By Eric Hughes. I am the proud offspring of Anguillian immigrants who migrated to Perth Amboy, NJ and I am sharing our story for posterity. Eric Hughes can be reached at richughes3741@gmail.com

And now I proudly present the outstanding and historical stories, careers and talent of these pioneering young men, spear-headed by their dedicated Anguillian immigrant parents.

Cedric Richardson – President, Senior Class of 1955

Cedric Richardson

Cedric Richardson’s parents, Joseph Nathaniel Richardson and Maude Victorine Hodge migrated from Stoney Ground and East End, Anguilla to Perth Amboy, where they met and married. 

Cedric was born in Perth Amboy, the youngest of three (3) siblings, who as child went to live in Anguilla for seven (7) years with his parent’s family. During my 2006 interview with Cedric for another project, he said, “My background definitely played a very important part in both my personal and professional development.  I gained a great deal of knowledge about my cultural roots, the tremendous work ethic and the spirit of cooperation among the people of that generation and the resiliency of Anguillians to overcome hardships and perseverance through the good and bad times back in the day.”

It was quite clear that Cedric’s international background strengthened him as a person, placed him ahead of his peers and propelled his election to President of his class.  In addition, Cedric was known for his versatility, including music, sports, and leadership ability.  He had the personality and energy to bring people together for worthy causes.  He was well liked and would take that next step to achieve class goals and objectives. 

When Cedric decided to run for Senior Class President, he was in competition with another outstanding white female and popular student who had served as president of the junior class. Interestingly enough, when a white class advisor discovered that Cedric was in competition with the white student, the advisor called him into her office and tried to discourage him from running.  The advisor indicated that the white female’s natural progression was to go from President of the junior class to President of the senior class.  While Cedric showed no indifference towards the female candidate, he had some ideas of his own to implement as class president.  In addition, he was somewhat taken aback by the advisor’s attempt to openly discourage him, so he became more determined than ever to run for class president and he was elected.

Cedric’s class selected him as:

• best all-around male student

• most popular male student

• done most for the class of  “55” 

Cedric continued his education at Seton Hall University where he majored in Social Science. He made the Dean’s List three semesters and earned a B.A. in Secondary Education, then went on to get an M.A. from Montclair State University in Personal Guidance/Psychology.

Cedric was the first African American in the Edison, NJ School System, appointed to the following positions:

• Varsity athletic coach (cross country, indoor track)

• Guidance Counselor (head counselor middle school)

• Vice Principal (high school)

• Principal (middle school)

• Principal (high school)

Cedric was the recipient of several other awards including:  

• Edison Township, Young Educator of the Year (1968)

• Perth Amboy NAACP Education award (1991) 

• NJ State Assembly Recognition award (1991); and 

• NJ Principals/Supervisors Gold Lamp Award for outstanding Secondary Principal (1993)  

   During the year 2000, Cedric was inducted into the Perth Amboy High School Hall of Fame (NJ) as one of its distinguished graduates.