By Eric Hughes

Winston 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.

PART III

In addition to these outstanding pioneers of class presidents, who are being profiled herein, Winston Hughes is also being recognized for his academics and consistently meeting the requirements for membership into the National Honor Society (scholarship, service, leadership and character), showcasing his musical skills at high school assemblies, and for his incredible and outstanding career as a music educator.

Winston Hughes – Academics and Music 

Winston Hughes, my brother and the fourth of five (5) siblings, was born and raised in Perth Amboy to parents, Christopher Diego Hughes, of West end and Long Bay, and Helen (Richardson) Hughes from Blowing Point. 

“The Golden Voice,” for which Winston was known, got involved in music at a young

age at the direction of his father.  He started out playing the piano at home, and enrolled at a talent agency to enhance his naturally gifted golden voice.  He made All-State Chorus, sang at numerous school assemblies and later was called on to sing at weddings, funerals and social events.

Scholastically, Winston made the National Honor Society throughout his high school career and was a member of the Student Council Club. Winston was very popular in high school and as a result, his peers elected him “Student Mayor of Perth Amboy, NJ for a Day.” The election allowed him to run the city for a day and make intelligent agency and administrative decisions affecting the city’s residents. Based on Winston’s successful election as “Student Mayor,” the Perth Amboy Evening News (now defunct), featured Winston’s story and an impressive profile on the front page. It was indeed an amazing accomplishment for a young Anguillian offspring (or African American) in the early 1950s, within a small city like Perth Amboy with a majority white population.

Winston’s goal was to follow his idol and mentor, Dr. Herbert N. Richardson, a music director, teacher and principal in the Perth Amboy School System.  He followed Dr. Richardson to Virginia State College (now university) where he too majored in music education.  In 1956, Winston received his B.Sc. in Public School Music, continued his musical studies at the College of New Jersey (formerly Trenton State College), where during 1966 he earned an M.A. in Conducting.  

Subsequently, in 1959 Winston began his distinguished 40+ year career in music at the Edison Township Public Schools as a General Music and Choral Teacher at Thomas Jefferson Junior High School.  During 1964, he became Director of Choral Activities at Edison High School.  In 1966, he began a four-year term as the Chairman of Related Arts at Edison High School and served as liaison for the Departments of Art, Music and Industrial Arts.  During 1968, the Edison Jaycees named him Outstanding Young Educator of the Year.  In 1971, he served as Supervisor of Music K-12 (1977), and in1994, he was appointed Supervisor of Music and Art K-12 until his retirement in 1996.  Under his tutelage, the Edison High School Choir received numerous First Place and Overall Best Awards during 10 years of choral competitions.  

His retirement from Edison Township Public Schools was earmarked by the Winston Hughes Scholarship, which was established to be given to students who exemplified the high ideals and standards he required. 

In 1977, he became the first African American (and possibly the only one since then) to conduct and lead the New Jersey High School All-State Chorus.

Winston was a former President of the Edison Supervisor’s Association and the NJ American Choral Director’s Association.  He also served on the boards of the American Choral Director’s Association, the North Jersey Philharmonic Glee Club and the New Jersey Music Educators Association.

During 2004, Winston was inducted into the Perth Amboy High School Hall of Fame (NJ) as one of its distinguished graduates.  In 2006, he was named a Contemporary African American Achiever by the Sons and Daughters of the Anguilla Benevolent Society, Inc.

Many years had passed by during the forty (40) years he served as music educator.  He had been in touch with many of his ex-students and when they discovered his illness, Winston invited them to the assisted living facility where he was residing, to sing some of the songs he taught them in high school over 30 years ago.  The lobby of the facility was filled with residents and the hallways echoed with harmony their melodious voices. Everyone was thoroughly satisfied with the performance and Winston was pleased he could help provide the entertainment.  

Unfortunately, Winston passed away soon thereafter. The same group sang at Winston’s funeral and there wasn’t a dry eye during the funeral service.  His ex-students, many now in their 40s and 50s, wept as they sang the songs that Winston had taught them when they were adolescents.  It was a stunning tribute to a man that contributed more than music education to his students; he also imparted knowledge of life’s lessons.

After his transition, one of Winston’s legacies is that during October 2018, about seventy (70) of his former students stated on Facebook that Winston Hughes was the best music educator in the State of New Jersey; others ranked him among the top ten (10) in the country. One way or another, although there are no statistics to confirm how he was ranked as a music educator, his entire family was proud that so many people thought of him in this manner.

Honoring Mr. Hughes Posthumously

The Edison High School, NJ Alumni Ensemble & PTA dedicated in November 2019 a new, polished granite bench outside the choir room dedicated to former choir teacher Mr. Winston Hughes.  It was a collaborative effort with former members of the Edison High School Alumni Ensemble, a choir composed of Mr. Hughes’s past students, helping to raise funds for and design the bench.