[[Joe Delpit]]
| succeeded2=Kip Holden
| party= [[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
| religion=[[Roman Catholic]]
| alma_mater=William McKinley Senior High School<br>
Southern University (both in Baton Rouge)
| occupation=Service station operator and community organizer
| spouse=(1) Dorothy Daniels Price<ref name=charlobs>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Norris&GSfn=Karen&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=23899866&df=all&|title=Karen Ann Newman Morris obituary|publisher=''[[The Charlotte Observer]]''|location=[[Charlotte, North Carolina]]|date=December 14, 2005|accessdate=October 12, 2014}}</ref>|2=Sallie Gillespie Newman (married c. 1963-2014, his death)}}
| children=Brenda Joyce Cooks<br>
Linda Cooks Narcisse
Edwin Cooks<br>
Urlecia Cooks<br>
Constance Newman Douglas (deceased)<br>
Karen Newman Norris (deceased)<br>
Eight grandchildren<br>
'''Parents''':<br>
Joseph "Papa" and Florence Knox Newman
| branch = [[United States Army]]
| battles = [[World War II]]
| rank = [[Sergeant]] 4th class
}}
'''Jewel Joseph Newman''' (March 3, 1921 – October 4, 2014) was an American [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[politician]] and community organizer from the historically black Scotlandville neighborhood of his native [[Baton Rouge]], [[Louisiana]].
==Biography==
===Early years===
The son of Joseph "Papa" Newman and the former Florence Knox, Newman graduated at the age of twenty in 1941 from the then [Segregation|segregated]] black McKinley Senior High Schoo] in the capital city of Baton Rouge. He attended the then all-black [[Southern University]], at which he was a member of the Reserve Corps program. He was q, since Exxon,] service station in Baton Rouge.<ref name=obit/>
===Political arena===
Even before he entered politics, he was involved in bringing Little League competition to Scotlandville. In 1972, Newman won the first of his three four-year term on the East Baton Rouge Parish Council as the representative from the Scotlandville area. In 1983, he was elected as the state representative to succeed [[Joe Delpit]], who had also been the first African American city council member from Baton Rouge. Newman served a single term in the House from 1984 to 1988<ref>{{cite web|url=https://house.louisiana.gov/H_PDFdocs/HouseMembership_History_CURRENT.pdf|title=Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2024: East Baton Rouge Parish|publisher=Louisiana House of Representatives|accessdate=October 12, 2014}}</ref> which corresponded with the third term of [[Governor]] [[Edwin Edwards]]. He defeated the 31-year-old lawyer Kip Holden, later the first of thus far two blacks to serve as Baton Rouge Mayor-President. Through his "Help Our People for East Baton Rouge" program, Representative Newman in 1985 raised $14,000 through bingo games to keep open three [[food stamp]] offices in north Baton Rouge, which had been marked for closure under state budget restraints. In the 1987 nonpartisan blanket [[primary]], Holden unseated Newman. The two subsequently became warm friends.<ref name=madeadifference/>
===Community organizing===
After his legislative term, Newman continued to work as a community organizer. He served on the boards of the American Cancer Society and several organizations seeking to control [[narcotics]], the predecessors to the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program in public schools. He also worked against [[alcohol]] abuse through Mothers Against Drunk Driving. His activities paved the way for the first community centers in Baton Rouge.<ref name=madeadifference/> He sat on the board of the Foster Grandparents Program and the Louisiana Lottery Corporation. An active [[Roman Catholic]], Newman served on the board for Catholic Community Services in the Diocese of Baton Rouge. He was a member of the charitable [[St. Vincent de Paul Society]] of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. With other craftsmen from St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Newman helped to build the Immaculate Conception sanctuary, which was completed in 1959. He managed the St. Vincent de Paul dining room for two years in Baton Rouge until sidelined by illness. He also worked to establish the Bishop Ott shelters and a [[Charity shop|thrift store]] for the needy.<ref name=obit/><ref name=madeadifference/>
==Legacy==
On October 4, 2014, Newman died at the age of ninety-three. He was survived by his wife of more than a half-century, the former Sallie Gillespie (born September 1928); children, Brenda Joyce Cooks (born May 1948), Linda Cooks Narcisse (born January 1950) and husband Johnny S. Narcisse (born December 1949), Edwin Cooks (born April 1951) and wife Jocelyn H.Cooks (born May 1953), Urlecia Cooks, and eight grandchildren. He was preceded in death by two other daughters, Constance Newman Douglas and Karen Newman Norris (1948-2005).<ref name=charlobs/> A memorial mass was held on October 11, 2014 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. Newman donated his body to the [[Tulane University]] School of Medicine in [[New Orleans]].<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theadvocate/obituary.aspx?n=jewel-joseph-newman&pid=172739205#sthash.QJNQ6DPM.dpuf|title=Jewel Joseph Newman|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|accessdate=October 12, 2014}}</ref>
Joseph Delpit called Newman "the hardest-working elected official I knew, including me ... There wasn’t a person who needed help that Jewel would not get out of his bed at midnight to see about helping him.”<ref name=madeadifference>{{cite web|url=http://theadvocate.com/news/10460859-123/baton-rouge-activist-legislator-jewel|title=Baton Rouge activist, legislator Jewel J. Newman dies: 'He really made a difference'|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|author=Ryan Broussard|date=October 7, 2014|accessdate=October 12, 2014}}</ref>
Former Mayor Holden said that Newman, who later became his mentor, "paid special attention to the needs of people in the district he represented, which is also the district I grew up in. If someone called to say they [sic] had a problem with their ditch, he would go out to the home himself to see what the problem was.”<ref name=madeadifference/>
The Jewel J. Newman Community Center on Central Road off Interstate 110 North is named in his honor.<ref name=madeadifference/>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newman, Jewel}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:African Americans]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:United States Army]]
[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:Catholics]]
[[Category:Catholic Politicians]]