Constance Montgomery
Constance Montgomery was born in Morristown in 1931, and growing up she also lived in Madison before permanently moving to Morristown in 1951 following her marriage. Constance was first employed by AT&T in 1969, working her way up to its information systems office as a manager responsible for running support services for more than 20 years before her retirement. In 1979 Montgomery received the Black Achievers in Industry Award sponsored by the Harlem YMCA, upon being nominated for the award by AT&T for her excellent work record and progress in terms of promotion in the company.
In addition to working full-time, Constance spent nine years on the Morris School District Board of Education, becoming the first African American ever to be elected to the Morristown Board of Education in 1966. After just one year on the board, she was elected by her colleagues to become vice president, and then president two years later, becoming the first African-American president of the Board as well. Her time on the board coincided with the joining of the Morristown and Morris Township School systems. Her greatest satisfaction as board member was the integration of the school districts and in attaining a more integrated staff.
Following her time on the Morristown Board of Education, Montgomery spent five years in Trenton on the New Jersey Board of Education. She became active in the political arena in Morristown and served two terms as a Morristown councilwoman. She left politics in the late 1980s, to pursue working with Carettes, Inc. — a group dedicated to raising money for deserving black youths. Constance formed the Group of Active Leadership, whose aim was to develop leaders in Morristown; she worked with the NAACP and the Urban League; and was on the Wilkes Fund Committee at St. Peter’s Church. After her retirement, she remained active in the community by serving for two years on the Board of Neighborhood House and in other neighborhood groups.