The late Irene Hill-Smith was an outspoken firebrand who was Gloucester County's leading civil rights activist over the second half of the 20th Century.
Civil rights leader Irene Hill-Smith lived in Gloucester County. The late Irene Hill-Smith was an outspoken firebrand who was Gloucester County's leading civil rights activist over the second half of the 20th Century, a bold woman who championed many causes, managed to get herself arrested not once but twice for leading protest walks, and was a county and state NAACP president and national officer-holder who befriended Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Irene kept on fighting but mellowed (her word, not mine) and during a cable TV interview with her one day she admitted this. She also confided that if the tables had been turned, it wouldn't have mattered. Regardless, black or white, she found herself firmly on the side of all the oppressed and downtrodden.
But Irene was still the proudest black woman I knew.
As a journalist and good friend, I knew Irene quite well. In the twilight her of life, she sat in her Mantua apartment, amid all the plaques and other accolades that were a reinforcement of her life's work, and answered the phone from folks who needed help or a little guidance. The assistance was usually forthcoming. She kept in close contact with many she helped, regardless their race or color, over the years.
I loved having her on my TV show. She was just a four-minute taxi ride away and she'd always show up on time, dressed impeccably, jewelry everywhere. For 30 or 60 minutes, she'd regale me with shoot-from-the-hip responses that kept me on the guard. We had no seven-second delay. Twice she bailed me out when guests didn't show up, hurrying to downtown Woodbury in a cab.
And afterward, while the crew was breaking down, we'd have a good laugh, usually at my expense. At one taping, she aided a young camerawoman who had a problem that required confidential attention.
And she was available for newspaper interviews at any time, day or night, more than willing to share topical ideas with me, especially if the issue was as tepid as the latest from NAACP headquarters.
Irene was an on-hands leader both at the county and state levels. She was giving a speech in Paterson, N.J. that April day in 1968, as state president, when MLK was shot and killed. The audience was devastated, but subdued, as Irene displayed calm through the ordeal.
Instead of overreacting, she led a peace march that night through the streets of Newark, to help quell the unrest that had been festering and exploded when Dr. King was killed.
Prior to that, she had led the county marches, one originating in Woodbury, one in Paulsboro.
Irene met Dr. King in Chicago and maintained a friendship with him that endured through the years.
Born in Mullica Hill, Irene gave the local and state chapters of the NAACP leadership in an era in this country's difficult crossroads when it was sorely needed.
And love her or not, her legacy is that firm resolve.
In my 50-plus years here, Irene Hill-Smith remains one of a kind.
Bob Shryock may be reached at bshryock@njadvancemedia.com. Follow South Jersey Times on Twitter @TheSJTimes. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
