IRVINGTON, NJ — Irvington lost one of its trailblazers last month, when former East Ward Councilman Fred Bost died at age 82. Not only did Bost serve two terms on the council — 20 years apart, with the first beginning in 1980 and the second in 2000 — but he also cemented his place in history as the first black person to be elected to the council.
Without Bost’s service, commitment and fortitude, it is unlikely that Michael Steele would have been elected the town’s first black mayor in 1990 or that Bost’s wife, Sara, would have been elected the town’s first black female mayor just four years later.
“Fred Bost was a pioneer in local politics here in the township of Irvington,” Mayor Tony Vauss told the Irvington Herald. “Fred Bost was the first African American elected council member in the early years, which paved the way for so many others that followed him. A great individual, a kind and caring person that led by example. He will truly be missed.”
Fred Bost, who died on Feb. 21, was born in North Carolina in 1938 as the youngest of 11 children. Going through public school systems in North Carolina and Washington, D.C., Bost eventually joined the U.S. Army, from which he was honorably discharged in 1958. Shortly afterward, Bost moved to New Jersey from Detroit, Mich., and continued his education at Essex County College and Bloomfield College. Within Essex County, Bost held various positions, including as assistant director of community affairs, and he ultimately retired from the Essex County Sheriff’s Office.
Regardless of where he happened to be living, Bost always worked to help his community. In 1963, he participated in the March on Washington, a massive protest march at which some 250,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., demanding equality for all people.
In 1979, he ran for district leader and beat the Democratic Line A candidate and the candidate supported by the county executive. Shortly thereafter, he started a civic association, and the following year he ran for councilman.
Between his two four-year terms on the Irvington Municipal Council, Bost served on the town’s Planning Board and Board of Adjustment. After moving to Barnegat later in his life, he was elected as a district leader and served on the Barnegat Planning Board.
Many people who had known Bost at various stages of his life left words or grief and love on an online tribute wall.
“Fred Bost was a kind gentleman with a great sense of humor, an acquaintance that I am glad that I had an opportunity to meet and befriend,” Joeann Corley wrote.
“We knew Fred a little over a year and we enjoyed the opportunities we had to speak with him, being his neighbors and hearing his music,” Al and Christine Scherr wrote.
Fred Bost and his legacy will certainly live on in Irvington.
Irvington mourns death of Fred Bost, trailblazing politician added by Yael Katzwer on
View all posts by Yael Katzwer →